Specialty Gardening Topics

• Birding
• Butterfly Gardening
• Container Gardening
• Herb Gardening
• Small Space Gardening

Container Gardening

If you live in a place where outdoor gardening space is limited, this is a great opportunity to get creative!

• Don't use soil from your garden for containers. Garden soil will not drain well.  
• Every gardener has his/her own secret to success when choosing soils for containers. Many suggest a mixture for containers. Here are two suggestions:
  • A mixture of potting soil and Soil Moist water releasing crystals. Soil Moist acts as a water reservoir. Thoroughly mix the product into the potting soil. The crystals will soften and swell as water is added and absorbed.  When the potting soil dries, the polymer will release its water to the plants.
  • Another mixture is planting soil and soil conditioner. This mixture is especially good for planting trees or shrubs in containers.
• Add a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote or Dynamite to a depth of 6".
• Supplement with a liquid fertilizer every two to three weeks.

• Make sure all the plants you choose for a container have the same cultivation needs (i.e. they all require full sun) and the container is placed in an area where the plants get their cultivation needs met.  
• You don’t have to limit your pots to just one. You can arrange several pots together and they can contain one or several plants. It’s all up to personal preference.  
• When designing a pot, consider using analogous colors (colors next to each other on the color wheel) or complementary colors (colors opposite each other on the color wheel), plus varying textures, and heights.
• Texture has two aspects:  Shape and surface.  Shape is the structural quality of the plant, leaf or flower, such as if it is coarse, fine, jagged or lacy.  Surface applies to the outer face or exterior of the leaf or flower, such as if it is shiny, fuzzy, ribbed, or matte.
• Use differing heights:  One tall plant as a centerpiece, some soft billowy plants surrounding it, and some trailing plants to cascade over the edge of the container.
• When using perennials in containers, make sure that the leaves of the plant are as pleasing as the flowers, so when the perennial blooms fade, you still have an attractive display.  
• When choosing plants remember some plants are more aggressive than others. These aggressive plants can sometimes overtake weaker plants. Keep aggressive plants under control by cutting them back.  This keeps them neat and limits their growth.
• Various types of plants can be used in containers such as annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses, herbs, vegetables, trees and shrubs.  Mix and match to get the look you want.
• Use herbs to add fragrance to your container.  Thyme, creeping oregano, creeping rosemary, and pennyroyal are all herbs to use as a trailing plant.  Other herbs such as lavender, fennel, dill, and mint can be used to give height to a container.

• Red: Exciting and stimulating.  
• Yellow: Cheerful and revitalizing. Most attention-getting color.  
• Pink:  Calming and soothing.  
• White: Purity. Highlights other colors and creates a sense of space. Reflects moonlight.
• Blue: Calming, cooling and refreshing.  
• Green: Stabilizes and balances. Relieves stress. 
• Orange: Energetic. Draws attention.

• Trees:  Weeping Youpon Holly, Japanese Maple,  Dwarf Crepe Myrtle,  'Little Gem" Magnolia, 'Sky Pencil’ Holly, or Harry Lauder Walking Stick
• Shrubs: English and American Boxwood, Hinoki Falsecypress, Dwarf and Semi-Dwarf Pines, upright Junipers, 'Emerald Green' Arborvitae, Umbrella Pine, 'Beehive' Holly, 'Skyrocket' Juniper, 'Tollesons's Weeping Juniper, 'Bright N' Tight' Cherry Laurel, or Roses (tree-form)
• Annuals, Perennials, Herbs, and Vegetables: see Pike Nurseries Tip Sheet Series
• For Height: 'Golden Sword' Yucca, Purple Fountain Grass, Dwarf Maidengrass, Cast-Iron Plant, Variegated Canna Lily, Hibiscus, evergreen or tropical vines growing up bamboo stakes, or Bougainvillea
• Filler/Cascade: creeping Rosemary, creeping Thyme, variegated Ivy, Alyssum, dwarf Mondo Grass, Mondo Grass (green or variegated), trailing Lantana, creeping Junipers, or Cotoneaster