Using Containers Adds Flexibility to your Garden

Using containers allows a gardener a lot of flexibility. You can change up and enhance your garden frequently.  You can control the soil make up, the size and style of the container, the type of plants in it, and where you’re going to put your pot.  So using containers is not only a good idea, it gives you endless possibilities for variety.

For instance how about placing a pot of bright annuals in the middle of a garden that is in transition at the moment.  (Some perennials are at the end of their blooming cycle and others aren’t quite in bloom yet!) Using containers can bridge the gap and your garden seems to be always in bloom.

Another way to use annuals is to buy a few pots of whatever is in bloom (Pansies in the spring or Chrysanthemums in the fall,) and popping them into an otherwise dull spot for a few weeks of bright seasonal color.  Using containers full of blooming annuals are easy to swap out for other containers with new fresh flowers.

Perennials can also be planted in pots, and using containers of these allows you to use plants with different soil and water needs in the same garden.  Small evergreens can also be used as the focal point of a large container. 

If you live in a cold winter climate as I do, containers containing tropical plants can be brought into the house in winter but live in your garden during the summer.  It's a great way to enjoy plants you love that wouldn't necessarily thrive in your growing zone all year.

 

This tropical accent plant enjoys my hosta gardens in the summer, but winters in my house.

I’ve used containers in my shade gardens for a pop of color and occasionally trade them out with others that have been soaking up the sun. (Sun loving perennials won’t die in a day if they don’t receive 8 hours of sunlight!)

Using containers on top of garden pedestals is also a way to add flexibility and interest to your perennial beds.  The pedestals add architectural structure and the container on top can be whatever you imagine it to be.

Besides the flexibility, using containers in your gardens solves some other issues, too.  They can fill in empty spots or hide unsightly lower leaves of some plants, especially spring blooming bulbs that are starting to turn yellow.  Containers are great for small space gardens, balconies, and patios.  

The plant in the middle of these ferns is in a plain black nursery pot. It not only fills in an empty spot.  It adds height, interest and color to the ferns.

Plants grouped together raises the humidity and can actually help container gardens from drying out as quickly.  They still need to be watered more frequently than the rest of your garden, though, so don’t plop a pot into the center of your garden and then forget it.  (You’ll be reminded quickly enough when you kill the whole thing!)

Some perennials and grasses can be very invasive, but if you love them anyway make them mind, by using containers.  Public gardens frequently use containers in their flowerbeds.  They have the advantage of a labor force and a green house, but the same tricks will work for you at home, too.

If you are going to consistently use containers in your flowerbeds, dig a hole for the pot to slip into.  Then it is easy to lift it out and replace it with another.  If the pot is buried, it doesn’t even have to be a decorative pot.  The big black plastic pots that nursery plants come in are just fine.  In addition pots buried in the dirt don’t retain as much heat or dry out as fast either.

Specialty gardens such as fairy gardens or cactus gardens are great in containers, and sometimes you might find a special pot that dictates the kind of garden you'll plant in it.

 

This unusual pot seemed to be begging for a fairy garden!

If you have a small troublesome spot, as I do, use several containers to solve the problem.  We have a small square of crappy dirt sandwiched between the driveway, a sidewalk, and the house.

Once, I replaced all the soil and then lost it to driveway salt, and roof runoff.  Now I just cluster several containers there.  I can remove them whenever I want or need to and create new interesting vignettes all the time…a brilliant idea!

Last summer we went on vacation during the hottest time of summer.  I have many containers and I knew I couldn’t find anyone to water them twice a day, which they would need.

Instead I took all of them and clustered them under an evergreen tree in our back yard.  I watered them well before I left, and even put a few pots of water between a couple of my containers.  They still needed watering, but not near as much. 

When we arrived home the following week, all my pots looked as good as the day I left them and I happily moved them back into their sunnier homes.

If you are starting a new garden and you obtain several perennials at once, leave them in their containers until you arrive at a garden design that pleases you the most.  It’s much easier to move pots around than to dig up and switch plants around…a lot less stress on your plants, too!

Using containers in colors is another way to change or enhance the look of your curb appeal.  Several pots in similar shapes or colors can instantly give your porch or sidewalk a new fresh look, and if you are trying to sell your house it’s an easy way to make your front entry appealing.  Not only that, but if you want to take some of your perennials with you when you move, you already have them dug up and happily adjusting to their new container homes.

The steps increased the size of this small space garden.

The variety of containers available to gardeners is almost infinite: from old to new, or from found to purchased. Using containers can add a note of whimsy or humor or structure to your garden.  Your creativity is the only other ingredient needed.

Investing in urn or two is a good idea too because they can be moved around if necessary and can add structure or height to a garden.

I’m sure that there are as many ways of using containers to increase flexibility and interest to a garden as there are gardeners out there, so now that your creative juices are running have fun using containers in your own gardens.

I hope you enjoy reading Julie's garden journal and it inspires you to enjoy your own garden more!!!

