How to garden with container plantings

Pots, tubs, baskets, barrels and buckets make ideal planters when you have little of no garden space.

Options for container gardening include:

  • tubs (e.g. empty yogurt containers )secured to or placed on wooden beam
  • pots of many sizes and colors
  • half wine barrels
  • troughs (wooden, cast concrete, plastic or fibreglass)
  • guttering mounted horizontally
  • wooden wine boxes
  • polystyrene boxes
  • crates in a mixed raised bed

Where to place them

  1. As close to the kitchen door as possible.
  2. In or along the driveway.
  3. On the ground.
  4. On a pedestal.
  5. Mounted on the window sill.
  6. On a deck, balcony or patio.
  7. Vertically up a wall.
  8. Hung from the rafters.

Different arrangements

  • Put two matching pots on either side of the walkway or entrance.
  • Use one single large container as a feature
  • Group a number of containers for outdoor decoration
  • Arrange a number of containers both large and small on stairways and terraces
  • Raise a series of bowl-shaped planters one on top of each other with bricks separating each level. It gives a similar effect to a fountain.

Advantages of container gardening include:

  • adds  instant colour and appeal to your space
  • practical for kitchen cuttings
  • space saving
  • adds versatility to your  garden as you can move containers to follow sun’s  seasonal movements
  • adds a focal point
  • enhances ambience of outdoor sitting areas.

Suggested plants for container planting

  • Mix basil, chives, thyme, parsley and other herbs.
  • Blend texture with colour, planting your favourites like hen and chickens, nasturtiums and pineapple sage.
  • Succulents, aloes or cactuses are ideal for hot, dry spots.

Other suggested mixes include:

  • lettuce, spring onions, spinach, cucumber and other salads.
  • lemon verbena, lemongrass, rosemary, lemon balm and other teas.
  • carrots, beetroot, beans, snow peas and other vegetables.

Always include a “thriller”, a “spiller”, and a “filler” in a large container.

  • thriller – one focal plant with dramatic leaves like rose pelagonium
  • spiller – plants that can drape over the edges like petunias, creeping zinnias, nasturtiums,  rosemary or sweet potatoes
  • filler – plants with small leaves and flowers that add colour and fill in the arrangement all season long, like parsley, salvias, verbenas, chillies and licorice.

Click this link to download your Low Budget Organic Gardening PDF

 

 

Take charge of your health naturally