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| Planting Spring Pots = = = = = = = = = = = = = Dear Casual Gardener, I want to plant something more interesting than petunias in my pots, but have no idea where to start. Help! Boring on Buckley = = = = = = = = = = = = = Dear BoB, BORING?!?! NEVER!! Pots are so much fun! Years ago I only planted annuals in my pots. Most recently, with a tight budget and some creativity I’ve really learned to make my pot displays beautiful at very little expense! As everything goes in the garden, I highly recommend you start out with great soil - a good potting mix that allows for good drainage is important. One of my favorites is Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix. It has little crystals in the mix that help retain water so you don’t have to water as much. The “mix” is loose and full of compost so there’s good drainage. Not to mention the time-release fertilizer is already mixed in. I buy new potting mix every year and mix in the top half of every pot. To save money, I rarely plant annuals in ground. I use my pots as a focus for them. I combine perennial and native plants with annuals. I’ll keep “shady” plants together in one pot and “sunny” plants together in another. For example, a great shady combination is a single hosta surrounded by impatiens. A great sunny combination is a daylily combined with a prolific petunia and a sweet potato vine. If you’re trying to save money, you can go to one of the large “home-centers”. There is usually a section that has small pots of perennials. The pots are 2 to 4 inches and the baby perennial they hold looks like it will die at the first sign of frost. It won’t!! It’s a great buy. The advantage? They are cheap! If you plant one of those small perennials in a pot filled with soil that has time-release fertilizer in it, by Fall the plant will be much larger and you can plant it in the ground permanently to enjoy or give it to a friend as a gift for their garden. Easy! Simple! Fast! Plus it’s better for our soil and environment to use natives and perennials. Get Out and Get Healthy! GARDEN!! If I Can Do It, You Can Do It Too!!! Please send your gardening questions for Shawna Coronado, The Casual Gardener to dearshawna@thecasualgardener.com or The Casual Gardener, P.O. Box 358, Warrenville, IL 60555 |
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