One of the easiest ways of transforming a boring patio into a spectacular garden centerpiece is to use plants. Pots, troughs and hanging baskets brimming with colourful bedding and eye-catching perennials will do the job nicely. But containers can be a lot of work, especially during the summer months when they may need watering twice a day and feeding every week. So is there an easier way? The trick, here, is to forget about containers and choose plants that are well adapted to growing in the sun-drenched, drought-prone conditions found in and around the patio.

Why plant-up your patio?

1. Improves the overall appearance
2. Saves time watering and feeding containers
3. Integrates the expanses of paving into the garden
4. Eliminates weeding cracks
5. Good way to grow herbs

You may not think there are planting opportunities in the patio itself, but take a closer look and you might be surprised what you find. Take the cracks between paving stones, for example. If weeds can get established here, then specialist, low-growing ornamental plants can, too. Best of all, once the cracks are planted up, you’ll never have to weed there again. Where the paving is used regularly, make sure you choose tough, ground-hugging plants that form soft mats of foliage, which won’t become hazardous. Aromatic plants are particularly welcome, since they will release their delightful aromas each time they are trodden underfoot. Towards the periphery of a patio that gets little if any traffic, you can use slightly larger plants to help soften the stark edges.

Planting between the cracks

On well-used paths and paving you will notice that weeds will thrive just to the sides of the main thoroughfare. So use this as your guide when planting cracks with ornamental plants. Their foliage will spread along the cracks and over the flagstones, but the crown of the plant will not suffer too much wear and tear. Creeping thymes, such as the ultra-low-growing Thymus pseudolanuginosus, is a great choice in this situation. It will produce woolly, grey-green mats of aromatic foliage crowned by pretty, pale-pink flowers during early summer. For year-round colour, consider the yellow-variegated thyme ‘Doone Valley’, which has the bonus of lavender-pink early summer flowers. Where there is less foot-traffic the delightful Dalmatian bellflower (Campanula portenschlagiana) is hard to beat. It produces spreading cushions of heart-shaped leaves, which are smothered in massed displays of deep purple, funnel-shaped flowers during late summer.

Small cracks are easier to sow than plant. Although it could be argued the rootballs of small plants can be squeezed into the junctions between wider cracks. Use a weeding tool or old screwdriver to pick-out any loose mortar and other debris. Remove all the weeds complete with their roots to prevent them re-sprouting. Fill the cracks with a loam-based John Innes compost or a mixture of sieved garden soil and fresh potting compost. Gently push the compost into the cracks with your fingers to remove any air-pockets. Brush the excess compost away and sow the seeds thinly along the prepared cracks. Water carefully using a watering can fitted with a fine rose, as this will prevent the seeds from being washed away. Then cover with garden fleece to protect from birds. Once germinated, remove the fleece and thin overcrowded seedlings by removing the weakest. Remember to continue watering during any dry spells, until the plants are well established. As a finishing touch, carefully brush fine gravel or grit into the cracks to prevent compost being washed out, weed seeds gaining a foothold and to help retain moisture in the compost.

Planting edges

Slightly taller specimens, such as pungent Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) will soften the edges with creeping mats of aromatic leaves, topped by daisy flowers throughout the summer. Or try lackadaisical clumps of a creeping speedwell, such as the vivid blue, early-summer-flowering Veronica 'Shirley Blue'. A more formal look can be achieved using the neatly tufted Dianthus ‘Pink Jewel’ that bears semi-double, fragrant pink flowers in spring and again in autumn, or the shaving-bush spiky clumps of the blue grass Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'. Fleshy-leaved succulents, such as houseleeks (Sempervivum) and creeping ice plants like Sedum spathulifolium, are worth seeking out for the hottest spots, while in the shade, groundcover perennials, such as bugle (Ajuga), dead-nettles (Lamium) and lesser periwinkle (Vinca) are good choices.

Adding planting pockets

 

Provided the patio has not been laid on a concrete base, you can create planting pockets in strategic places to break up a large patio and transform its overall appearance.

1. Use the corner of a spade to ease up one of the paving slabs.
2. Dig out as much aggregate and other material as you can, loosening it with a garden fork or metal spike if necessary.
3. Remove the soil under the base of the patio to create a hole at least 30cm deep.
4. Fill the hole with fresh soil from elsewhere in the garden, mixing in well-rotted organic matter to help improve moisture retention.
5. Water plants thoroughly while still in their pots before planting in the normal way.
6. Firm well and water thoroughly once more.
7. Finish off with pebbles or gravel that complements the existing stones of the patio.

 

Happy gardening!