Shop Pavement Planters

Weighted lightweight planters (movable but stable) can be placed outside shops . Once we have a list of shops wishing to do this with proposed planters the council will come out and issue approvals.

Why they work:

Light when empty → easy to move
Heavy when filled (soil/water reservoir) → stable
Some have hidden wheels or liners

Good for:

Seasonal removal, adjusting layout

Use 60–80cm long troughs. Add gravel for weight

Suppliers

These are some examples – many different types arr available and an internet search will give you options.

B and Q – 75 cm Trough £64 – many types available

Stewart Timber – 70 CM timber Trough – £33.

Dobbies 79 cm Trough £17.49

These could be heavy when filled – about 120kg. Fill bottom with gravel or lightweight filler to keep movable at about 80kg.

Flowers To Use

1) Trough, compost & timing

This page sets out a planting approach for pavement trough planters about 70 cm long, 32 cm high and 32 cm wide.

These troughs are a very useful size for shopfronts. They are bigger and more stable than a hanging basket, but still small enough to be moved when needed. The best planting is simple, colourful and tidy, with flowers that do not become too wild or top-heavy.

Use peat-free compost. A good mix is:

  • 70% multi-purpose compost
  • 20% loam-based compost
  • 10% grit, perlite or vermiculite for drainage

If the trough has a reservoir, that helps. If not, good drainage holes are essential.

Best planting times:

  • late April to June for summer displays
  • September to October for winter displays

Tender summer plants should go out after frost risk has passed. RHS container advice supports free-draining compost and seasonal container planting, with sun-loving summer bedding and winter container combinations using hardy plants and bulbs.

2) How many plants?

For one 70 cm trough, a good guide is:

  • 1–2 slightly taller or stronger plants
  • 4–5 filler plants
  • 2–3 trailing plants

That usually means about 7–10 plants in total for a full summer display.

For winter, use slightly fewer plants and leave a little room for bulbs underneath. A restrained planting usually looks better than trying to cram the trough too tightly. RHS container guidance recommends a simple thriller-filler-spiller balance for summer containers rather than overcrowding.

3) Pick by sun or shade

Full sun / bright shopfronts

These are the strongest choices for a sunny pavement trough:

RHS guidance supports these as strong container choices for sunny situations, especially petunia, calibrachoa, verbena, nemesia and trailing pelargonium.

Part shade / slightly more sheltered sites

These are better where the trough gets less fierce sun or is a little more sheltered:

These are especially useful where the display needs to stay softer and fresher looking through summer rather than cope with the hottest, driest conditions. RHS describes begonias as strong in partial shade, hardy fuchsias as suitable for containers in sheltered sun or partial shade, heucheras as excellent container plants in light shade, and bacopa/chaenostoma as suitable for baskets and containers in sun or partial shade.

Winter troughs

For autumn to spring, good options are:

Winter containers work best when built around foliage first, then seasonal colour. RHS guidance supports crocus and daffodils in containers, with cyclamen, viola/pansy, carex and ivy all useful for cool-season structure or colour.

4) Easy planting recipes

Hot and sunny

This gives strong colour, some trailing growth and a good long season.

Soft pastels

This gives a softer, more elegant look outside traditional shopfronts.

Shady show

This works well where the trough is on a north- or east-facing frontage, or where neighbouring buildings reduce the light.

Winter colour

This gives colour at eye level in winter and an extra lift in early spring.

5) Care

  • water regularly after planting until the roots settle in
  • in warm or windy spells, check daily
  • feed once a week once the plants are established
  • deadhead regularly to keep flowers coming
  • trim back anything that flops too far over the pavement
  • replace one or two tired plants if needed rather than redoing the whole trough

RHS plant guides for petunia, pelargonium, nemesia, verbena and summer containers all support regular watering, feeding and trimming or deadheading to keep container displays flowering well.

6) Quick shopping list

One 70 cm sunny trough

One 70 cm shadier trough

Final note

Pavement troughs usually look best when they are slightly restrained rather than over-planted. The aim is to create something that is:

  • attractive
  • tidy
  • visible from the street
  • easy to water and maintain
  • suitable for a shopfront setting
how it might look