Taller the Better in Garden Planters?

In garden planters and containers, this is the case. You want to make the most of your selection and the taller, elongated pots and garden urns create a more dramatic effect than the short stocky ones. Place pure white Shasta Daisies in your planter and you have a masterpiece that than go anywhere.

Container Gardening Trends

Today there is a movement away from “anything goes” approach to container gardening to a more monochromatic and stylish approach. Don’t be afraid to let the planter or garden pot be decorative in itself. They should add to your garden’s theme and use them as your starting point or even focal point in your garden, on the patio or deck.

Plant Container Groups – Where to Place Them

Once we have our three groups of different sized containers, with three similarly colored plants in each container – spread them out. Use the simplicity of this design to fill some of those empty spaces on your deck or patio area. Choose neutral colored garden planters and pots to complement the plants of various colors.

Garden Container Trends for 2009

We are all interested in what’s new for the Season, here are a couple of very good ideas for your garden planters and pots. Instead of grouping three different plants into one container, try placing similarly colored plants in three different sized containers. Then, of course, place the grouping on your porch, balcony or patio.

New Plant Colors for Spring

Mimosa yellow, this is the color of the year and is popping up everywhere. The Washington Post recently reported that this hue should be popular in home furnishings and for your Spring wardrobe as well. Even plant producers are hitching onto this bandwagon. Proven Winners is showing several garden planter and container combos that prominently feature this hot new shade. Combine with a taupe plant decorative pot and you are in style.

Growing Tomatoes in Containers - Good Hints

After many years of trying to grow tomatoes in terracotta pots, our friends now ONLY use resin garden planters and pots. They do not break, are easily moved around and of course durable – you don’t see any cracks at the end of the season. Just line the bottom of the pots and garden planters with plastic window screening and then fill the saucer with rocks. This keeps the soil in the pot and they drain beautifully.

Creating a Border Using Containers

You may wish to create a border or delineate a specific area and this can be done very effectively with planters and containers. You can either make an entire row of matching containers simulating built-ins, or cluster various sizes and shapes. When your planters and pots are filled with attractive plant material, the overall effect is awesome.

Welcoming Entry Way with Planters

It is a very obvious decision to use matching planters, pots or garden urns on either side of your entrance way. They make such a welcoming statement and always look good. You can plant them with topiary evergreens or seasonal annuals. If you have a covered doorway or porch, you can plant each container with a flowering vine to climb up onto the trellis. How about trumpet vine, clematis, morning glory or even roses.

Built In Flower Planters

Many of our decks and patios have built in containers and planters. They can delineate the area and provide additional seating. One of the big advantages, you have a garden at eye level. Many plants do well in this space – including sweet peas, jasmine, roses, heliotrope and gardenias. What beautiful smells as well as lovely flowers.

Daffodil Time for Your Planters & Containers

This is a wonderful lift for Spring – bright yellow daffodils in their beautiful container. Just arrange about 10 daffodil bulbs evenly across the compost – if you want a more sophisticated arrangement, plant 1 celandine and 2 corydalis plants evenly around the edges of the pot and place the bulbs between them. When the flowers are finished in the Spring, keep feeding them for about 6 weeks before transplanting to a border and they will come up next Spring.

All About Roses

We just have to say something about Roses for St Valentine’s Day. Of course Red Roses mean romantic love and they are in such demand for your love on the 14^th. Just fill a beautiful container with roses and you will definitely convey love’s true meaning. Yellow roses convey joy and friendship and are always welcome gifts as well.

Successful Container Gardening

The shape of the container can dictate a certain style in your garden, deck or patio. A successful design calls for a container to be in proportion to its setting – not a pot too small for its surroundings. It will get lost and seem out of place. As a general rule of thumb, the larger the planter the better.

Choosing your Containers – What Shape?

The shape of your garden container does decide or suggest a certain style. Certainly the garden urn goes into the formal category, basket-weave planters are more country and angular, conical planters are definitely more contemporary. When in doubt about the best shape for your patio, deck or garden, just go for the classic design – square or rounded and slightly larger at the top. You want to show off the plants and foliage of course. Have a look at our Eye-Am and Eye-Ain’t for the latest “look”.

Container Gardening – Basic Arrangement

Sometimes we want something simple, the go anywhere basic kind of garden planter arrangement. This one looks good in almost any location and particularly well planted in a conical or upright container. Like the basic black dress, just plant four (4) Shasta Daisy plants into your 14” pot – I like a white container. It shows off beautifully and can be placed anywhere on the deck, porch, balcony or deck.

Forsythia for your Garden Planters

We are all getting anxious for Spring and what better way to welcome this new season than with garden planters and pots stuffed with beautiful yellow Forsythia branches. To force these wonderful woody plants into bloom, just shear your Forsythia stems into 3 ft lengths and place them in water for a few hours. Then, change the water, add floral preservative, recut the stems under water and you’re ready for a wonderful container arrangement.

Garden Planter Arrangement for Spring

This Spring garden planter arrangement can be set outside long before the regular annuals can survive outdoors. Take your 12” resin planter, pot or garden container and place a Polar White English Daisy in the middle. At the top of this garden urn or planter, add two Winter Joy Erysimum or Wallflower, then at the lower side of the circle, arrange one each White Sequins Arabis or Rock Cress, a Baby Blue Forget-Me Not and a Chic in Blue Primula or Primrose. This makes for a wonderful combination for your first container for Spring.

What is a Focal Point in your Garden

There are a number of features that you could consider focal points in your garden, deck or patio plantings. Firstly, a dwarf shrub or tree, something a little unusual would be great. Perhaps a group of plants – taking the eye to that specific area. We like to see an ornament such as a birdbath or garden planter filled with an unusual specimen.

Deck and Patio – Where to Place Your Planters

The deck and patio are great places just to relax, enjoy the quiet and be with friends. Nothing creates a better atmosphere than surrounding yourself with beautiful flowers and plants. The patio is an extension of your home, consider it a room with a view and turn this outdoor space into an outdoor room. You can provide a feeling of a distinct space by bordering the patio or deck with garden planters or edge with containers.

More Vegetable Varieties for your Containers

We had a request for what kind of vegetables suit container gardening, more particularly what type of peppers can you plant in your pots and planters. Here is the list of what we think works best: Jalapeno, Yolo Wonder, (Red (Hot) Cherry, Keystone Resistant Giant and Canape. That should give us a good start with our pepper crop this year.