Container gardening is easy to do and there are many reasons why it is also a sensible gardening option.
 
Seven reasons for growing plants in pots

Scope
Plants that require a longer growing season than you have to offer can be started indoors to bloom outside in summer and autumn. Frost-sensitive plants such as bay laurel and lemon verbena make wonderful houseplants in winter and spend the summer in the garden. Just make sure that in spring they are allowed a transition period from limited sunlight indoors to brighter light outdoors. The ‘orangery’ technique is the basis of this concept, which includes growing citrus fruits in pots so they can move indoors to over-winter.

Ambience
Pots set the stage in ‘outdoor rooms’.  Make a group of sun-loving plants around a large houseplant that will be spending the summer outdoors. A jumble of various pots stacked on stands and clustered loosely lends a pleasantly casual look. Containers aligned with precision and planted with trim specimens, such as rosemary standards or ivy topiaries, create instant formality. A trio of large pots makes a garden appear more settled; they suggest the accumulation of years' growth.

Focus
Potted plants and pots create interest. Grouped in strategic places, they break the monotony of a balcony, terrace or patio and create an ambient scene. Build a simple theme garden around a colour or an idea. A collection of yellow and blue bloomers, such as pansies, Calendula, and heliotrope, makes a cheerful display. Pots of sedum and Sempervivum look simple but elegant.

Zing
Nestle containers of bright annuals among duller plants in the garden for added colour. To keep plants looking good: Water when soil dries; pinch off spent blooms, and fertilize weekly.

Flexibility
Rearrange plantings to suit the season or your mood. Enjoy pots of violets and narcissus in spring; petunias and dusty-miller in summer; and Coleus in autumn.

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