Container Gardening

I like container gardening with vegetables because it makes me feel more productive than just growing flowers.  I’m not just spending time in the yard working with dirt, I’m building groceries!  It makes me feel virtuous to be able to put a dollar value on my effort.

Just because I’m growing something usable, however, doesn’t mean I can’t make it beautiful, too.  How do you go about making your container garden beautiful?  Here are five tips for growing a beautiful container garden.

1. Pick attractive plants

Chives In Bloom

It may seem obvious, but plant selection is the first step to getting an attractive container garden.  Look for pictures of your chosen plants to see what they’ll look like at various stages.  If the look of wire cages turns you off, choose tomatoes that don’t need cage growing.  If the jumble of vines from a bush bean plant doesn’t appeal to you, don’t grow them!

On the other side, feel free to choose some plants primarily for their ornamental value.  I grow more chives than I need because they’re pretty, with the vertical stalks and fun purple flowers.  Many herbs have variegated varieties, with pretty stripes of color in the leaves.  Summer squash plants have really pretty flowers in the morning, and cherry tomatoes are absolutely beautiful when they reach maturity, with clusters of little fruits.

2. Pick attractive containers

This step can be trickier, since containers almost always cost more than your plants, and if you are working on a budget, the bland pots may be the most practical.  If you can afford dozens of beautiful ceramic pots, go for it!  If not, try accenting the garden with one or two focal pieces.  Start with small pots, placed prominently.  Select plastic containers in neutral colors for the rest of your plants, and the decorative pots will jump out.  Every year, replace a few plastic pots with more decorative containers.

3. Use different sizes and shapes

A row of identical 5-gallon pots of tomato plants is bound to be a bit dull.  Instead, choose plants with different sizes of pots, stems, and leaves, and place them near each other.  A tall tomato plant might be complemented by a shallow bowl of herbs or a windowbox of lettuce.  This keeps the garden interesting

This works particularly well if the smaller plants have particularly interesting colors, such as red cabbages or variegated herbs.  Just make sure to place the larger plants as background and the smaller ones as foreground, or you will lose the little ones.

4. Use different heights

If you place everything on the ground, the little plants will be more or less lost in the sea of pots, and the pots themselves will be much more prominent.  Instead, try to arrange some tiers or levels on which you can place plants.

There are a few ways to do this.  My container garden is arranged near the door to my sunroom, so I use the steps that are already there, placing larger containers on the steps and a windowbox on the wide railing.  You can also build inexpensive shelves with cinderblocks and simple wooden boards.  A low table can be a platform for a pot or bowl.

Don’t be afraid to hang things!  Hanging baskets of cherry tomatoes or herbs can add height and fill in empty spaces in a container garden.

5. Plant multiple items in a single pot

There are two reasons for planting more than one item in a single pot.

One is that many plants take a long time to reach maturity.  If you know your tomato plant will be two months in reaching its full height and don’t want to waste that 5-gallon pot in the meantime, you can plant some plants with quick crops, like radishes or carrots, to fill out the container in the meantime.  Full pots are much more attractive than empty ones.

Multiple Herbs in a Planter

The other reason is that the assortment of different plants in a planter makes it more interesting to look at.  When a single pot contains four or five types of leaves or flowers, it holds the eye better.  Try planting a few kinds of lettuce or squash in one container, or grouping herbs for contrasts.  Plant chives with basil and thyme to create three levels of herbs in a single pot.

Just because your garden is functional doesn’t mean it can’t also be beautiful.  Good luck!

There is an entire market out there in interesting pots for container gardening.  There are the basic urns and bowls, designed to hold plants, and the fancier ceramic sculptures with integrated planters.   But there are also niche providers of the organic-looking containers, containers that look repurposed.

However, with a little creativity and effort, you can build your own container garden without needing to spend a lot of money on fancy containers.  Spend some time looking around your house for old containers you don’t use anymore.  Take a weekend day and hit yard sales to see what you can find for a dollar or two.  You might surprise yourself!

Here are five types of containers you may have laying around which you can use for container gardens:

1. Baskets

I tend to accumulate small baskets, from gifts or storage ideas gone awry.  If you have some baskets piled up in a corner of your closet, or can find some at a yardsale, try filling them with potting mix and planting some herbs or lettuce.  It’s a good idea to line them with coconut fiber before adding the dirt, for extra protection.  While they can’t stand up to years of use, they make fantastic decorative seasonal containers for a year or two, adding charm to a container garden.

2. Old boots

Do you have some old work boots lying around?  Try fitting one with dirt and putting a low-lying viney herb in it, like lemon thyme. They may be unsettling in a full container garden, but if you put them in a rock garden or flowerbed, it will add real interest to the landscape: a startling object out of place.

3. Coffee cans or Cookie tins

You can find basic metal containers all over your kitchen.  When you’re done using them, clean them out well, poke drainage holes in the bottom, and set some little plants in them.  You can make a varied and interesting mini container garden with only various kinds of cans.  If you’re growing outside, look for cans where the designs are directly painted on the cans, rather than applied to labels: they won’t come off in the rain that way.

4. Old fishbowls

You want to be careful about using glass items for planters, but a lot of fishbowls and aquariums are acrylic.  Paint some interesting designs on the outside, drill some drainage holes in the bottom, and you can get an easy and interesting transparent planter for your container garden.

5. Watering cans

These look so natural in a container garden, and their shape is unique and immediately recognizable.  If you have an old one which has spring a leak, or can find a used one at a yard sale or flea market, add some holes for drainage and plant something viny in it.  The holes at the top tend to be small, so you want a plant with a lot of bang for a single stem.  Vining plants tend to be good for this: look into herbs or decorative greenery.

I’m based out of Massachusetts, and Memorial Day weekend is the standard I was always given for last frost: after Memorial Day, it’s safe to plant.

I tend to ignore this standard with impunity.

By mid-April, I am scratching at the walls, itching for gardening gloves and a spade, ready to get started on my garden.  I manage to push it off until early May most years, and I start with hardy plants.  Parsley first, basil later.  Lettuce first, tomatoes later.  But I never actually make it through Memorial Day without planting something.

Memorial Day weekend still resonates for me as a Time To Garden, however.  So this weekend, I’m going to grab my gloves and go on a Quest for Containers.  My big project for this year is going to be a container-garden patio seating area, with two chairs, a little table, and a whole lot of plants, providing an area to sit and relax while the kids play outdoors.

I’m going to get some herbs and a few baskets for cherry tomatoes, and plant long windowboxes of lettuces.  I have some giant urn-like containers in our toolshed, left over from the previous owners of the house, and I suspect I can use those for small squashes.

All I need is a lot of dirt, a little creativity, and a good trip to the nearby nursery, and I’ll be well underway!

I will update with photos and some words on how I’m doing as time goes by.  Wish me luck!