Whopper pots in spring bloom - soft and warm palette

Whopper Pots in Spring Bloom - Soft and Warm Palette

In this lesson, I'm going to introduce you to my showstopping tulip pots and talk you through the palettes I use to put together pot combinations.

Soft and Warm Palette Combination

I planted this pot in the autumn using the bulb lasagne method. For this method, the bulbs are planted in layers - in this case three - with around 12 to 15 bulbs per layer. We keep our varieties in separate layers, but you can mix them if you want to.

The bottom layer tends to have the bigger bulbs in, while the top layer will have the smallest bulbs. We also added some wallflowers as pot toppers to provide some interest through the colder months before the tulips appear.

Designing a Pot

When I design a pot I take inspiration from gardening magazines and I may even cut out pictures of flowers to create a mood board.

When I work with the soft and warm palette I find that it can start to look a little sickly if there are too many flowers in the same tone. To combat this, I usually add crimson or dark crimson flowers, which add a note of sobriety to the mix.

Creating Combinations of Colours That Work in Pots

When it comes to pot design, it's very important to get the colours right. I've put a lot of time and energy into developing my pot recipes over the years, and I've spent many hours looking back at old photos from the garden to help me understand what works and what doesn't.

Out of this research, I have devised four palettes that I use to create my whopper pots, they are:

1. The soft and warm palette
2. The soft and cool palette

These palettes have a high percentage of white in them, with just a splash of pigment.

1. Boiled sweet
2. Dark and rich

These palettes are predominantly pigment-based, with a small dash of white.

A Tulip Pot Recipe

Bride

Tulip 'La Belle Epoque'

Bridesmaid

Tulip 'Copper Image'

Gatecrasher

Tulip 'Queen of Night'

I think these palette types (pigmented and white) should be kept apart in the garden, as the eye is naturally drawn to white and it can distract from other colours.

By sticking to these rules, you'll find it easier to achieve beauty in your garden.

A Second Tulip Pot Recipe

Bride

Tulip 'Blushing Lady'

Bridesmaid

Tulip 'Apricot Foxx'

Tulip 'Blushing Lady', is the bride here and can grow up to a metre in height and Tulip 'Apricot Foxx' is the bridesmaid and is much shorter.

I don't have a gatecrasher in this instance because the colour contrast provides enough interest.