A garden designed for the 'rent generation' who want moveability will be a highlight of the first new RHS show in a decade. Hannah Stephenson talks to experts about the trends towards 'pack-up-and-go' gardens and how they can be achieved

So, are you one of the millions who can't afford - or choose not - to buy your own property? If you love your outdoor space, it may be time to consider how to move your garden.

With nearly 50% of householders aged 25 to 35 renting a property, and an increasing number of landlords paving over gardens to make them 'no maintenance', taking your garden with you is a concept many of us might consider.

It's a theme adopted by acclaimed garden designer Tanya Batkin, who will be showing her 'Moveable Feast Garden' at the new RHS Chatsworth House Flower Show in Derbyshire from June 7-11.

Batkin explains: "My daughter is 'generation rent' with a tiny outdoor space - we are talking one pot. She had to have something bombproof, so we went for some succulents, some houseleeks.

"If you have room for a half barrel, you could put in one bamboo, some grasses and a heuchera, which is great for all-year-round interest. It gives you a nice combination of form and foliage."

Her show garden is made up of a series of brightly coloured wooden planters in palette and half-palette sizes. They are all on wheels, she points out, so easy to move.

'Rent generation' gardeners can buy wheeled stands and trolleys with which to move all manner of containers. There are many portable compost bins on the market - some of which are available free through local authorities - as well as lighter, resin-based containers, self-contained, easy-to-move water features and stick-in-the-ground solar lighting.

And you don't have to limit yourself to having flowering ornamental plants in your moveable pots, says Batkin.

"Because my show garden is called 'Moveable Feast', there's going to be a lot of edible planting. Things like bay, rosemary and lavender will grow happily in pots."

Planting with a view that you will not be in one place for long is a growing trend, says Mark Sage, head of horticulture at Wyevale Garden Centres.

"We continue to see a real interest in instant solutions from customers who are renting rather than buying properties now, and are more transient and wanting to take their purchases with them from house to house."

Plants with all-year-round interest such as viburnums are proving popular to give structure, flower and berries, and can be grown in pots which you can move, as well as camellias and perpetual-flowering patio roses, such as 'Carpet' roses and 'Fairy' roses, he says.

Edibles are also easy to grow in pots and are moveable. Dwarf fruit trees are also increasing in popularity, says Sage.

"Even in our 'grow your own' selections, we've seen an increase in patio varieties, simply because people have smaller spaces.

"Things like terrace patio fruit, varieties which are grafted on to a rootstock and will grow to about 5ft tall, will thrive in smaller spaces. We have tomato ranges which are suitable for pots and hanging baskets. Growing in smaller spaces is a focus for us.

"The continued interest in 'grow your own' has seen the breeders working extensively on getting really good, productive, great tasting fruit and vegetables suitable for container gardening, particularly with fruit trees."

Here are some of Batkin's tips to help the 'generation rent' maintain and move their gardens:

On the move?

If you have large plants or shrubs, gently contain wayward stems with strips of hessian to reduce damage during your move.

Don't water your pots the night before the move, which will just increase their weight.

Nobody likes carrying soggy pots. If you are moving yourself, it's worth investing in, or hiring, a sack truck for the bigger pots.

Once you've moved...

POTS If you're going to make a container garden, bigger is always better. One large pot or a group of three medium-sized pots make a bolder statement than 15 little pots. Check drainage holes are big, as small ones tend to clog up with compost. Place crocks or broken tiles in the bottom to aid drainage. The bigger the pot, the less you have to water in summer and grouping them together creates a mini microclimate helping trap humidity.

Compost?

Mediterranean plants like lavender hate sitting in winter wet, so add grit to your mix to make it more free draining. Moisture lovers and larger shrubs such as salix, hydrangeas and some ferns will benefit if you add loam to your compost, to help retain moisture and nutrients through the season. Acid lovers such as blueberries or azaleas require ericaceous compost.

Planting schemes

Flowers are fabulous, but think about the foliage too, an interesting mix of forms and leaves will add an extra layer of interest to your containers.

Layer your planting by adding summer or spring bulbs to the pot first and they will add interest through the year.

BEST OF THE BUNCH: CROCUS

Darlington and Stockton Times: A Generic Photo of a collection of crocus tommasinianus, one of the first flowers to bloom in early spring. See PA Feature GARDENING Move. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/thinkstockphotos. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Featu

These miniature cormous perennials appear in late winter and early spring, brightening the scene with their goblet-shaped flowers, in shades ranging from deep purple to white.

C. tommasinianus, the earliest to bloom, may look fragile but are pretty robust, self-seeding everywhere in full sun and reappearing year after year in ever-increasing clumps.

They have slender, grass-like foliage and purple or lilac flowers with gold centres. Good varieties include 'Albus', which is white and 'Ruby Giant', which bears reddish purple flowers and doesn't self seed.

Large-flowered hybrids such as 'Ard Schenk' and 'Blue Pearl' are good for naturalising or growing in irregular drifts.

GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT: PREPARING BRASSICA BEDS

Darlington and Stockton Times: A Generic Photo of a garden cabbage patch. See PA Feature GARDENING Move. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/thinkstockphotos. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature GARDENING Move.

If the ground isn't too hard or waterlogged, you can prepare brassica beds where you'll be growing Brussels sprouts, cabbages and cauliflowers, by liming around a third of the vegetable plot each year, as they prefer alkaline soil.

Before applying lime, check your soil's pH to test its acidity or alkalinity, with a soil-testing kit, to determine how much lime you'll need to add.

Kits come with a numbered chart to which you match the colour of your soil sample after mixing it with the solutions provided.

When applying lime, wear gloves, goggles and a face mask, and choose a still day to do the job.

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

  • Order plug plants now from specialist young plant catalogues, or buy them from garden centres. Provided you have somewhere under cover and frost-free to keep them going, it should prove cheaper than buying more mature plants later on in the season
  • Planning a new border from scratch? Mark out the shape of the border with a hosepipe which allows you to try out several shapes before deciding, then skim the ground clear of whatever is growing on it and dig over the soil, adding organic matter as you go
  • Prune clematis that flower after July, such as Viticella and Texensis, hard now. New shoots will grow vigorously from the base
  • Keep an eye on containers planted for year-round effect. Pots of shrubs or evergreens can easily dry out, especially if they are by the house wall
  • Plant shallots if the weather is mild enough and soil is dry enough
  • Prune autumn-fruiting raspberries
  • Top-dress container-grown herbs such as rosemary, scraping off the old potting compost on the surface and replacing it with fresh, into which you've mixed some slow-release fertiliser
  • Warm up soil for extra early crops by covering the ground with black plastic polythene, which will also suppress weeds
  • Plant Jerusalem artichokes
  • Finish pruning standard and bush apple and pear trees before the leaf buds appear in March