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Container Gardening
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Growning plants in containers is a wonderful way to enjoy plants and/or
vegetables if you live in an apartment or condo and have only a small
patio or porch. Any type of plant or vegetable can be grown in a container...I
have even grown potatoes in a large concrete utility sink. Containers
can add height and interest to any garden large or small.
Rather than write a five page document let me give you some random ideas
and suggestions that I have learned over the years:
- Hanging Baskets--available now are pulley systems that
will allow you to move them up and down for watering and tending without
climbing to reach them.
- Large Containers--wonderful on a patio, porch or in
the midst of a flower bed. Moving them however can be labor intensive
once they are filled with dirt and planted. To lighten the load considerably--
fill the bottom half of a large container with styrofoam peanuts and
then fill to the top with a soilless planter mix. If there is no drainage
hole in the bottom of the container and you cannot make a hole, be sure
to put 2-4" of charcoal and another 2-4" of stones in the
bottom before beginning to fill the pot. This will keep the soil from
getting sour and will keep the roots of the plants from drowning in
water. If you place a large container on a surface where you can roll
it around you can purchase flat pot dollies with wheels to set the large
pot on.
- Small Containers--groupings of small containers full
of colorful annuals is eye-catching. **Consider the type of pot that
would be best for you to keep moist. I have a couple of large baskets
that I put several small pots in and plant with impatiens petunias,
begonias, etc. The baskets that you may received flowers in...the ones
with the plastic liners make wonderful containers to plant flowers in.
Baskets will last many years outside in the summer and getting wet does
not hurt them. I have also grouped teapots I have purchased at tag sales
and planted with flowers. A special bit can be purchased for a drill
that will make a hole in ceramics without shattering them. This makes
the choice of a container almost limitless!
- Garden Art--or as my hubby tends to say, garden junk....I
spell junk with a "Q" if I use the word at all. C: If you
are "into" garden art--container choices are limited only
by your imagination. I just talked my husband into moving a bathtub
in among my ferns and hostas on the north side of our house. The white
bathtub among the greenery, planted with shade plants and topped of
with a garden statue and some wire architecture looks very nice...even
hubby agreed after it was done. I have also picked up old wheel barrows
at tag sales, planted them, and placed them around the yard...sometimes
with a garden tool leaning up against them. Crocks, old coffee pots,
large coffee cans, metal wash basins, children's wagons, metal wash
tubs, even old work boots all make wonderful garden art containers for
plants.
Watering--**consider the climate where you live and your availability
to check on and water the plants before choosing your containers. Terra
cotta/clay pots are wonderful and fairly inexpensive but before deciding
to use containers made from clay remember that your plants will need
much care and water to survive. Soil dries out very,very quickly in
clay pots. I prefer to use plastic or fiberglass-type containers that
look like clay because the plants require less water. If you already
have nice clay pots you can purchase inexpensive plastic pots to slip
inside of them.
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