| Lawn and Garden Center |
| Creative Container Garden Along the roadside sat a discarded iron bed frame, sunken halfway into the ground and brimming over with colorful impatiens, brown-eyed Susans, lupines and daisies. A sign on the frame read simply, "flower bed." An extreme example of container gardening, perhaps, but it illustrates the wide range of interesting and creative possibilities that arise when you decide to grow plants in containers. Simply put, when it comes to container gardening, anything goes. Why Garden in Containers? From a practical standpoint, container gardening allows you to add gardening space where there was none before. It's the ideal solution for apartment dwellers or anyone eager for more room to grow. For example, you can soften the edges of a roof with hanging baskets, brighten a wall with a colorful windowbox, or even grow vegetables and herbs on a narrow balcony. From an artistic point of view, container gardening brings out creativity, giving you the opportunity to think more about design, space, and texture. Whether or not your yard has plenty of space, you should try your hand at container gardening this sp ring--just for the fun of it. Choosing the Right Container Once you make the decision to garden with containers, the next decision is what kind to use. Almost anything with sides and a bottom can become a container for plants. Tubs, wine barrels, baskets, concrete and plastic containers, troughs, terra cotta pots, and window boxes are some commonly used containers. But more exotic elements, like neglected rowboats, wheelbarrows, watering cans, old birdbaths, even boots and automobile tires can be used as containers, too. When choosing your containers, consider the following: * Should the container be visible? If so, how visible? * How large should it be? * How durable should it be? * Will you need to move the container? * Will you be able to water and care for the plants? Answering these questions will help you choose the right container for any situation. Preparing the Container Proper drainage and good soil are essential to the health of our container plants. Choose containers with drainage holes (or drill the holes yourself), and layer some broken crockery or stones on the bottom to promote good drainage. Container gardening requires extremely rich soil, as nutrients will be depleted more quickly than in an ordinary garden. Most flowers and vegetables will do fine in a commercial potting soil or a rich loam composed of peat moss and well-rotted garden compost. What to Plant Choosing the plants for your container garden is both a challenge and an adventure. To begin, think about the light conditions where you plan to place your containers, and choose your plants accordingly. In addition, look for plants with a long flowering period so your containers will provide season-long blooms. You can create interest by intermingling plants of various sizes, shapes, and colors. Allow some trailing plants, such as ivy geranium and asparagus fern, to tumble over the edges of the containers. Include some twining plants, such as clematis, to climb upwards, and some spreading plants, like alyssum, to cover the surface of the pot. Don't forget that many varieties of vegetables, such as pot tomatoes, peppers, and miniature eggplant, have been bred specially for containers. Herbs, such as basil and mint, are also well-suited for container gardening. Caring for Container Gardens Because of their limited growing space, container gardens have a few special requirements. Most importantly, they need plenty of water. Containers tend to dry out quickly, so you may need to water your plants more than once a week. As a general rule, if the top inch of the soil feels dry, it's time to water. To give your container plants an adequate supply of nutrients, it's important to fertilize them regularly. Use a commercial fertilizer and always follow the manufacturer's directions. Deadheading (removing blossoms as soon as they die) will help extend the life of container-bound flowers. Certain plants, such as salvia and petunia, respond particularly well to deadheading and will actually produce more and larger flowers as the old ones are removed. Let Your Creative Juices Flow! Now, before spring arrives, is the perfect time to start planning your container garden. Look around the house--you never know what old cast-offs could be recycled as interesting containers. Whether you opt for a windowbox, pots, or an old rowboat filled with flowers, container gardening will present a whole new world of possibilities. Shrubs Follow the general planting directions in Easy Steps to Planting Nursery Stock. Give shrubs room to grow by setting them rather far apart unless you want to form a dense, upright hedge. It's better to allow too much room than too little since cramped quarters will cause shrubs to lose their natural shape. Set shrubs far enough from the house so that they won't touch the walls when mature. This avoids a cluttered look in the landscape and more importantly, protects the health of the plants. It permits air to circulate freely, lessening the chance of disease. Never plant directly under the drip line of a roof where shrubs could be damaged by falling icicles or snow. Avoid planting under overhangs where the plants won't get sufficient moisture. Don't place a shrub in an exposed site if it's a variety that needs shelter from winter winds. Most shrubs need very little pruning--just enough to maintain the basic shape of the bush and to keep dead wood trimmed out. Shrubs should not be pruned straight across the top because this spoils their natural habit of growth. Lightly prune early blooming shrubs immediately after they finish flowering. Midseason and late bloomers can be pruned in late fall after flowering or in early spring. HYDRANGEA--These plants thrive in rich, moist soil and flower freely in sun or shade. Flower color is determined by soil acidity. Where soils are acid, blooms are blue. Where soils are alkaline, blooms are pink. For pink flowers, sprinkle 1/2 to 1 cup lime around the plants at planting time. For blue flowers, add 1/2 to 1 cup aluminum sulphate. Prune stems which have just borne flowers and leave those that won't flower until next year. Older, darker canes can be removed almost at the ground. Go easy on young, vigorous green shoots; they shouldn't be drastically pruned. LILAC--Lilacs prefer cool temperatures and early planting--as soon as the soil can be worked--in a soil pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Never prune lilacs severely--just trim off the old blooms immediately after flowering. It's easy to see where you should make the cut; you'[ll notice next year's buds developing just below this season's flower clusters. As soon as the blooms are spent remove them to make way for next year's crop of blossoms. |
|
Moonbeam Mega Mall Since 1998
Delafield, Wi 53018 USA
Contact Us
Delafield, Wi 53018 USA
Contact Us
