Container Gardening

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Container Gardening

Look at that beautiful basket! Bet it cost a fortune, right? Not necessarily. If you choose your varieties wisely, you can do a scene like this for about half the cost of a similar hanging basket that you find at the greenhouses and plant centers.

Container gardening is in vogue in this country right now, and for good reason. Our pace of living is hectic, and many of us simply do not have all that much spare time to devote to large scale gardens. Many subdivisions do not offer the huge, sprawling lots that were once commonplace, either. Many of us may still have large properties and the time to devote to gardening on a larger scale, but we feel that these miniature gardens are so lovely to look at. Very few of us can resist the urge to put out a few pots or hanging baskets.

Heaven knows, I'm not knocking the lovely cottage garden or mixed borders. I have several in my yard. But plants grown in containers are right there for me to look at, up front and personal. Picture 30 navy blue petunias and 30 yellow marigolds massed together as drifts in a flowerbed, and they are lovely to see. Place 3 of those same petunias and 3 of those yellow marigolds, add some grey helichrysum for foliage accent to a pot, and you have something unique and breathtaking, and something ever so much more personal.

I know that I am waxing poetic, but there is a certain magic and whimsy when one plants something that normally goes out into a border or the vegetable garden. My friends and relatives can attest to my passion for containers and hanging baskets! I think I grow more container plants than someone who rooftop gardens in Manhattan!

The greenhouses, gardening centers, and other vendors have certainly caught on. Take a walk into any place that sells bedding plants, and there will be containers, flower pouches, and hanging baskets galore to choose from. I do buy a few, I confess. But, the majority of my container displays comes from individual plants that I have grouped together in my pots. It's easy and less expensive, and within a few weeks, my containers have caught up with those that are available for purchase. I will let you in on some of the finer points about container gardening.

Start with the containers. It pays to grow in as large a container as you can afford. Be creative. When we first moved into our home about seven years ago, we found an old galvanized washtub that was sitting out on the edge of a field next door. We have been using it ever since. There are many good containers out there, so I won't influence your choices except to say not to use anything that is going to dry out too quickly, that is, anything that is too small to maintain moisture. I also steer away from anything black or very dark in color, to avoid overheating the root system of the plants on a hot, sunny day. I also stay away from unglazed pottery. It's gorgeous when it ages, but it can suck the available moisture out of the soil. If you do like the effect of an unglazed clay pot, consider placing a plastic pot filled with plants within the clay pot to conserve soil moisture.

Drainage is of the utmost importance. You want to be sure that the pot drains well. It if doesn't, your plants will become waterlogged and rot. Drill a few hole if the pot isn't pre-drilled. Also place some saucers under the pots to prevent staining your deck or patio.

You can place pebbles or broken pieces of pottery in the bottom of you pots to aid in drainage. A neat trick is to place the styrofoam packaging popcorn that comes in boxes into the bottoms of your containers. It's cheap, and won't add any extra weight to your container, a big plus if you want to move your pots around.

Soil is the next step. For heaven's sake, don't dig up your yard and put it in the container! It is not suitable for what you want to achieve. Garden soil is usually way too heavy to be used in the pots or hanging baskets that you are designing. I use about 1 part potting soil, 1 part compost, and 1 part soulless mix in the containers that are not going to be hanging. For the hanging baskets, I use 2/3 soulless mix and 1/3 potting soil. Believe me when I say this, hanging baskets can get very heavy when they are watered. You don't want your basket and hook to come crashing down from the weight. You want a light mix.

If you choose to do so, now is the time to add slow release fertilizer to your planting base. Try to use an organic based one if you can find it. It will release nutrients slowly over weeks or a couple of months. If you wish to conserve moisture, you can add synthetic polymer granules to the mix, as recommended. These granules expand and hold water, gradually releasing it back to the plants.

Now it's on to the fun part!

Just about the sky's the limit when it comes down to what to plant. Let your imagination run wild. Annuals, vegetables, herbs, some perennials, and even a few dwarf fruit trees and other small ornamental trees, roses and bushes can be grown in containers. Express yourself!

When planting, you can keep the spacing closer than out in the yard. You want a full appearance, so about 1/2 the normal spacing or even closer will do for these plants. Now is the time to plant of few of the more unusual plants you have been eyeballing down at the greenhouse. (You can also plant the good ol' garden varieties, no pun intended)! Mix colors, see what looks good to you. Add tall plants in with trailing plants, add some greenery, and Voila! Instant garden! You are so good!

Now for some serious talk. If you have jumped the season a little, you might have to contend with the cold nasties for a few days or weeks. If cold weather or frost threatens, bunch your pots together and throw some sheets over them. Do this too many times, and I guarantee you will get tired of it. You probably won't push the season again! And now really, if you wait a few weeks, you are not going to lose anything. If you plant at the proper time, your plants will be right at pace or better than those planted earlier, and a lot less stressed, to boot.

Plan on watering your containers frequently, possibly several times a day during extremes of wind and hot weather. If you plan on going on a vacation or away for a few days, try to find a reliable neighbor who will water your containers. If not, you might want to group all your container plants, hanging baskets included, close together. Loop drip hoses over the tops of your plants and around your pots. I did this last year, and to me, it is the way to go. You can purchase timers to turn your watering system on and off at predetermined times. One last point about watering: avoid watering during high noon! You don't want to poach your plants! Choose early morning and early evening to water container plants. Avoid the heat of the day.

Because these plants are in such a confined space and because the pots drain so well, fertilizing must be done much more frequently than for the same plants growing in the open ground. Even if slow released food was added when planting these containers, plan on supplementing this with 1/2 strength soluble fertilizer every other week or so. Try to stick with organic based liquid soluble fertilizers.

You can shear the plants back if they start getting leggy, and keep them deadheaded. When Fall arrives and if you want to extend the season, if frost threatens, you can place them in a sheltered spot and cover them with sheets.

You might be able to get two years out of your planting medium, but it will definitely affect plant performance if you leave old, tired soil in your pots, not to mention running the risk of plant disease. Dump those pots every year or at least every other year into your flowerbeds or on the compost pile and start out with fresh planting medium. Clean your pots and sterilize them in a solution of 2 tablespoons of bleach to a gallon of water, and they should be good to go.

Now, go ahead and show the world how creative you are Move the pots around and see what pleases you. Wait for the "Oohs!" and "Aahs!" from your family and friends! This is probably the most fun part of container gardening!

I live out in the country, but if I had to live in the big city, as long as I had my container gardens, I could be happy. I bet you could be, too!

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