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| Plant Pro |
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| Bask in the glory of the arrival of spring with bright, colorful flowers cascading over the edges of your favorite container. Container gardens make vibrant displays wherever you place them. |
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I use plants in containers to brighten my windowsills, add color to my deck and fill in bare spots in my garden. Container gardening offers a wonderful opportunity to allow your creative imagination to run wild. You become the artist, while your containers serve as canvases. We visited Richard Clark of Clark Farms in Wakefield, RI who shared with us some unusual and beautiful examples of container gardens. |
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Tips for choosing the right container: |
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- You can use almost anything. From terra cotta pots to baskets to whimsical items such as old shoes, tin buckets, or even children's toys. Bigger containers are easiest to maintain. If the container is too small it will have to be watered frequently, sometimes several times each day or the plants may die in hot spells. Bigger containers also allow ample room for root growth.
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- Make sure the container has drainage holes, needed to prevent over-watering and help provide air circulation necessary for healthy plant growth.
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- Be sure to thoroughly clean any containers that were previously used to prevent plant diseases.
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Guidelines for selecting plants: |
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- Plants used in a container should have the same sun, water, and fertilizer requirements.
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- Use plants of different heights to create visual interest.
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- Select flowers with blossom colors that compliment each other and the color of the container.
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- Consider foliage color, size and texture of plants.
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- Consider symmetry/balance – are you going for a formal look or an informal style?
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- Remember you are the artist - here's your chance to be creative.
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| Container gardens shown on the Plant Pro: |
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| Traditional container garden for sunny location: |
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- Container - terra cotta pot
- Geranium
- Spike
- Vinca Vine
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| Planter for sunny location: |
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- Container - oblong, champagne-colored plastic planter
- Geranium 'Americana Salmon'
- Hardy geranium (Geranium pratense 'Johnson's Blue') *
- Variegated Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium caeruleum 'Brise d' Anjou' ) *
- Evergold Carex (Carex 'Evergold') *
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| Hanging basket for sun: |
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- Container: plastic hanging basket (hidden by plants)
- Bacopa 'Snowflake'
- Million Bells
- Cascading petunia
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| Planter for shade: |
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- Large Vietnamese tub pot (blue glaze)
- Artemesia 'Oriental Limelight' *
- Pink Caladium
- Double Impatiens
- Variegated Lily Turf or variegated Liriope (Liriope muscari 'Variegata') *
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| Planter for shade: |
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- Container - large, champagne-colored plastic terra cotta pot
- New Guinea Impatiens
- Violas*
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| Planter for sun/shade: |
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- Carex 'Evergold Grass'*
- Coral bells (Heuchera 'Plum Pudding') *
- Algerian Ivy
- Penstemon 'Huskers Red' *
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| * Plants marked with an asterisk are hardy perennials, which you can transplant to your perennial bed in the early autumn. |
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| Written by James Proctor |
