Glasgow - Home & Garden Show 2005

I love this time of year, it's full of expectation and anticipation. The bulbs are starting to flower and the perennials are beginning to show signs of life. Those bulbs which I planted in containers and left behind the greenhouse are now in full flower and in pride of place outside my front door. There's a riot of colourful flowers in a multitude of different pots with no thought for matching containers or unity but do I care?…. no, it's just great to see everything bursting with vigour and it gives me such enthusiasm for the year ahead.

It's also a great time to start thinking about planting containers for the rest of the year. In a few weeks the garden centres will be bursting with plug plants and trays of bedding plants to kick start the tubs and containers. Here in Scotland it's still cold and the garden centres are slower to stock the plants than England but it's a good time to buy or order planters and buy the compost ready for those first plants to reach the shelves.

I was asked to talk at the Ideal Home and Garden Show in Glasgow in April www.idealhomeandgardenshow.co.uk this year and have chosen the subject of containerised planting as this is something that anyone can try, whether they have a garden or not. You can plant in any container providing you remember to give it some drainage holes, so use that old bucket or a pair of the kids old wellies or if you want to splash out on something more attractive look around the garden centre or try some of the internet companies.

When I was preparing for this talk I approached some of the internet companies and have some great planters for display: contemporary stainless steel, wooden planters, GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) and of course the much loved terracotta. I must say that many of these planters are stunning and their pictures on the websites do not do them justice. Give them a try; you're unlikely to see them in the garden centres or your neighbour's garden!

It also made me think about the compost I am using and after much reading and research I have stopped using composts containing peat and switched to peat free mixes and will see if the results are very different. I use so much compost in my job I thought I should try the peat free variety and do my bit for the environment. I already recycle all garden waste, glass, plastic and cans so this is just another step towards being more environmentally friendly. I'll let you know how the containers fare with the new compost. (for further information, access www.europlanters.co.uk. www.tinpotalley.com. www.terrapot.co.uk and www.ailsadirect.co.uk

The show promises to be a great opportunity to pick up all those gadgets and essentials to help you in the house and garden and there are some great Masterclass demonstrations from florists, garden designers and water feature specialists too with the odd celebrity thrown in. There's the opportunity to win some tickets here on this site so have a go, you may be lucky. So I hope to see you there - please come and say hello.

Further information regarding Anne's garden design work can be found at http://www.annemacfiegardendesign.co.uk/