BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Container Gardening Container Gardening TIP OF THE DAY Continues

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

More herb info anyone? It always useful. Today I thought we could look Calendula. Of course you know that it is a herb, but it doesn’t particularly look like this in a container, you know, all green and wispy and good for you. With its bright orange daisy-like flowers it looks as if it could be a favourite colour plus that you meant to grow to offset the purples and whites you may have lurking about. It is often used as an alternative treatment for everyday worries – you can make your own creams, toners and lotions.

CALENDULA – Quick facts.

Likes rich well-composted soil and needs full sun. Allow 20cms between seedlings. It is the flower that is mainly used and edible (tangy) and the plant will grow to around 12-14 inches high with bushy green leaves.

Medicinal uses include: Calendula oil has antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties that makes it useful in healing wounds. It soothes eczema, and relieves nappy/diaper rash and it can be used as an antiseptic.

You can add the petals to your cooking and salads for colour and taste and you may find rice colouring up nicely.

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

When last did you check your tools? Yes, I know, I have a friend who says ‘but you just put things in pots, what do you need garden tools for?’ Got to feel sorry for a person like this who doesn’t know one end of a plant from the other!

Your best tools of course are your hands.

I have several pairs of gloves to suit different jobs and have gathered these from listening, learning and looking. Doing too. I have some throw-away latex gloves for when I am painting or cleaning or using chemicals (for any reason) or to protect fingers from sap or plant juices which are yucky or could be poisonous. I throw these way after I have used them once.

I have some every day gloves that have stretchy tops, and green reinforced fingers. I use these when I am digging or maybe planting or just doing general work. I have some leather ones (took a while to ‘break’ them in), but now they are so comfortable they’re my favourites. Lastly I have some elbow length gloves which I use when I am pruning roses and bougainvillea and other thorny customers. They are hardly used, but they do protect even if they get in the way.

I hope you find this chatter helpful. Bare fingers in the soil? Of course, there is nothing quite like it and anyway, you can’t tell if you need to water with gloves on!

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

Have you had a look at your container gardening space recently? I mean the area you ‘store your pots’ as they say. Describe it to yourself now.

It’s this big, this shape. The floor is paved/cement etc, the north/south side is open and looks over the city/a park. I have 3/6/10 containers of mixed plant types. The pots are various designs and sizes and types. The flowers/plants are over-wintering now/looking good/in full bloom. Okay, you see what I mean. Carry on soldier.

Now, what can you do to ring the changes for the new year? Are there improvements to be made? Plants to replace? New ones to try? Might changing the colour of the walls make a difference? Wall cladding? Growing a creeper? Can you add other features like a trellis or rocks or varying sizes and colours of pebbles? Garden art? Mosaic? An umbrella?

Stand back in your mind now. Smile. Start planning!

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

Got a spare planter? A window box? If you are buying or swapping, choose a long and rectangular container with a drip tray. I envisage this would go onto the balcony wall. Sometime go when I had this configuration available to me, I nailed the drip tray into place onto the balcony wall and there was no ways the container was going to fall.

So what should we plan to plant or plant today? I thought I would say some LAVENDER. Oh yes? Well why not? Usually people think of swathes of Lavender gracing the countryside, or side hedges or in big round containers ad ye to al of these, but if you don’t have the space then planting up a window box is a pretty thing to do, it’s possible, it works hard in your container garden, and you can reap what you sow!

Look out too for the different lavender plants that are out there … there are some 27 varieties, different shaped flowers, colour shades, fragrances, blooming times - we are spoilt for choice. Plant up your window box with only lavender, that’s the plan and done so it will serve as a screen and a focal point making its own statement in no uncertain terms. There is a lot too that you can do with the dried flowers … here’s one:

Lavender Lemonade.

Bring 2-21/2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to the boil. Take off the heat an add 1 full tablespoon or dried lavender flowers and allow to infuse for about an hour. Strain, remove and discard the lavender then stir in 2-21/2 cups of cold water and 1 cup of fresh lemon juice. Pour into your favourite glass (not a tin mug okay!) and add mini ice-cubes. Enjoy.

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

We have spoken about your hands being your most important garden tools but of course you need others to help you do what needs to be done. There is a great deal to be said about how to care for spades and forks etc. including general maintenance tips, but one quick one for today is this.

I have a fire bucket hidden at the back of my containers in which I have river sand which has been mixed with a little boiled linseed oil (you know, the same oil we used to use to care for cricket bats way back when). Add enough oil, but the sand must not be wet. I would guess you will find boiled linseed oil in a hardware store near you, or even in the in the big chain stores.

At the end of every day's use, rinse off the soil/mud and dry them then plunge them into your bucket. The oil will keep them from rusting (if this is possible) and the sand will keep them sharp. Remember here, we are talking about oily soil, not soil soaked in oil. When you want to use them again, there should be hardly any oil residue.

Anyway, it used to be fashionable to use old car oil, drained and obtained from your local service garage. DON'T. This will introduce petroleum into your soil. I am not sure which is worse ... cigarette butts or car oil!