Blooming Bairns: Quarter and half barrels add colour to Falkirk town centre

Recently we launched a new quarter barrel design, these are currently outside the Corner Cafe and help define the outdoor seating area for the cafe.

These quarter barrels along with the half barrels are perfect for introducing seasonal interest and colour to our town centre and I have a vision of these planters outside every shop, cafe and restaurant in the Falkirk town centre. This would make our town centre stunning, alive with pollinators and create a healthier environment that would benefit us all.

The quarter barrels and half barrels are part of our community gardening group’s commitment to making Falkirk town centre filled with flowers and year round interest.

To help us make this a reality we have a number of sponsorship opportunities available, open to individuals or businesses in the town centre to make their entrance more inviting or outdoor seating area attractive and inviting. To sponsor a barrel or planter you can get in touch with the Blooming Bairns via social media or via the email below.

This year we have been very fortunate to have plenty of annuals donated by a town centre business. However, as we progress to a more sustainable model we are planning on using a mixture of perennial plants, grasses, ground cover and shrubs to fill these barrels. These would be supplemented with seasonal annuals.

There is a simple rule to planting in barrels or any planter you have at home and this is to include a thriller, a spiller and a filler.

The thriller is a stand out plant of your choice, and this is very subjective and your choice is whatever you want, it's your garden after all. In the town centre planters we have used a number of plants for this, but my favourite are ones that will flower all summer, try Geum totally tangerine, wallflowers and salvias. These will be the dominant feature of the planter for the summer flowering period and should be a bold choice to create impact throughout the growing season.

Next up is the filler, something that will give year round structure in the planter and fill that visual gap when the thriller has died back for the winter. This should ideally be evergreen or something that can be left over winter for an attractive structural element, covered with a light frost or a dusting of snow to set it off. My favourite fillers are stipia grasses for a light wispy look, but you could always use evergreen ferns in shade and in a few barrels we have even used herbs, like creeping thyme and marjoram.

Now the final part of the puzzle is the spiller, this as it sounds is a plant to trail over the edge and soften the whole thing. This is normally an evergreen and in the town centre we have used ivy a lot but you could also use something like trailing rosemary to spill over the edge and give scent to the arrangement and for a floriferous look try Erigeron, mexican feabane (a lovely daisy plant). Get Involved! Blooming Bairns is calling on community members to join our efforts. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just looking to lend a helping hand, there’s a place for you in our team. For more information on upcoming events and how to participate, please visit our Facebook page or contact us at [email protected].