ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604050148
SECTION: BETTER HOMES PAGE: BH-26 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JOANNE ANDERSON
It's not what you'd call a ``lazy man's garden,'' but container gardening can be very satisfying to those who enjoy only a small amount of effort for their summer bounty. You can put color almost anywhere you want, change it at your whim and bring the beauty of flowers up close and personal.
Anything that can hold a few inches of soil is a possible flower container, although a depth of around 10 inches or more is desirable so the dirt doesn't dry out too fast. Drainage holes in the bottom, weight, size and appearance are things to think about when choosing flower containers.
Clay pots are heavy and breakable, but have a natural look that fits in with any flowers and surroundings. They should be soaked in water for several hours to saturate pores so they don't draw moisture from the soil.
Ceramic is easy to clean and looks nice but may not have drainage holes. There are a lot of plastic colored pots on the market which might work with your color scheme; they don't look as classy as the others.
Unless newly purchased, wooden barrels, crates and containers need to be washed thoroughly with hot, soapy water and bleach to kill bacteria. Redwood and cypress resist decay. Other woods should be treated with a primer and sealant. Use stainless steel, galvanized or aluminum screws or nails so they won't rust.
Concrete pots are decorative and very attractive, but difficult to move even before soil is added so be sure to place these right you want to see them all summer long. If there are no drainage holes, put several stones in the bottom and use potted flowers set in the concrete container.
The best arrangement for windowboxes is to have wooden boxes firmly affixed under a window and use plastic rectangular planters for the flowers. There should be drainage holes in both. This way your flowers can be tended easily and even turned around conveniently.
Plan your colors, textures, height and shapes to complement one another and the exterior where they are situated. Also plan your plants according to their needs. Your container flowers require the same basics as your garden flowers: light, water, food, room to grow.
According to Lisa Lipsey, a designer at Laurel Creek Nursery, annuals are the
most desirable flowers for containers because of their summer-long blooming time.
``If you choose perennials, select plants for their foliage since the flowers have a short bloom time. Herbs, particularly sage and thyme, also make nice container plants, and so can some of your houseplants,'' Lipsey said.
If you have a windowbox near the kitchen, put a couple of herb plants on the inside row for instant clipping.
And Dennis Dove of Laurel Creek Nursery said ``don't forget the vegetables.'' He is planning a display at the nursery of miniature vegetables like tomatos and peppers grown next to flowers and herbs in containers.
For a round container that can be viewed from all directions, the highest plant should go in the center with shorter ones to the outside and others spilling over at the edges.
In the case of a window box, high flowers should be in the back with shorter ones toward the front as viewing it from the outside. If you do not wish to block light from the window to the inside, plant it all with flowers that don't grow more than a foot, like petunias or pansies. If you plant a few herbs next to the window, you'll have some instant seasonings on hand.
If you're at a loss for what to plant but you have a container and some idea of what you want, contact Teresa Knox at Laurel Creek Nursery. She's offering a new service this year through the nursery: custom container planting.
Knox has grown all the flowers normally put in containers including hanging baskets, and she can design one and plant it in your container. She's already involved in starting plants in hanging wire baskets with moss around the sides and bottoms like the ones in downtown Blacksburg all summer.
``I think these are going to be in big demand this year,'' said Knox, because of the number of inquiries they received about the mossy baskets last year.
There's a wood fence in downtown Abingdon facing a popular street that has clay pots with red geraniums mounted every four feet or so along the length of the block. Some folks in Preston Forest outside Blacksburg have a small shelf next to their mailbox for a flower pot.
Pots can go on fence posts, deck steps - off to the side of course - bench corners, on stepladders, next to pools, on the side of the garage, virtually anywhere that they will grow.
Sometimes barrels and pots are used to define space, create a border, section off a patio or re-direct attention from an area not so attractive.
Wood barrels full of soil will be too heavy to move, so clean and place these containers where you want them. Smaller wood crates are ideal to move around. If you put potted flowering plants in them, you can change the flowers, moving them in and out as they come into peak bloom.
Wherever you put wide bottomed containers, it's wise to elevate them off the ground or pavement by an inch or so for good air circulation and drainage. Be careful that lightweight pots are placed or moved appropriately out of windy areas.
Soil in a confined space tends to dry out faster than ground mass so potted gardens and windowboxes need to be watered as much as daily during hot summer days. Water whenever the surface soil has dried. A layer of peat moss on the top helps retain moisture a little longer and looks a little nicer.
Just like ground gardening, you may need to eliminate a weed or two and you may have to remove a non-performing plant. If a whole bucket of flowers is looking poorly, the plants may be rootbound or waterlogged and it makes sense to move them to a bigger pot or fresh conditions.
Unlike ground gardening, your container flowers and plants will not require so much work and give you greater versatility in placing floral color and beauty in your outdoor summer space.
LENGTH: Long : 107 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JOANNE ANDERSON. 1. Lowe's of Christiansburg offersby CNBconcrete containers to hold small flower gardens. 2. At Laurel Creek
Nursery in Montgomery County, a variety of ceramic pots await
soiling and seeding.