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Container Gardening Ideas For Pots And Planting Herbs
from: Mary HannaFor container gardening ideas, scan the internet, the library or
a bookstore. The challenge is to come up with a lovely container
garden plan. There are a widespread collection of containers
available for your container garden. These range in size from
small-scale house-plant pots to sizeable boxes and planters.
Equally varied are the materials from which they are made. These
include wood, glass, clay, aluminum, bamboo, straw, plastic,
fiberglass, terra cotta, tin, cast iron, zinc, copper, and
brass, each with select advantages and disadvantages. What you
choose will depend on availability, price, background, and
attraction not to mention the characteristics of the gardening
pots.
Here are some container gardening ideas. In addition to
run-of-the-mill circular pots and tubs, there are modern and
ultra-modern forms such as square, rectangular, triangular,
hexagonal, and octagonal. Also eligible are old iron kitchen
pots, kettles, pails, jugs, casks, vases, crocks, jam tubs,
barrels and nail kegs, Japanese fish tubs, aged sinks, bathtubs,
bamboo soy tubs. There are novelty containers such as driftwood,
wheelbarrows, donkey carts, spinning wheels and boxes attached
to a roadside mail container. There are also bird cages,
decorative well heads, animal figures, and Strawberry jars.
Woven baskets may be used to conceal unattractive containers.
Even tar paper pots, handled by garden centers and florists are
worthy if painted or veiled to upgrade their exterior. Any of
these can be used in your container gardening ideas.
Where to find your container supplies? Begin with what you
possess. If you explore cellars or basements, attics, garages,
and sheds, you will doubtless encounter objects of interest.
Old-fashioned pots and kettles, usually sold in antique shops at
rural auctions or observed at old New England inns, have much
attraction.
Different container garden ideas to ponder are old cookie and
bean jars, pickle and other types of crocks, wash tubs, coal
pails, jardini�res, and ceramic bowls. For drainage, scatter a
thick layer of substantial pebbles or shattered pieces of pots
or bricks at the bottom and then moisten plants with care. In
substantial containers, drainage material should be many inches
thick. Where rainfall is hefty, be certain to keep garden
containers without drainage outlets on porches, below awnings or
the under sizable eaves of house. With pails and old galvanized
wash tubs, holes can be easily punctured at the bottom.
Plants in containers without drainage openings stay wet longer.
Some of these--crocks, jardini�res and cookie jars--are massive
enough to be secure against the elements in exterior container
gardening.
What constitutes the perfect container for your container garden
ideas? A container needs to be attractive, even if it is not an
object of art. It should be sturdy and lasting and able to
resist all kinds of weather. This is especially true of the
substantial sizes which ofttimes continue outdoors all year
around. In the North, alternate icy and thawing is a predicament
in winter (and could generate cracking); in blazing climates,
intensive heat, humidity, and moisture are to be considered (and
could cause fading). And in semiarid areas, there is the impact
of searing sun to keep your attention, another source of fading.
All these things need be kept in mind when coming up with your
container gardening design.
The perfect container must be vast enough to hold a sizeable
quantity of soil. It should have super drainage facilities
through holes or various openings at the bottom or sides. It
must not rust, at least in a single season, and it should have a
wide enough base to perch firmly wherever placed. Further, it
needs to be heavy enough to withstand average winds. In severe
storms, like hurricanes and tornadoes, movable containers can be
shifted to interim safety. All of these things should be
factored in when you are coming up with your container gardening
ideas.
Resistance to rot is another requisite. Wooden
containers--except those made of rot-resistant Redwood, Western
Cedar, and Southern Red Cypress--will require treatment with a
wood preservative. Except for lifelong containers, the
capability to move your container garden is another quality, and
sometimes a safety precaution, of portable container gardening.
Sizable boxes and planters can be equipped with wheels, and
garden centers have redwood tubs that perch on platforms with
wheels. An opening in the platform corresponds to the hole in
the tub. Sizeable containers without wheels can be pushed on
iron or wooden rollers by two or more people; however, if you
live in an area inclined to severe storms it is best to keep
your containers small-scaled.
Smaller containers are ideal for cultivating herb container
gardens. If you plan to plant an herb container garden be
imaginative. Here are some container garden ideas for herbs that
go great together. * For an Italian selection try Sweet Basil,
Italian Parsley, Oregano, Marjoram and Thyme. * For a pleasing
scented container use Lavender, Rose Scented Geranium, Lemon
Balm, Lemon Thyme, and Pineapple Sage. * For utterly extravagant
salads try Garlic Chives, Rocket, Salad Burnet, Parsley, Celery.
* And to say "We love French Cooking!" use Tarragon, Chervil,
Parsley, Chives and Sage. Any of these will liven up your meal
and please your family.
So these are just a few container gardening ideas. Get out a pad
of paper and make up a container garden plot that will add to
the view and conceivably even the palate.
Happy Container Gardening!
Copyright � 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in
your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice,
links and the resource box are unchanged.
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central
Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year
round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening
and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.GardeningHerb.com
and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com To read more of her
articles go to http://www.ArticleBazaar.net
About the author:
Mary Hanna writes eBooks, Software Reviews and Practical
Articles on Internet Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking.
Visit her websites at: http://www.gardeninglandscapingtips.com
http://www.gardeningherb.com and
http://www.cruisetraveldirectory.com or read her other articles
at ArticleBazaar.net
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