Pots in the portfolio

from The Oxford Times

I never met Geoff Hamilton and always regretted it. We overlapped. I started writing in 1995 and Geoff sadly died in 1996, otherwise I'm sure we would have come across each other.

I'm obviously not comparing us as equals, but I always knew he was my kind of gardener. I can remember him telling the viewers of Gardeners' World that he just bought a brand new English terracotta pot with £70. The money had actually been earmarked for a new suit, but he explained that the pot was a much better investment. It would go on for years and give pleasure to future generations.

Geoff had actually invested in a hand-made terracotta pot from Whichford Pottery and this extraordinary place, set midway between Chipping Norton and Shipston-on-Stour, lies about 30 miles north of Oxford.

This dank time of year is an excellent time to make a visit because the pottery is holding its annual sale until December 10, and all the pots are discounted. If you visit at the weekends, home-made soup and cakes are also available.

Visiting is a very pleasant and inspirational experience and I do recommend it. There are lots of containers planted up for winter interest and the workshop, where the potters throw and decorate the pots, is open.

If you visit on a weekday you can see the potters at work as well, and there's always a buzz of contentment about the place. Many of the dedicated staff have worked with the founders, Jim and Dominique Keeling, since the pottery's inception in 1976.

Whichford are keeping a serious craft going, and they employ new apprentices and teach them them the art of making and decorating traditional pots, using local clay and employing many local people. Their wares are exported all over the world and they are especially popular in Japan. I think it's a great achievement to survive in a market flooded by inferior, cheaper imports that only last a season or two.

To me, it's common sense to invest in frost-proof pot you'll have forever. A good pot will outlive you and planting up a container to brighten the house can make an enormous difference to a porch or doorway at this time of year. Go for long-lasting foliage rather than flowers, though.

You could combine purple heucheras with smoky grasses like Carex testacea or a bronze C. comans. Or mix a green tapestry of textures using ferns, ivies and strap-leaved plants. There are also silver-leaved heucheras and lamiums, and these can look spectacular beside the black strappy ophiopogon.

If you do visit the pottery, do look at the gallery. It displays slipware made by Jim Keeling and decorated by his wife, Dominique. Their bowls, jugs and mugs make excellent Christmas presents if you can bear to give them away.

Whichford Pottery, Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire CV35 5PG, tel 01608 684416, www.whichfordpottery.com, 10am to 5pm.

The University's Botanic Garden are also holding a family-friendly winter festival this weekend, from 10am to 5pm. Adults £2.70 and accompanied children free.