Container Gardening Tips for Newbies
Container gardens can create a natural sanctuary
in a busy city street, along rooftops or on balconies. You can
easily accentuate the welcoming look of a deck or patio with
colorful pots of annuals, or fill your window boxes with beautiful
shrub roses or any number of small perennials. Whether you arrange
your pots in a group for a massed effect or highlight a smaller
space with a single specimen, you'll be delighted with this simple
way to create a garden.
Container gardening enables you to easily vary your color scheme,
and as each plant finishes flowering, it can be replaced with
another. Whether you choose to harmonize or contrast your colors,
make sure there is variety in the height of each plant. Think also
of the shape and texture of the leaves. Tall strap-like leaves will
give a good vertical background to low-growing, wide-leaved plants.
Choose plants with a long flowering season, or have others of a
different type ready to replace them as they finish blooming.
Experiment with creative containers. You might have an old porcelain
bowl or copper urn you can use, or perhaps you'd rather make
something really modern with timber or tiles. If you decide to buy
your containers ready-made, terracotta pots look wonderful, but tend
to absorb water. You don't want your plants to dry out, so paint the
interior of these pots with a special sealer available from hardware
stores.
Cheaper plastic pots can also be painted on the outside with
water-based paints for good effect. When purchasing pots, don't
forget to buy matching saucers to catch the drips. This will save
cement floors getting stained, or timber floors rotting.
Always use a good quality potting mix in your containers. This will
ensure the best performance possible from your plants.
If you have steps leading up to your front door, an attractive pot
plant on each one will delight your visitors. Indoors, pots of
plants or flowers help to create a cozy and welcoming atmosphere.
Decide ahead of time where you want your pots to be positioned, then
buy plants that suit the situation. There is no point buying sun
lovers for a shady position, for they will not do well. Some plants
also have really large roots, so they are best kept for the open
garden.
If you have plenty of space at your front door, a group of potted
plants off to one side will be more visually appealing than two
similar plants placed each side. Unless they are spectacular, they
will look rather boring.
Group the pots in odd numbers rather than even, and vary the height
and type. To tie the group together, add large rocks that are
similar in appearance and just slightly different in size. Three or
five pots of the same type and color, but in different sizes also
looks affective.
With a creative mind and some determination, you will soon have a
container garden that will be the envy of friends and strangers
alike.
About the Author: D. Benjamin is the owner of
iapsales.com LLC - a family business specializing in HVAC products. We
are distributors of
Qmark Heaters,
electric tankless water heaters,
bathroom heaters,
patio heaters, electric heaters,
portable air
conditioners & electric towel warmers. Shop on line at
www.heateroutlet.com for these great home improvement products.
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