Pots of flowers and foliage can be an inexpensive way to garden. Caring for plants in containers on tables and in plant stands can enable elderly and handicapped gardeners to continue gardening when it becomes too difficult to move about the yard. For the more ambitious gardener, containers can be changed out with the seasons. I have filled gaps in the garden with containers while taking the time to figure out permanent plantings. Today's article takes a look at several possibilites for using containers in your gardens.
Garden Vignette
One of my favorite containers of annuals is placed by a statue of a little girl on my front porch, creating a garden vignette. Last year I filled the container with the leftovers from my other plantings. For a while the combintion worked but then the plants grew and the scale was all wrong.
This year I decided to have a plan. I chose annuals with smaller foliage and flowers. The two flowering plants are Babylon Blue Verbena and a pale pink Million Bells. Kiwi Fern Coleus was chosen because it has colorful narrow foliage. Fiber Optic Grass is in the container because it has delicate fine bladed foliage with buff color flowers on the tips and it drapes over the edge of the pot. Finally, the other foliage plant is a Silver Artemesia. I love the grey foliage combined with blue and pink flowers.
To learn more about Proven Winners' Babylon Blue Verbena and Fiber Optic Grass, go to Proven Winners.
Click on these titles for more container ideas.
Go to Landscaping Georgene Bramlage's article A First Landscape:2 for help with the how to's of planting containers.
© Susan Mertz, July 2006. All rights reserved.
Click on Plants and Bulbs for more articles by Susan Mertz.
