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Color at Your Doorstep:Cultivating Container GardensbyMary Ellen Gambutti(c) Mary Ellen Gambutti All Rights Reserved

Container Plants Hardiness, ToleranceStructure, Focal PointColor and HarmonyBalance, Scale, ProportionTexturePractical PlacementMoisture MattersContents(c) Mary Ellen Gambutti, Author. https://megam-author.com

Making Container GardensIt can be a satisfying creative outlet, even ifyou are horticulturally challenged. If the size ofyour project is small, it will be easy to manage.Blending and harmonizing color and playing withtexture, depth, and proportion can give goodresults within your time and budget limits. In my thirties, I trained in horticulture, but mylove of growing plants began at mygrandmother's side in her New Jerseysuburban garden. I pulled weeds, watered,and collected Portulaca and Four-O’clockseeds under her direction, and helped her toplant flowers. It was a fine beginning. Color at Your Doorstep:Cultivating Container Gardens by Mary Ellen Gambutti

My grandmother grew geraniums—theirformal name, pelargoniums—in pots the wayshe learned as a girl. Their full, vivid red andpink rosettes contrast with their heavy, darkgreen leaves. In the fall, she brought the claypots into the cellar, removed her geraniumsfrom the dried soil, and hung them upside-down from wall hooks. When the early springlight angled through the casement window,and green began to sprout from the bases ofthe desiccated plants, we knew life wasstirring. Then she trimmed the woody stemsdown to the new growth, repotted herplants, and carried them up into the sunshine.

A white, lacy collar of Sweet Alyssum aroundgeranium pots is attractive. At Meadowbrook Farms, the lush country-style garden center outside Philadelphiawhere I once worked, we called potted plantmixes "combinations." We designed andcustom-planted all sizes and shapes of claypots with annuals, perennials, succulents, andherbs. In the spring, wealthy customerswanted their urns and containers picked up,planted at the shop, and delivered to theirpatios, terraces, decks, and doorsteps--oftenmaintained on a schedule, with their gardens.

Containers give us the opportunity for idealconditions since pot placement, and thereforeexposure is controllable. Choose yourexposure, plants for shade, or sun, and toenhance one another's forms, and colors.Hardiness/ToleranceI caution you not to be misled by grocery andhome improvement stores' displays of tenderannuals and tropical plants out front in Apriland early May. In the Mid-Atlantic states, thelast frost can be around Mother's Day, butuntil the weather moderates, there will belittle growth. until then, containers of pansiesand primrose bring early cheeriness. Beforeputting your plants out, consult the USDAHardiness Zones.

Balance, Scale, and Proportion Your plants should combine visually withthe size and scale of your pots, whichyou select to work with the scale of yourpatio or entrance. They should neitherdominate nor look too small in the space.Place a large pot or an urn in relation toa feature of your house, such as a porchpost, or a massive doorway. Color, HarmonyChoose your plant pallet to work withthe color of your house trim, yourgarden furniture, the containers you areplanting--your personal taste and style.Consider both foliage and flower colors.,and how they show up and blend.

Create harmony with shades of one color,such as blue, lavender, and purple. Thesecolors tend to recede, while bolder colorscome forward and create drama. It justdepends on what you’re trying to achieve.On a hot terrace, I like yellow, orange, andred; geraniums, marigolds, and other full-sun plants. Some blue plants, like FeliciaDaisy and Plumbago, and the herb,Lavender, thrive in the sun. For pots inshade, I like purple torenia, and both blueand white browallia, as well as green andwhite foliage plants.

Structure, Focal PointBoth pots and plants provide structure and aframework for your design. Groups ofcontainers can create a focal point on yourpatio. Large, branching plants are structural, A standard geranium--cultivated like a tree--or a braided pink bougainvillea, in an oversizedplanter creates a framework, a dramaticfocal point in a large doorway. IIn a medium-sized or small pot, a single bold plant or leafcolor draws the eye. A Dracaena or “spike”tropical plant is often used as a focal point.You might try vertical ornamental grass,canna, or a small, colorful banana hybrid. Place it at the center or back, and surround itwith plants of varying heights for dimension.

TextureVary foliage texture and density to createinteresting plays of light. Wiry, fine, or airyfoliage, such as asparagus or maidenhairferns, combine well with denser plants, suchas Hosta or Tuberous Begonias, on apartially shaded terrace, and providetexture, structure, and depth.Practical PlacementPosition your pots prior to planting sincethey can be heavy once potted up. Use smallpedestals or ceramic feet, bricks, or blocks,to facilitate drainage. Wheeled dollies allowthe safe re-positioning of large pots.

Moisture Matters - Soil and WaterMost container plants will do best in a moist,well-draining planting medium. Cacti andsucculents need a gritty mixture. Mixtures inbags with slow-release fertilizer and moisturebeads are ideal for most patio pots, butsupplement with a water-soluble, liquidfertilizer, or a "bloom booster" to maximizethe health of your container gardens. Glazedclay pots that hold moisture work well fortropical and annual plants. Ensure the bottomhole drains freely. You can cut a square oflandscape fabric or layer newspaper over thedrainage hole, or place a ceramic shard or astone over it to prevent soil loss while allowingdrainage. Most plants object to sitting inwater. If you must use clay saucers undersmall pots, tip them after rain. (c) Mary Ellen Gambutti All Rights Reserved

Subscribe)Memoir-ishMusings by Melretrospectives, ruminations, andremembrances...when they arise (c) Mary Ellen Gambutti 2023