Consider Container Gardens

I've always thought containers (big, small, glazed, terra cotta, weird) were great fun but I never planted  many since I've had plenty of ground space to plant right in the dirt.

Well!  Was I wrong!!?!??!!

A friend showed me a little tray that her creative husband built of scrap wood.  It was only about 4 or 5  inches deep, about a foot wide and 2 feet long, much like an old kitchen drawer. It had drawer handles on each short side so it could be easily carried.  Her intention was to fill it with potting soil and plant lettuces for the spring and summer.  As the sun moved across the sky every day, she was going to carry it around the yard to get the most exposure and when the hot summer sun arrived, she'd move it into morning sun/afternoon shade to keep the lettuces from bolting (going to seed) in the heat. Since lettuces have shallow roots, she could plant lots of leaf-type lettuce and eat free salad for months! It had simple materials, was easy to build and fun to use!

Since she lives on 15 acres it made me realize that containers aren't just for apartment balconies - they're chosen to fit the objective, not the space. Architects say this is principle is "Form Follows Function".

Have you hear of the Three Sisters garden plan? It's supposed to have originated with Native Americans who planted corn with beans and squash at the foot of the stalks.  The beans grow up the corn stalk and the squash cover the ground, smothering weeds. I've recently read about some great plants for containers that love growing together like that - carrots, for example, are supposed to grow well with tomatoes.  On my porch last summer I had 2 very large pots with cherry tomatoes in cages (they did get pretty wild by August!) with carrots and patio zucchini growing around the tomatoes' "feet". The pots with  lacy carrot tops and draping squash vines looked very attractive and the huge green tomato plants with their decorative red fruits were very tempting as we ate dinner (not many tomatoes made it all the way to the salad plates).

In the garden, my Wooly Thyme with Siberian Irises and Daffodils poking through the "carpet" looks great in the Spring but it gets a little scraggly by mid-Summer.  Last Summer I took a pretty glazed pot off the porch and plunked it in the middle of the Thyme - Voila! Instant impact: height, color and depth with such a small addition.  I put a Silvermound Artemesia (the color was the same as the Wooly Thyme) in the middle and surrounded it with draping Bacopa. The Bacopa freezes if I don't take it indoors (I don't always remember) but it's a pretty flowering container all summer & into fall.


Are you wondering what I mean by "weird" containers? A few years ago some local nurseries had a lot of fun selling annuals planted in old denim overalls. I wondered how long the fabric would last but it was a pretty unique sight to see. My succulent collection includes a little child's ballet slipper planted with a small Sedum and some Stonecrop - the tiny pink shoe is an amusing contrast to the spiky Hens and Chicks. I've also seen old discarded boots planted with tall Irises and worn out kitchen pots filled with blooming blue Grape Hyacinths (Muscari).

Now when I think of Garden Art, I'm trying hard to think outside the garden box and go with a little creative container design. I'd love to hear what you've grown in a container.

If you need help with your container gardening, look at these great publications:
 http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/sites/default/files/Horticulture/documents/container_gardening2014.pdf
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/metro/sites/default/files/Container_Planting.pdf