Garden Talk - Containers are a gardener?s best friend

For hundreds of years, containers have enhanced beauty and utility in the garden. No matter what goals and limitations guide your gardening, containers can contribute to your success.

Certainly containers allow gardeners to use otherwise problematic spaces: think of a big pot of tomatoes on a landing, a window box dripping with gorgeous blooms, or colorful plants adorning a patio or deck. Containers allow the gardener to bring the planting medium to the place.

Containers also permit gardeners to swap poor soil for good. Sometimes the spot with great sun exposure comes, too, with a lot of clay or even with contaminated soil. Switching from an in-ground gardening plan to a container approach allows for a high-quality, organic planting medium when that is desired.

Like in-ground gardening, container gardening can be limited or extensive, thrifty or expensive, easy or hard. The great key to success is careful planning.

First, inventory both your goals and your givens. Do you want to grow edibles, ornamentals, or a mix? Do you hope to attract wildlife with your plantings? Are you looking for a good workout or some relaxed puttering? Then, what areas are available to you? What light is available in each? What is your budget?

Once you have solid answers to all the questions, you?ll be able to explore both containers and plants. You?ll learn that containers are available in the following materials: wood, stone, clay, metal and synthetics. Beyond that, containers run the gamut in size and incorporate a range of shapes ? e.g., tall, flat, round, rectangular and free-form. Take stock of what you already have, both pots in good shape and various items that might be repurposed. Before purchasing large containers, consider whether they will need to be moved for winter storage.

Your ?goals and givens? will help to guide your choices. In addition, aesthetic considerations will be important as you match container to space and plant. For example, a formal round boxwood that looks uncomfortable in an old wheelbarrow could be stunning in a simple tall container.

It?s important, as well, to note a few health and safety considerations. While wooden containers are excellent for edibles, they should be untreated wood. Concrete and limestone containers can leach lime into the soil, creating a more alkaline environment than anticipated.

When it comes to the plants, you can feel free to consider just about anything ? even trees! Of course, an oak or sycamore won?t thrive in a container, but smaller trees such as crabapples, hollies and small fruit trees can do very well. Yews and boxwood work well, and ornamental grasses can also be stunning in containers. And certainly, most vegetables, herbs and flowers can thrive in appropriate containers.

Next time I?ll include a variety of specific ideas for planting in containers.