A feast of foliage

By combining various colours and textures, a foliage container can be as eye-catching as one filled with flowers and holds its appeal longer. Dark evergreens are a great foil for silver-blue foliage, while mauve-red tones add impact

By combining various colours and textures, a foliage container can be as eye-catching as one filled with flowers and holds its appeal for far longer. Dark evergreens are a great foil for the silver-blue foliage, while the mauve-red tones add impact.

1. Prepare container

Place a generous layer of broken pots or stones in the base of the container to maintain good drainage.

Reproduced from the Nov 09 issue of Gardeners' World magazine. This month's issue on sale now. Visit the Gardeners' World magazine site for more top tips
2. Add compost

Half-fill the container with loambased John Innes No.3 compost. Firm it lightly to get rid of air pockets.
3. plant an evergreen shrub

Remove a mahonia from its pot taking care not to damage roots and plant at the back of the container.
4. Add hardy perennials

Plant heuchera and euphorbia in the back corners, then ivy around the front so it cascades over the rim.
5. Decorate with herbs and ornamental cabbage

Add helichrysum in front of the mahonia, then arrange the cabbages as a centrepiece. Fill any air gaps around the roots with compost and water in.