BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Container Gardening A Designed Container Garden

Hello Everyone - I hope you are all in the pink as we say.

What does your container garden look like when the weather is kind and the season has been managed? Do you have or use any props like garden signs, or totem poles or signposts or mosaic pots or stepping stones or pot finishes or other 'hardware' like pebble surrounds or daisy circles and so on?

I have seen many different designs from a straight line of matching pots to pots going up entrance staircases to big singleton pots to themed pots to charming layouts that make the most of the container garden space.

Please share your ideas even if you don't have anything special. Of course ANYone with ANY kind of container is special ... but we don't always think so.

My plants are my friends, I couldn't imagine life without them!

Cheers now

Hiya All,

I am going to make three totem poles for my patch so I thought I would do some internet enquiries for 'how to' and inspiration. There are many designs and styles and materials and colours and patterns ... darn, I will have to choose my muse then get to it. I fancy some writing prompts on the poles with a decorative surround so that when I sit sipping tea and considering what to do next with my containers, I will also have something to meditate on. Wish me luck!

Cheers

I saw this on Farmer's Almanac. Granted it is Fall here in the states..
https://blog.jungseed.com/fall-container-garden-planter-ideas

Hi Angie and Everyone,

WOW! What a fantastic site you refer to above - there is tons of wonderful information on all sorts of subjects, lovely ideas and super detail to teach and remind us about.

I hope everbody who celebrates Thanksgiving had a wonderful time, and if you get into the fray of Black Friday, I hope you found a bargain or two.

I am going to go back onto that site and see what new tricks I can pick up.

Have you written your letter to Santa yet?

Cheers for now, speak again soon,

My son gave me a tiered shelf system, Lestie. I put some pots in the tiers but with the hot sun it's going to be tough keeping the soil moist. I used 5"x5" pots but I am not sure what the best system would be. Should I use pots for the herbs or should I fill the tiers with dirt. The tiers are about 6" deep.

Hi Angie and all,

Greetings!

You could do either because moisture is the watchpoint not the positioning of pots. With the hot sun, all small containers need to be watered daily as a general rule, though it will also depend on where they are placed - in shade or behind other plants or hanging and so on.

I would try one of three things.

Line your pots with 1/2 inch thick newspaper (not glossy pages) and not the bottoms of the pots. You can do this (line) for the tiered shelf system too, and then place the pots as you will. Obviously fill the system and the pots with good potting soil and wet throughly before planting. Let the water soak into the newpaper. Then plant whatever. This would be my best option for you, though you still have to water all. The newspaper retains water and keeps the plant cool. It also breaks down so you may need to reline your pots yearly or so.

If you are choosing herbs go for the hot sunny patch ones including Lavender, Rosemary, Basil, Mint (spreads like crazy), Dill, Oreganum, Thyme and Sage ... they are all sunny fellows.

The other thing you could do is perhaps more fussy and not suitable here, but you can have a bucket of water with cotton wicks planted alongside your individual potted plants, with a tail in the container of water. The wick draws up the water and will ensure that the plants are moist (though I am not sure that this will be enough in v v hot sun).

Have you heard of or seen Olla pots? You pronounce it Oya by the way. It's an unglazed ceramic pot/item/ornament or bottle i.e. made from porous clay. You fill it with water and bury next to your garden plant, and the olla allows water to seep slowly into the soil to be drawn up by the roots as needed. Home made examples of this is to bury a cold drink bottle which you have pricked with holes and filled with water which then leaks into the soil slowly. The size of your pots that you describe above are maybe too small for this option, but still. I wrote an article on Olla Pots - please look it up, it covers the subject very well. Some garden shops may have fun ornaments made like olla pots (frogs and faeries and gnomes and so on.)

Good luck Angie, watering is so important as you know, and garden time is precious ... keeps us sane!

Cheers now

I really like the newspaper idea. I will try it. I'll keep you posted.

I have basil and parsley and lavender. Until I figured out a way to keep it a bit more moist I put off getting additional plants. The newspaper is a great idea. Thank you, Lestie.

My container garden attracted something. A few friends think a deer came up the steps and did the damage. Whatever it was scalped my tomato plants and mowed a container of hosta. As it tried to nibble on the carnation plant, it pulled it out of the container. Fortunately it was left there and I replanted it. I don't have a camera so I don't know what visited.