Container Gardening Design Tips

For a big WOW Factor grow plants in hanging baskets, window boxes, troughs, pots, tubs, old shoes and other plant-able containers. Planting up containers also gives you a rewarding and unlimited range of possibilities.–(a neighbor of mine who also raises horses, plants up a manure spreader each season and shows off her blooms beautifully!) Planters can be used to accent a garden or as the garden.

In limited spaces, such as the patio, the porch, lining the stairway or balcony, planted containers produce color beauty and lovely perfumes to mark your home’s entry and/or merely cheer you. Planters can be a nice addition for a large garden as well; offering seasonal color and much needed variety. Container gardening enables you to grow plants you otherwise can not grow in our native soil. Some gardeners do their entire garden in containers.

1. Prepare for drought. You’ll notice that containers dry out a bit faster than plantings in the ground. Any hanging planter or basket dries out very fast with our winds and limited amount of potting soil around the plant’s roots. Drip lines hooked to your automatic sprinklers usually do the trick when the temperatures rise if you can run them for a few minutes 2or 3 times a day.

1. You should always use potting soil for a more nutritious and lighter weight mix rather than just garden soil.
2. You should add polymer to the planting mix one Tablespoon (for an average sized planter) (sold as Soil Moist) which holds the water like little sponges.
3. You should add a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote for a slow but constant release of nutrients to the planting mix before planting.
4. It’s always a good idea to grow compatible plants in the same container. Compatible as far as having similar water needs, nutrient needs and light requirements.
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1. Choosing a container: Keep in mind “contrast” or “blend”. Does it blend or contrast with your home, the pathway or situation.

1. There are many materials to consider: copper, terracotta, plastic, cast stone or concrete, wood, ceramic, wire baskets, lead and iron. Planters must have drainage holes or use an inner planter with drainage.
2. Consider the amount of heat that the container attracts, its durability, weight (blowing over or immovability).
3. Plants that complement the container or a container that complements the plant. You can age a container with moss, paint or vinegar.

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1. Choosing the right plants: most plants are listed as “sun loving” or “shade loving”- usually plants are somewhere in between and can handle more sun and heat if given more water.

1. Determine the heat/light factor first. If you are in full sun, using some drought tolerant plants will make your job much easier. It’s exhausting to keep plants on “life support” for very long….just ask me!

If you are using a copper cauldron, for example, your planter will soon have a beautiful blue green patina. Your planter will look delicious with Helichrysum (licorice plant) trailing out, echeveria (succulent) bold and sturdy, and Eustona (Lizzianthus) a nice contrast with delicate blooms.

1. The color scheme that you are planting will create the mood. Remember to choose plants that: Contrast or Blend, Cool colors or warm colors and plants that have formal or informal formation.
2. You know when you have succeeded because you have created the mood you set out to create!