Companion planting

[fulmar]

I recently moved to a mountainside in North West Wales where I have a large patio with flowerbeds and a view down to the sea. I've grown fruit and veg on a south facing balcony before but this is the first time dealing with stuff you actually plant in the soil! And although spring has been sunny and warm, the location means we're prone to high winds and (I've been told) a lot of salt content. Certainly, my patio is the most exposed of all the properties up here and I've noticed that plants tend to be slower to flower than those downhill. In terms of adding colour, I'm having a bit more success with bedding plants in tubs.

I picked up what I think is a blueberry bush from a local branch of Netto one night. They were selling them cheap and I'd never grown anything like it before. I didn't want to plant it out front as I wasn't sure how big it could get but I thought I could at least give it a try in a pot. Added the marigolds a week ago in order to keep insects away, along with a handful of fresh bark chippings. It's actually starting to look a lot healthier than it does in this picture.