One of the problems, when it comes to combining plants in pots and baskets, is to know not only what will look good together but what plants will actually go together. We have all had the experience of planting a basket with Surfinias and fuchsias only to find the fuchsias were buried under a tsunami of Surfinia or some little lobelias struggling under an avalanche of bacopa (sutera for those, like me, that like the names right – maybe more of this in a few days). So ‘Trixi’ (TM) plugs are a useful way to get a lovely display without the worry. It is a Ball Colegrave concept and three different cuttings are grown together and supplied to nurseries so you can buy the more mature plants at garden centres, or sometimes as small plugs from seed companies.

The ‘plugs’ are carefully composed of varieties that have been proved to grow well together, need the same conditions and will not smother each other. Three plugs should fill the average basket or you should be able to buy the groups of plants in pots in late spring. The combinations are given names and these are some of those that took my eye.

Above is Pink petticoat, a lovely combination of white lobelia, pink bacopa and pink callibrachoa. I think it looked really pretty and it was my favourite.

Twinkle star was a combination of dark callibrachoa, yellow bidens and white bacopa.

Coco Bello combined pink and red callibrachoa and red verbena.

Wild berries was a combination of three mouthwatering verbenas.

And Riverside combined blue lobelia, yellow bidens and white verbena.

ball colegrave, easy planting, trixi, trixi plant plugs