Released April 17, 2009
SEARCY, Ark. - Outdoor pots can be landscaped just like the rest of your outdoor plantings, according to Sherri Sanders, White County extension agent for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
"These planted containers can be worked into your larger landscape to dress up existing plantings," Sanders says.
One way to heighten the drama of these two features is to place the containers by the front door, she says. Plantings such as pink mandevilla skirted in English ivy can complement a border of hardy garden mums and a basket of blooming ivy geranium.
Sanders says container gardens can be planted in three distinct ways:
- Bouquet containers, which combine three or four plants in one pot to create contrast, color and grace
- Accent containers, which feature a prominent, eye-catching plant not usually seen in pots, such as a shrub rose or even an evergreen tree
- Movable gardens, a collection of different sized pots and plants that look good on their own but also complement each other, creating added visual impact.
"Maybe the most endearing attribute of container planting is its mobility. This feature can be exploited to make you seem to be a better gardener than you actually are," Sanders said.
Pots can be rotated, with showy blooming containers coming to the front while those which have finished blooming are moved to another site. Groupings can be shuffled around, like rearranging furniture, for altogether new looks, Sanders noted.
If company is coming tomorrow and your containers are not just so, she said, it’s easy to zip out an underperforming plant and plop in a replacement flower that just happens to be in full glory.
"Container color cheers the places you spend the most time," she said.
You can tuck vegetables and fruits such as strawberries, tomatoes, parsley and pepper into your bouquets, but they’re heavy feeders and need extra fertilizer. To dress up these edibles use lobelia, viola, petunia and dahlia, she advised. This pot requires full sun.
"By grouping plants according to their cultural needs, you will accomplish two things: you will assure that they grow and thrive, and you will make your life a whole lot easier," Sanders said.
For more information about container gardening, contact your county extension office. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
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http://www.uaex.edu/news/april2009/0417container.htm
Contact: Lamar James, (501) 671-2187, ljames@uaex.edu
