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June 5, 2012

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,


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20 comments:

  1. gorgeous! I love the moss! What great ideas.. I wish I didnt kill everything that tries to grow green. Haha :)

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  2. Kim your garden is soo pretty and I love the containers did u know u can put diapers in a planter to up the moisture retention u just have to poke a few tiny holes in the for drainage is what I heard but that seems to be counter productive to moisture retention lol
    no idea about wiiw I will say u are gonna make light sconces out of the down spots

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  3. I would plug the small end and make them wall planters! :)
    Love your planters!!!!

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  4. Thanks for all the wonderful tips!
    JoAnn
    sweetpepperrose.blogspot.com

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  5. Love your plants and containers....thanks for sharing with us!

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  6. Wow - you have a green thumb, too! I love the door and the Lobelia - I would have thought it was a pinterest photo (except for the unscraped paint you pointed out! :)) And I'm visualizing those down spouts as great wall-planters... I love sweet potato vine and purple fountain grass, too. And coleus. Later, Kim. :)
    -Revi

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  7. Soooo pretty. I love them all. Wish you could come to my house and play in my yard for awhile.
    Im now following you. Please come visit me at PICKINandPAINTIN.blogspot.com and maybe you'll follow back??? THANKS.

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  8. Oh, and I see the downspout pieces as either wall planters OR sconces??? Can't wait to see.

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  9. Thank you so much for these great tips! I really like the wall containers. They look so pretty against that brick wall and with that lovely door. Thank you for coming by and linking up to Rustic Restorations Weekend

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  10. Hi ~ found your lovely blog thru Passion Parade Friday and am so glad I did! Love all the tips you give on plant containers. I'm especially crushing on the first one!!! Please come visit me when you get a chance ~ I'm hosting my annual WEDDING BLOG PARTY and there is even a little bridal giveaway!

    Big TX Hugs,
    Stephanie

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  11. So many great ideas and gorgeous flowers! Does Lobelia take the heat from being up against brick well? I have four wall planters like that and every year I flop when it comes to finding something that can tolerate the combination of heat from the brick and the afternoon sun.

    I can't wait to see how you reuse the downspout pieces because we have two of these lying on our patio right now from our own downspouts. They've very ornate and original to the house but they didn't work with the replacement downspout.

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  12. I love these! I still need to plant up my containers and this inspires me! Thanks for sharing on Tout It Tuesday!

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  13. Kim I love all your ideas and your whole blog! Everything you think up is so creative, you also help to open up my inner creativity. THANK YOU

    Because of that I am nominating you for the Illuminating Blogger Award! http://foodstoriesblog.com/illuminating-blogger-award/

    Thank you for helping me stay creative

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  14. Those are such great tips. I love your pretty flowers! Thanks so much for sharing at Thursday's Temptation.
    Jill

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  15. Beautiful, thank you for the tips too. I look forward to seeing what you will make with those down spouts!! Hopping over from Stuff and Nonsense. Happy to be following your lovely blog. xo

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  16. Your garden is lovely! Thanks for the great tips. I love the hanging planters. Thanks for sharing at Creative Thursday :)

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  17. Surely you're going to use those gorgeous downspouts for more plants...right?

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