Wander down any residential street in the Mediterranean region and you will find houses ablaze with fiery geraniums. These drought-loving plants bask happily in the burning sun in their tiny terracotta pots, creating a dazzling display that requires very little care. If you have a sunny wall, buy young plants in late spring to create your own summer holiday effect at home.

When to plant: Late spring.

At their best: Early summer to early autumn.

Time to complete: 2 hours.

You will need: Bedding geraniums – Pelargonium, small terracotta wall pots, broken clay pot pieces and gravel, multi-purpose soil, slow-release all-purpose fertilizer, masonry nails or rawlplugs and coach bolts, hammer or electric drill.

Prepare the wall pots

Buy at least five wall pots and make sure that each has a drainage hole—if not, make one with an electric drill. Cover the hole with a piece of clay pot. Add 1 in (2 cm) of gravel and then a layer of soil to the base of each container.

Plant the geraniums

Water the plants. Put one geranium (Pelargonium), still in its original container, into the wall pot and check that it will sit at least 1 in (2 cm) below the rim when planted. Remove it from its pot and plant up, firming in around it with multi-purpose soil mixed with a little slow-release fertilizer. Water well.

Fix pots to wall

For a more dramatic effect, paint the wall white or a pale color. Hammer in a masonry nail at a slight angle; alternatively, if you can’t drive in a nail, drill a hole with an electric drill, push in a Rawlplug, and screw in a coach bolt. Fit the pots onto the wall.

Tips: Watering your pots

Geraniums require watering every few days in summer, so make sure you can reach them easily or use a long-handled hose. As the plants grow and their roots develop, it is best to water them from below by placing the wall pots in a bowl of water for 30 minutes.