Sandi Lane - Container Gardening Essentials

Container Gardening Essentials

The Essential Guide for Growing Plants in Small Places

Copyright 2014 by Sandi Lane

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the publisher or copyright owner.

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This book is a general educational information product. As an express condition to reading this book, you understand and agree to following terms. The information and advice contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with a professional.

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Container gardening is more than just adding color and fresh oxygen to your rooms; it is convenient, portable and not very expensive. Use different size containers to add interest, just make sure they are roomy enough for the plants roots to grow. The best thing about container gardening is its versatility.

Many gardeners have given up on the idea of a garden because they lack space, time or lots of experience. But if growing plants is an interest of yours container gardening could be your answer. Container gardens will allow you to enjoy playing in the dirt without investing a lot of time or money. You can get very creative in container gardening using vegetables, decorative grasses or flowers and herbs. You can plant a container garden with any plant that would grow outside. The trick is to come up with some creative ideas for your container garden.

T raditional gardening involves directly placing your plants in the soil, perhaps on your front or back yard. This means that traditional gardening requires a significant amount of outdoor, free ground space, which becomes a bigger problem as the lifestyle becomes more and more urbanized. When you live in the city, can you still enjoy gardening?

The answer is yes.

There are several alternatives to traditional gardening, and one of these is container gardening. Container gardening is the practice of establishing your plants in containers instead of in the ground. Terracotta pots are the most preferred containers, although new pots are now made of plastic.

Window boxes are also commonly seen. Recyclable materials, like old paint bottles and kitchen containers, are also creeping to the spotlight for introducing a charismatic, individual look to the gardens while being cheap and environmentally friendly.

Container gardening is perfect for those with minimal to no gardening space. Even a small extra space on the yard, patio, garage, or near the windowsill allows gardeners to exercise their green thumb. Flowers, herbs, and certain shrubs can grow well in containers and can be placed in nearly any free space.

The good news is youre not limited to a specific type of plant! Theres always some variety in your preferred plant whether theyre herbs, shrubs, vegetables, flowers, or trees that could be grown in a container garden. Additionally, container gardening minimizes or completely eliminates problems due to soil parasites, like nematodes.

Gardeners know that their plants are great for creating a certain mood in any given area, and are great focal points for increasing a rooms visual appeal. Container gardening can introduce colors to otherwise grey and drab places, like an office space.

Depending on the type of container and the type of plant, container plants can be placed nearly anywhere

• you can put them on the ground
• mount them on a platform
• hang them on the fence or the wall.

Window boxes and hanging baskets containing colorful blooms give instant charm and appeal in their specific settings.

Large containers can be placed outside, and could contain either single medium to large plants or a variety of smaller plants.

Container groups with different individual plants are great for keeping a collection of your favorite plants and essential herbs for the kitchen.

Plant combinations show the gardeners sense of style and range of creativity. Making visually appealing combinations depends on the plants foliage and flower types. An easy principle to remember when combining plants in a single container is a thriller, a spiller, and a filler.

Thrillers

• Thrillers are plants that provide the focal point for your combination, such as plants with variegated leaves or with large, colorful blooms.
• Good examples of these are coleus and geraniums. These should be interspersed with spillers:

Spillers

• Plants with leaves or stems that spill out over the edge like petunias, bacopas, creeping zinnias, or ornamental sweet potatoes.

Fillers

• Lastly, the empty space can be occupied with fillers that have small leaves and flowers and provide year-long color to the arrangement. Some examples are salvias, verbenas, ornamental peppers, wax begonias, parsley and licorice.

A trellis or pillar can be added to the container to add another dimension to the arrangement. These are great for vines, which automatically add an allure to the composition. You usually need around 5-6 plants to make a complete arrangement in a single container.

Placing several small plants together in a single container is a great way to blend colors and textures. Also, small plants are usually cheaper than larger plants. Heres a tip: paint your containers a flat black so as to make your thrillers bright colors stand out.

With this kind of arrangement, you should be careful to combine only plants with the same watering, drainage, and aeration requirements. If you want to make an arrangement with different requirements, you could consider having grouped container plants, where each individual plant rests in its own container, but is surrounded by other plants. This arrangement is great for maintaining humidity, which is important in maintaining soil moisture and preventing the leaves from drying out.

Extra tip for small gardens with different types of plants: intersperse fast-growing plants with slower-growing vegetables. This makes for a very beautiful arrangement.

W hat Materials Can I Use as Containers?

Virtually any container that can hold soil and has draining holes can be used for your garden. When choosing a container, consider aesthetic appeal, convenience and cost. Also, keep in mind that your containers should have enough space for roots and soil media, especially for rapidly growing plants. Choosing containers, their partner plants, and planning their arrangement help in creating a certain mood or relaying feelings. It also shows your taste and class. So choose wisely!