There are LOTS of Dwarf Citrus Trees that make good potted plants if you get a container large enough! If you buy a really big pot & are worried about weight then use Foam Packing Peanuts instead of Gravel in the bottom of the pot! I got that off HGTV & tried it with my plant & it works great! + U get the bonus of recycling! Just ask your friends to save theirs up if they get any packages or buy them from the UPS Store! Cactus also makes great potted plants & if you get a kind that flower it will be twice as pretty. San Pedro Cactus has beautiful large night/morning blossoms!! Miniature Prickly Pear are nice too and you can get the kind without needles & in colors from normal green to pink to purple!! Just make sure you use the special Cactus/Succulent soil. If you have a patio with an apartment above it then you can get a trellis from Home Depot & cover 1 of the 3 sides with a vine such as grape or another large, bushy plant that can be trained over it. But again, it all depends on your sun exposure and wind. Oh, & Aloe! Aloe doe GREAT in that climate! I lived in Phoenix for many years & so I am going to tell you right up front: 2/3 of ALL plants you try to grow will probably die before you get used to growing in the climate of Cali! Just be prepared for the disappointment  We ALL went through it! You eventually get used to the climate & will be a better judge of what to do! Ask some neighbors or corner an employee in the garden department of Home Depot & start asking question! Good luck!

I'm also a huge advocate of leaving unglazed clay in its natural state... it's healthier for the plants. It not only allows gasses to pass through its porosity, but it also helps accumulated salts to leach out. You'll notice that white crust that can appear around the rim or sometimes on the body of the pot. If you sealed the pot, those salts would be reliant upon frequent leachings with clear water to be removed. I don't know why anyone would want to spoil the healthiness of unglazed clay... if you need more moisture retention, work with the medium, not the pot. :-)

kstrong is probably right. Once you've dug down to where the new cane is sprouting from it will probably below a noticeable swelling on the stem of the main rose. That will be your clue that this new cane is not coming from the rose you want, but rather from the rootstock. The rootstock is usually a dark red climbing rose named Dr. Huey. It's pretty in its way, but it doesn't bloom for very long and it only blooms once each year. If you let the rootstock grow its own canes over time the rose you purchased (the "scion") will wither & die.

Hi Tom - since you are in the UK it is highly probable that the soil in your garden is perfectly fine for growing vegetables. Unless you are in a new house which has had the topsoil removed by the builder there is absolutely no need at all to buy in extra soil. Start a compost heap and use the results in your garden. Alternatively use trench composting. Until your own compost is ready you could buy some sacks of composted manure or something similar but to be perfectly honest with you I have grown vegetables on my allotment for decades and never bought in anything except an occasional load of farmyard manure and some pelleted chicken manure. Manufacturers are set on selling and they prey on beginners with all sorts of 'advice' about what you need. Trying to flog top soil to people who don't need it is a scam in my view. In your first season I suggest you just thoroughly cultivate the soil you have and see what happens. Don't spend any more money than necessary for basic tools and materials just in case it turns out you are not such a keen gardener after all. BTW - most posters on this site are based in the US where gardening habits are rather different and a lot of interventions appear to be the norm. One example is the use of soil tests which are rare in the UK outside commercial outfits. UK methods are much more laid back, possibly because our climate is relatively forgiving and our soils tend to be pretty amenable everywhere.