Here is everything I’ve learned from my container gardener days – from the best plants to choose for low-maintenance gardening to why it pays to go big

When I was a container gardener, this was the time of year I’d start to think about sprucing up my pots. It’s similar to a seasonal wardrobe switcheroo: putting shorts and summer dresses away until next year; getting jumpers out from under the bed and inspecting for moth holes. The pots, which usually had some late summer goodies in them, would be looking a bit worse for wear and I’d heave them all up, replace the compost and put in new things to perk up the balcony for the cooler months.

The more I gardened, the more I left the pots alone. They became their own annual microgardens, with bulbs and perennials that rose and died back like little symphonies. Far less hard work, aside from a heavy mulch now and another in the spring, occasionally removing a bit of dead foliage and watering in the summer.