Are spent flowers taking up all your best pots? Monty Don's smart trick will free them back up for summer planting

The end of spring in the garden is a rather bittersweet time; we are forced to bid our tulips and daffodils farewell, but it's also when the rest of the plants come to life.

Whether or not you know what to do with your daffodils after flowering, it's often a small nuisance realising you've used one of your favourite pots on a plant that won't be flowering anymore. And with most perennials, tulips and daffodils, along with other spring florals, need to be allowed to die back before they're moved or overwintered.

Does this mean your beloved pots are then sentenced to a summer filled with a withering spent plant? Monty Don says absolutely not, as he shares yet another piece of valuable gardening wisdom for making the most of your best pots on the BBC's Gardeners' World.

Shop repotting essentials

It's important to know when and how to repot your plants for both their short-term and long-term health. However, there are reasons beyond your plant's life cycle that you should transport them to other vessels.

"As the spring bulbs end their flowering season, they need to be left so that the foliage can slowly die back. But if they are in a handsome pot, that means the pot can't be used for months on end," explains Monty.

You'll know if you've deadheaded your tulips after they're past their best, it can leave your pot looking barren and rather sad. Which is such a shame when there are so many late summer flowers that could be taking up that space.

Monty's advice won't just make your favourite pots available again, but it will reduce your gardening costs this spring and summer.

"So I lift them out of the good pot, put them into an upcycled plastic pot, where they can be set to one side, and it frees up a really nice container for summer display," he adds.

One user comments under the reel explaining how she makes these pot transplants even easier by placing a plastic pot inside larger terracotta pots so you can simply lift the plastic pot out and swap in a more seasonally appropriate plant.

This sustainable garden idea isn't the only way you can make the most out of your pots. If you've been holding onto some terracotta or ceramic pots for a while now, but they're cracked or broken, you can utilise them still.

"Pots eventually break or crumble and become material for crocks, and crocks go into pots to stop the compost falling through or blocking drainage holes. And so everything goes and comes round," says Monty on his Instagram (@themontydon)

Even when you want to make your garden look more expensive, there are smart ways to use the resources you have without wasting a single thing.