Creative container gardening offers all the perks and challenges of gardening in a bed. There is almost nothing that can’t be grown in a container.
“Choosing and combining plants to grow in containers is a great way to experiment with garden design,” says Lindsay Gray, principal of the School of Garden Design in Hillcrest in KwaZulu-Natal.
“Containers are ideal for adding colour and texture to a patio or courtyard area. If you get the combination wrong first time around, it’s easy enough to swop the bedding plants around until you find a pleasing combination.”
There are a wide range of flowers and plants that thrive in confined spaces. All you need is this handy guide:
Container Ideas
The size, shape and colour of your container can dramatically affect the look of your finished container garden. For inspiration, search everything from gardening magazines to your own kitchen cupboards, garage, and second-hand shops. They’re sure to yield a host of creative possibilities, especially if you are on a budget. From classic terracotta containers to decorative urns, watering cans, wooden crates, tins, galvanised buckets, wheelbarrows or large colanders, the options for containers are limitless.
Choosing plants
Flowering annuals provide masses of colour all season long. Most plants prefer morning sun and afternoon shade, but some will tolerate hot sunny conditions.
Some will grow in partial or filtered shade, while only a select few thrive in shady conditions. Once you have decided the locations for your containers, make sure you choose the right plant. Keep container gardens fresh. When one plant starts to fade, look for another to take its place.
Full sun:
Alyssum, dianthus, marigold, nasturtium, petunia, angelonias, salvia, verbena, felicia, gaura, gazania, lavender, bougainvillea, geranium, pelargonium, ornamental grasses.
Morning sun only:
Aquilegia, fuchsia, lobelia, nicotiana, schizanthus
Partial shade:
New Guinea impatiens, begonia, coleus, impatiens, lobelia, schizanthus
Shade:
Begonia, coleus, impatiens, clivia
Ten tips for successful container gardening
* Make sure there is enough room in the container for the plants and soil. Take into account the mature size of the plants and their growing habits.
* Provide good drainage Always have drainage holes or at the very least a layer of gravel at the bottom of the container.
* Select plants that will be happy with the same amounts of water, sun, heat and food.
* Container gardens look best when the plants are in balance with the container. Try to make sure your tallest plants are not more than twice the height of the container.
* Try not to place containers in full noon sun. You may have chosen plants that say they require full sun, but container gardens heat up much more quickly and intensely than in the ground gardens. Most plants will welcome some relief from noon sun.
* When you must position a container in the shade, consider putting it by a wall that can reflect some light back. The plants won’t suffer from the extreme heat, but they will benefit from indirect light.
* Use a good commercial potting medium, not garden soil. Do not to plant in pure compost, as this is too rich for the plant.
* Lack of water can quickly kill plants in a container garden. Unlike plants grown in the ground, container plant roots can’t move down deeply in search of subsurface water. Check your containers daily for water needs.
* Some potting mixes come with fertiliser already mixed in. Some don’t. Either way, container plant roots can’t spread out looking for additional food in the soil nearby, so you will need to replenish soil nutrients regularly.
* When your container gardens start looking ragged, don’t be afraid to cut them back. You may want to put them in an out-of-the-way spot until they rebound, but chances are they’ll come back healthier and happier. - The Mercury