Container Garden Ideas and a What will it be Wednesday?

I went plant shopping on Monday went to work immediately getting them into their new homes.

Thought I'd show you some of the ways I use different types of containers to bring color into my little garden.

This used to have a green glass insert until I broke it. I decided to line it with moss and use it as a planter.

Wet the moss down a bit and lay it against the sides. Line it with a small baggie with a few holes punched into the bottom. Fill with soil.

Plant your plants! Odd numbers of anything always looks pleasing to the eye and this goes for plants as well. I used white Caladium, not sure what the vines thing is and Colabrachia. I also use the following formula for my containers. 1 tall, 1 short mounding, and 1 trailing. Vary the color and shape of the foliage as well.

The spikes are fake! The Caladium needed some support and it works!

Save those packing peanuts!! They are amazing at providing drainage with no added weight to your container. I bet those circus peanuts would work just as well. They are even harder and less likely to break down. Think of what they do to your digestive system!

Lobelia in purple. 

Hanging them on either side of the door draws your eye up, again to add height to my garden that isn't there yet, and it draws your eyes to the original door which I love. Yes, I did just notice that I haven't scraped the paint from the panes and I guess it will have to wait until I paint the door black before that gets done. For real.

Use a cool bowl or vase (how about a trifle stand?) for little plants. A few of these containers different heights and sizes will make a beautiful grouping.

How to fill large containers: A few tips...

My kids got me these HUGE copper containers last year for Mother's Day. Big containers need BIG plants. Please don't fill them with impatiens! It doesn't do either the plant or the container any favors. 

Rule of thumb for buying plants for container gardens. At least one of your  plants should be 1.5 times as tall as the height of your container. I have 6 plants in this container but it is visually appealing due to the color combos and the varied heights. 

The exception to the rule is those tall, thin containers. Think of them as pedestals. The plant you put in them should be kind of unique, like you are putting it on a pedestal to show it off. The plant obviously can't be 1.5 times the height! But it should be very interesting to look at in my opinion. It is being showcased.

This was about a week after I planted these so these plants fill in very quickly. I used 1 of each:

Purple Fountain Grass, variegated Coleus, Asparagus Fern, Purple Ice plant (a sedum), Purple Potato Vine, and Creeping Jenny.

4 of the plants have varied shades of purple. 2 have some chartreuse, and all have different foliage shapes.

2 are trailing, the asparagus is half-mounding and half trailing, the Coleus and Ice plant are mounding and of course the Fountain Grass is there for the height. 

I overwintered the container this year and the potato vine and asparagus fern made it. Only one fountain grass came back and I see some creeping jenny returning slowly. Try it. Overwintering can save you some dough on plants. You might only have to buy half as much. You might have to cut them back a bit to keep them from getting too leggy but it is worth it. I took quite a few cuttings of the ice plant, potato vine, and coleus when I was cutting them back and now have new plants so that can save you some moohla as well. Take the cuttings in the Fall and root them and then put them in little pots and keep them going over the winter. Now you have your plants for this spring!

OK-on to What Will it be Wednesday?

Can you even guess what these were to begin with?

These were the original tops of the downspouts on our garage! Gorgeous Huh!?! I saved them for about 3 years. So glad I did! Can't wait to show you. And just because they are on my table with dirt and plant stuff doesn't mean a thing. Just needed a place to photograph and I was outside so it worked. Please feel free to comment and tell me either what you thought they were or what they will be.

This is how our sky looked on Monday after I finished up the plantings. 

I think God has the best paint brush ever...

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are.