Container Gardens with the Westmont Garden Club

The monthly meeting of the Westmont Garden Club was on planting container gardens.   The presenter was Master Gardener, Linda Winn.  Even though The Travelling Toe more often than not is a death threat to plants, found this topic to be quite interesting.

Linda began the presentation with a discussion on the reasons to use container gardens. Some mentioned were:
                             
                                        limited space
                                        limited time
                                        so many pots, so many places inside and outside
                                        inside plants are healthy for us
                                        easier to take care of than a larger space

Then the discussion was on the types of containers to use for the mini-garden, such as:
               
                                      clay pots (the old stand-by)
                                      ceramic pots
                                      half barrels - wood and plastic
                                      stone urns
                                      vintage tin cans, coffee pots any other interesting pot

The main issue is to ensure that any pot has a drainage hole in the bottom.  Additionally the use of rocks in the bottom can prevent dirt from leaking out of the pot.  Linda shared with the group that she used a coffee filter in the bottom of the pots she used for plants.  One member mentioned she had success in using a baby diaper in the bottom of a pot and it was great at absorbing water....who knew that baby diapers worked on several different types of bottoms successfully!

potting soil and container

Next was on how to select plants for the container garden.  Most any plant can be grown in a container not just show plants but trees and even vegetables.  When deciding on the plants, be sure to look at the plant tag as it contains all the information needed to ensure you have the right plants for your area - such as light and space.

These are some of the things you will find on the plant tag:

                                     sun - how much is required daily, whether full, partial or no direct sun
                                     space - how much room a plant needs to grow
                                     height - how tall a plant will grow
                                     bloom time - how long it will bloom
                                     watering needs - whether is needs to be semi-moist, damp at all times,
                                           dry between watering, moist - should always feel wet

Linda then showed the group had to put a container garden together.   She said to follow 3 rules:

                                      thriller
                                             something to draw your eye and it should be planted in the middle

thriller

                                     filler
                                            these plants go around the middle plant to fill in

fillers - white and pink

                                     spiller
                                            these plants spill over the pot 
                                            example - potato vine

spiller

Use potting soil not garden soil for the plants.  One can use per-lite in the soil as it absorbs the water then releases it later on.  Linda suggested to place the plants in the pot first so you know how you want to set them as you began to plant.  

As Linda shared with the group, gardening was the original job, that was what Eve and Adam were suppose to do!

Linda Winn
with completed container garden

One book on  container gardening is:

                                                The Book of Container Gardening
                                                                     by
                                                           Malcolm Hiller    

Side note:   some books of Mr. Hiller are available through Amazon.
 Amazon


Also on display was a magazine "Garden Gate" that had several pages of plants that were ideal for container gardens.

                                       
Garden Gate Magazine