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Container gardening is a great way to add color and interest to the garden. For apartment dwellers, containers create a space to grow flowers, herbs or veggies on a balcony or patio. Although I have a large backyard garden full of perennials and herbs, and a raised bed veggie garden, I love including containers. I can change the annuals in the containers each year. And I can use a variety of interesting and often repurposed items in my garden space.
Use these easy container gardening tips, to create your own unique containers.
Choose a Container
I have more than 30 containers on my front porch and scattered throughout my garden. A few of those are classic clay pots or traditional plastic flowerpots, however most of them are repurposed containers. For container gardening, I love finding new uses for objects, in my house and in my garden.
Here are possibilities that can be converted to garden use:
- metal containers of all kinds, including toolboxes, buckets, colanders, deep trays, boxes, water troughs, wash tubs and watering cans. If it can hold dirt, it can serve as a container for flowers. Metal baskets, attached to fences or walls can hold containers.
- plastic containers including boxes, tubs, and bowls
- wheelbarrows
- wagons
- wooden objects such as boxes, drawers, chests, and for holding containers, chairs and tables
- Natural objects such as tree stumps
Drill drainage holes in the bottom of metal, plastic or wooden containers so that the dirt doesn’t stay water logged, which is bad for the plants. If the container is deep, this isn’t necessary.
If the container is very porous, add a coconut liner to hold the dirt in and allow water to drain more slowly. Purchase a roll of liner and cut to fit the container.
For less porous containers, add a layer of pebbles to the bottom or line with coffee filters, to slow drainage. Fill with potting soil. The container is ready to plant.
A variety of clay pots grouped with maple tree stumps, all holding colorful vinca.
This grouping is composed primarily of metal containers, including buckets, colanders and a metal shelf holding three containers. They hold tobacco plants, portulaca and polka dot plants. The old chair serves as a holder for a bucket. A minnow bucket, hanging above the chair, becomes a candle holder.
A copper watering can holds a Trailing Mazus. I hang this container from a shepherd’s hook, in the hosta garden.
Choosing Plants
There are many easy to grow and maintain plants to choose from for containers. Check out 10 Low Maintenance Annuals and 13 Easy Herbs to Grow for ideas. Or visit Lowe’s Garden Center for inspiration.
In addition to those, other great container plants are:
- coleus
- polka dot plant
- tobacco plant
- salvia (low growing)
- verbena
- lobelia
- sweet potato vine
- African daisy
- succulents
- ivy
There’s no right or wrong way to plant a container! Group different colors of the same plant or create a monochromatic grouping. Plant two or three flowers in small containers and group them together on a baker’s rack, bench or in a wire basket. Or combine a variety of plants together in the same container.
One idea is to plant a taller plant, such as Miscanthus, a small ornamental grass, in the center of a large container. Add mid height plants such as coleus or geraniums around the taller plant. Fill in along the edge of the container with a vining plant or one that spills over such ivy or lobelia.
Have fun creating the look that suits your container and your space.
Begonias and coleus in clay pots, within a vintage box and on a bench. These shade loving plants thrive on a covered porch.
Red pentas are surrounded by white and purple lobelia in a large oval metal container.
Succulents in a metal colander.
Caring for Container Gardens
Once they are planted, container gardening truly is easy. Know whether the plants require sunshine or shade and place them accordingly. My lists of plants indicate this.
Water as needed. My well established perennials need very little watering during the summer. As long as it rains once a week or so, they are fine. However, containers dry out quickly. During the hottest part of the summer watering containers is a daily chore. Choose mornings or evenings so that temperatures are cooler and the plants can enjoy a long drink of water.
Even plants in shady areas need to be checked frequently, although they may not have to be watered daily.
Remove spent blooms on flowering plants, to encourage continued flowering. And some plants benefit from an occasional light application of fertilizer or plant food. Watch for some DIY plant care products in an upcoming Summer Gardening Tips.
With very simple, basic care, you can enjoy the rewards of container gardening! Those traditional or repurposed containers will provide color and scents throughout the summer until the first frost.
Backyard Garden Series
Check out the rest of the posts, in this informative series:
10 Super Easy Perennials to Grow
10 Low Maintenance Annuals to Grow
DIY Natural Mosquito Repellent
Here’s an assortment of fun containers, to get you started!
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