Just Julie

First Day of Spring

The calendar says that this is the first full day of spring, but if you live in the Northeast (It is snowing!) or in the midwest (cold and snow showers) you should buy a little bit of sunshine today!

I bought some to enjoy with you!
Here's to warmer days ahead!

Spring Clean Up

The time is upon us and if you live in the north the ground is gradually thawing and it’s probably muddy, but fall bulbs are energetically pushing their heads up out of the soil so it’s time for some hard manual work. So haul out your boots, garden gloves and a few tools and prepare to set the stage for a new, more beautiful yard this year.

(These were the only gloves I found this morning that had no holes in them.  I guess it's time to invest in some new ones!)

Look around your yard.  Is it overwhelming?  Maybe, but look at it this way, if you get out there you won’t have to spend your day riding a stupid exercise bike that goes nowhere next to a lot of other people doing the same thing. (Do you know how I feel about going to the gym, now?)

If you have dogs, you might be looking at a mine field about now. So get out your shovel or spades and some garbage bags and get it cleaned up ASAP.  The longer that refuse sits on your grass the more damage you’re going to have to repair.

If there are still frozen snow piles any where see if you can break them down and spread them out.  If they are left to melt on their own they can breed snow mold which looks kind of pink and fuzzy and it will kill the grass. If you find any, get out your hose and spray it down well. If you get to it soon enough it might not cause damage.

We’ve had a lot of wind lately.  So you may be looking at a lot of twigs and branches everywhere.  There might be garbage too that has blown in over the winter and is stuck under foundation bushes and perhaps piles of wet leaves stuck in all the corners of your yard. 

So bundle up the kids, give them each a garbage bag and have a scavenger hunt to see who can collect the most garbage.  If you don’t have any child labor to help you, it’s still a satisfying task to do it yourself.  Later when you go inside and look out your windows, you are going to be so proud of yourself.

Back to those wet leaves though.  Use a leaf rake and gently pull them off your garden.  If they are still in tack try to chop them up some and then rework a few or them into the soil or add them to your compost pile if you have one.

If you’ve been feeding the birds all winter, you probably have a large pile of seeds and shells beneath your feeder.  Rake those up, too.  What isn’t rotten could still germinate in your yard and safflower and niger seed don’t make for an exceptionally nice lawn.

As soon as you can walk in your garden without sinking into the mud, start weeding.  Now is the perfect time, when the ground is soft and weeds are easy to see; to pull out grass and dandelions that have seeded themselves close to your perennial crowns.

If you have any perennials that you know to be invasive, start watching them closely and vigorously weed out plants that have sprung up miles from the mother plant.  I have a native blue bellflower that I just love, but it’s not the only plant I want in the garden.  It grows from underground rhizomes as does lily of the valley.  I have put a sunken strip of metal around it to try to contain it.  It doesn’t work completely though because the roots are so deep, but it helps me to ruthlessly pull up anything that pops up outside of that boundary.

This method will work for a few years, but eventually you’ll want to dig up the whole plant and reduced it again to a manageable size-or if it’s not an absolute favorite –pitch it completely for something else that grows slower and is not so invasive.

If you are not a gardener by nature or perhaps you’ve just moved to a property with some overgrown bushes you might suddenly be staring at a large overgrown shapeless bush. There are two ways to attack it. The first way is to drastically cut it back all the way to the ground and then let it start over. It won’t flower this year, but depending on how over grown it was maybe it’s not flowering well anyway.  It will send up new shoots almost immediately. Then trim it regularly to attain and maintain an attractive shape.

The second method is slower, taking three years to complete. The strategy is to remove about a third of the biggest, oldest branches and then trim to shape.  Repeat the process in the following two years.

If you are planting new bushes and you do this in the first three years of planting you can often slow the growth of your bush so that it will maintain an attractive shape for many years.  Hedges, especially non flowering ones can be sheared now, too, and trees with low hanging limbs can be trimmed now while they are still dormant.

If you don’t have a lot of self seeding plants, now would be a good time to amend the soil in your garden by digging in dried, aged manure or mulch and add a slow release fertilizer at the same time.  Be careful not to damage the roots of your existing perennials, but if you stay within the top three to four inches of soil it shouldn’t be much of a problem.

If you’ve never kept a journal, this might be the year you’d like to start.  As I’ve said before, I’m not a trained gardener.  Everything I’ve learned has been through trial and error and keeping a journal is a great way to record what works, what doesn’t and is fun to look at next year so you’ll know exactly when things bloom in your garden and where you planted stuff and notes of what you want to do next time.

Take pictures!  Add them to your journal and then use them to record the progress of your plants or to help you learn and remember the names, and habits of your flowers.

I admit I do not remember the names of everything I put in my garden but I continually try and I think it’s important to.  Knowing the names of things makes so many other things a richer experience.  For example if you’re reading a novel and they mention a particular flower and you can picture exactly what it looks like, you are immediately more connected to what you’re reading.  

