Container Garden Design ~

A great way to get the ideas for your container garden flowing is to sit down with pen and paper. Draw a layout of your container garden in the space you have available. Draw an arrangement of planters and think about size, height and color. Next, envision the types of plants you would like to see in these planters in the arrangement you have drawn.

1. Draw your container garden space: how much floor space and how much vertical space, such as walls, railings or fences is available? If your site includes a balcony or porch, is weight a consideration? Think about the different views you have of your container garden space, from inside your home, from your yard, from the street. What would you like to see from each view? Foliage and greenery—colorful flowers. Do you have a view you would like to screen out? Is creating privacy a goal?

2. Identify the growing conditions of your site: Is it shady and protected or sunny all day long? If you have a variety of light conditions, mark your diagram accordingly. Is your site exposed to wind or heavy rain? Make a note and plan for stable planters, such as terracotta planters, with strong, wind-resistant plants.

3. Choose a container garden style or theme: Before you find yourself standing in the nursery and completely overwhelmed by a large variety of beautiful plants, have your garden style or theme decided and bring your garden plan with you. Container garden styles can be based on a specific combination of plant colors, or a single color, or a type of plant, for example, annuals, herbs or shrubs or a single favorite plant such as geranium or lavender.

A container garden theme might also be based on the planter material, for example all metal planters, or wooden planters. Do you like a formal, neat and 'cintrolled' looking container garden, or do you like a less tidy, more natural character to your garden planters? It's a great idea to have a browse through a few container gardening books or magazines to discover what appeals to you.

4. Now consider the plants for your container garden: Stand back and imagine your container garden plants after a month, two months...their eventual height, shape and growth habit. How full do you want your container garden to be. What height would be pleasing in your site. Consider plants exhibits three forms: upright, broad or trailing.

Start with a focal point, perhaps a tall, bold plant such as fountain grass, a yucca plant or a dwarf evergreen tree, and plant your containers around this centerpiece. Or you could focus attention on a trailing form; envision tall, celadon-green garden urns filled with a burgundy-colored purple bell vine, Rhodochriton.

A common approach is to combine the three forms, upright, broad and trailing, in one pot. Start with a tall, upright plant, such as spiky New Zealand flax or a fancy-leaved canna lily. Add one or two broad, mid-height plants such as heliotrope, coleus, African daisies (Osteospermum) or dwarf dahlias. Then select a trailing form such as ivy geranium, bacopa or lobelia.

Indicate where your plants will be located in your garden space on your diagram, make a note of the color of flowers and foliage and take this drawing with you to your nursery. Plan several trips through the growing season to find plants to freshen and at interest to your garden planters.

5. Include something for all the senses: In addition to being a visual pleasure, your container garden can provide enjoyment in so many ways. The delight of fragrant flowers, shrubs and vines can make a visit to your garden, small or large, a memorable treat. The gentle rustling of tall grasses on your balcony with a warm summer breeze can soothe tired nerves. The sound of hummingbirds making a quick visit to your hanging baskets will be a thrill—both the sound and the sight! And the pleasures of a herb or vegetable container garden, or edible flowers (grown from seed only!) in a floral display, extend all the way into the kitchen.