Right pot, right place

Whatever size your garden, containers are likely to feature. Tulips packed into big oak barrels look fabulous even among rolling acres: and if all you have is a handkerchief-sized yard, pots are your garden in Henley on Thames.

Choose with care from the extensive range in our garden centre so the right pot is in the right place. Here are a few tips:

A few larger pots are better than lots of little ones: large pots make a great statement and have a greater volume of compost so need less watering.

Choose the pot to suit your situation: lightweight plastic is more sensible than weighty terracotta on roof gardens; and match pots to their environment. Modernist planters sit uncomfortably in a rural idyll.

Theme your containers: decide your style from the start: modernist metal, or traditional terracotta? Painted ceramic or warm wood? If all your containers follow a single theme it pulls your display together.

Choose the container to fit your plants: Shallow-rooted salads, herbs and flowers thrive in as little as 15cm of soil, so are happy in trays, windowboxes and troughs. Save big, roomy pots for hefty bananas or container-grown fruit trees.

Please ask the staff in our Henley on Thames garden centre for more information and advice about choosing containers for your garden.