I have noticed over the years that paying attention to the details of my plants (including their names) has made me more aware of all kinds of details around me and every year I seem to appreciate more and more of the miracle of my surroundings.  Little things that I used to take for granted and never really saw have become a source of daily joy for me and I hope the same experience for you.

I’m not a grass expert, but if you have bare spots in your lawn, early spring is when you want to reseed it.  Grass seed sprouts easily and quickly.  It grows better in cooler weather but it will need to be watered regularly until it’s established.  Planting it now is recommended for those reasons and because you haven’t needed to mow the lawn yet.  By the time you will need to, your new grass might be ready, too. 

Follow the directions carefully on your package of seeds, but before you buy anything determine what kind of grass you’ll need. There are high traffic grasses, grasses that grow well in shade, and a myriad of other grasses that have been developed for a multitude of situations.  If you buy the right kind of grass for your situation, you’ll probably soon be rewarded with a better lawn.

Spring clean up may take you several days, but if you really put your heart into it, the rewards will be a healthier, prettier garden all season long.  I hope I’ve been helpful to you and you’ll come back again to garden with Julie.

It's coming!!!

It's coming!  For those of you that always enjoy some green, I can not explain what a special moment it is when the snow first starts to melt and you can see a patch of green grass or the edge of a garden. 

It's hope personified, joy unbounded, laughter and glee!  Then there are the tough little flowers that are always eager to be the first to show off their spring finery.  Among these early bloomers are hellebores (or lenten roses).  Enjoy with me this little glimpse of spring!  

Hellebores or Lenten Roses

Spring Fever

March is a little bit early to get spring fever (if you live in the North) but I am starting to feel restless and really can’t wait to get back outside and play in the dirt.

We have virtually no snow left and when the sun shines it seems like it might be warm out, but the temperature in the morning is still in the 30’s so looks are deceiving.

Yesterday though, I was lured outside and saw some grass growing in my garden.  I tried to weed it, and that’s when I realized it really isn’t spring yet.  The ground was frozen and the grass just broke off.  That being said, some of the sugar maples have buds on them and daffodils keep trying to grow.

Daffodils were hiding under a cover of dried leaves.
Now, they are stretching eagerly towards the sun!

I would suggest if it’s at all possible to cover some of your more tender perennials with evergreen boughs or straw because the constant freezing and thawing we’re getting can be fatal to some perennials.

My cat has spring fever, too.  He is an indoor cat but he likes to go outside and roll around on the patio in the warm weather.  Lately, he’s been meowing to go outside every morning, but is very disappointed when it’s not 75 degrees outside.  So then he turns around and gets huffy and races around the house in a little snit for a few minutes.  I know just how he feels!

My remedy for spring fever is to look at all my plant catalogs and magazines again!  The pages are getting worn. I’ve looked at them so many times. Every time I make a new list of things I’d like to buy. It’s amazing that what catches my attention today isn’t always the plant that drew me in yesterday.  So then I have to revise, or add, to my list. Such are the problems of gardeners.

 I actually play a game with myself that my sisters and I used to play when we were children and got a toy catalog before Christmas.  We would turn the pages and allow ourselves one thing on every page!  If there were no good things on a page you could buy two things on a good page!  We played this game for months before Christmas with no expectations of getting any of the things.  The fun was in the game itself.

Well, now I’m playing the game with plants and flowers instead…and I still love the game!

Spring Fever can be a good thing if you use the feeling to help you prepare for your new bigger, better garden! My father in law has already purchased all his vegetable seeds for his annual garden and he has been busy painting new garden stakes to mark where he’s planting all his seeds.

My daughter has drawn up a map of her new garden and I think she’s ordered all her seeds, too.  Drawing up a map is an excellent way to plan your garden and if you’ve had a garden in the same spot before it is a good idea to move things around a bit so you’re not always planting the same crop in the same spot. Different plants require different nutrients from the soil and rotating your crops will give you consistently better yields.

When I get spring fever it usually is more about the scent and look of perennials than vegetables-maybe because I know I will benefit from all the surplus veggies that my daughter and father in law will grow!  So I get to devote all of my small space to flowers!  It’s a win win situation for me!

My favorite catalogs that have been taking the brunt of my spring fever this year are Jung Seeds & Plants, which has a wide variety of both vegetables and flowers, Roots and Rizomes-2015, which has gorgeous pictures of day lilies and hostas. I will definitely be ordering some stuff from them.  I just haven’t made up my mind yet what will be on the final list.

I also have a subscription to English Gardens. I could look at the pictures of roses and English country gardens in this magazine for hours! (It’s how my gardens look in my dreams!), and finally High Country Gardens which I love because it not only lists plants, but it also has everything organized by the kind of environment that it thrives in.  I usually read this catalog from cover to cover-multiple times!

It might be a month or more yet before my spring fever will abate with new leaves on the trees and new flowers in the garden but in the meantime I’ll use my energy to dream and plan and hopefully order for a new growing season! 

Here’s hoping if you are suffering from Spring Fever, too. you’re planning and dreaming of a new bigger, better garden like I am.

Thanks as always for gardening with Julie.