Container gardens can create a natural sanctuary on a busy city street, along rooftops or on balconies. You can easily accentuate the welcoming appearance of a terrace or patio with colorful pots of annuals, or fill your windows with beautiful shrub roses or any number of small perennials. Whether you organize your pots in a group to get a massive effect or highlight a smaller space with a single specimen, you will be delighted with this simple way of creating a garden.
Gardening in pots allows you to easily vary your color scheme and, as each plant finishes its bloom, it can be replaced by another. Whether you choose to harmonize or contrast your colors, make sure there is variety in the height of each floor. Also, think about the shape and texture of the leaves. Tall, striplike leaves will provide a good vertical bottom to broad-leaved, low-growth plants. Choose plants with a long flowering season, or have others of a different type ready to be replaced when they finish flowering.
Experiment with creative containers. You may have an old porcelain bowl or a copper urn that you can use, or you may prefer to do something really modern with wood or tiles. If you decide to buy your ready-made containers, terracotta pots look wonderful but tend to absorb water. You do not want your plants to dry out, so paint the inside of these pots with a special sealer available at hardware stores.
Cheaper plastic pots can also be painted on the outside with water-based paints for a good effect. When buying pots, do not forget to buy combination plates to catch the drops. This will prevent the cement floors from staining, or the wood floors rotting.
Always use a good quality potting mix in your containers. This will ensure the best possible performance of your plants.
If you have steps that lead to the door of your house, an attractive pot in each will delight your visitors. Inside, potted plants or flowers help create a cozy and welcoming atmosphere.
Decide ahead of time where you want to place your pots, then buy plants that fit the situation. It does not make sense to buy sun lovers for a shady position, as they will not do well. Some plants also have very large roots, so they are best maintained for the open garden.
If you have a lot of space on your doorstep, a group of potted plants on one side will be visually more attractive than two similar plants located on each side. Unless they are spectacular, they will look rather boring.
Group the pots in odd numbers instead of pairs, and vary the height and type. To join the group, add large rocks that have a similar appearance and a slightly different size. Three or five pots of the same type and color, but in different sizes are also effective.
With a creative mind and some determination, you will soon have a container garden that will be the envy of friends and strangers alike.
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