Perfect pots

Think carefully before buying, though, and consider the style of your property and garden. If you don’t, you could end up with a disastrous mish-mash of colours and designs.

If you have an old, traditional house and matching garden it makes sense to stick with classic materials such as stone or terracotta. A modern setting may need stainless steel, coloured concrete, zinc or aluminium.

Dramatic black glazed pots, with stand-alone specimens such as a cordyline or date palm, can look stunning in a contemporary setting and are widely available.

Troughs and pots made of metal can also look good in minimalist gardens.

You can get away with a variety of brightly coloured glazed pots in a modern setting to brighten up a corner, but it’s generally better to stick to one style and finish if you don’t want the patio to look messy.

Don’t buy pots on a whim, as there simply may not be a natural place to put them.

Small gardens don’t restrict you to small pots.

In fact, large pots and plants in a small garden will create much more drama and impact than having everything below eye level.

There are pros and cons with whatever you choose.

Terracotta pots, even if they are frost-proof, have a tendency to crack and chip. They are also porous, which means you will need to water the plants regularly to stop them drying out.

Glazed ceramic containers come in a huge range of colours and are not porous, so you’ll need to stand them on pot feet to ensure adequate drainage.

Galvanised metal pots, which look great in modern settings, are poor insulators, so compost and roots may be baked in hot weather and frozen in winter. Glass fibre pots, which look like metal, may be a better bet.

Wooden troughs and tubs are widely available and have a natural look which enables them to blend into most informal garden schemes. They are of moderate durability and do better if you line them with a thick plastic sheet such as a pond liner, puncturing it to allow for drainage.

Alternatively, treat the container with a preservative that doesn’t harm plants and stand the tub on bricks or feet to help drainage.

Wood is also frost-resistant and insulates plants from extreme heat and cold.

If you have trouble lifting heavy pots and are on a tight budget, plastic is the obvious choice. However, a more stylish choice can be found in a range of other materials including fibreglass and resin, which aren’t too heavy but can create a stunning look.

Consider where you are going to put your pots before you choose the containers. Plastic is light, easy to move and can be easily disguised with metallic paint or hidden by trailing plants. Wood, terracotta and stone are good root insulators, making them perfect for plantings in full sun or exposed settings.

Metal doesn’t do so well in sunny spots as it will quickly heat up the compost and roots inside, although you can put the plant in a different smaller container and plunge this into your metal pot lined with damp compost to help protect it.