Container Garden for All-Seasons

Container gardening is not limited to one season.  With a little creativity, you can feature eye-appealing plants and greenery for all seasons. 

If you have a small yard or live in an apartment with a balcony, terrace, or deck then a container will allow you to enjoy gardening. Containers come in a variety of sizes and shapes, some large and others are small, there is a perfect size container for your gardening needs.  

I like to plant container gardens that will last more than one season.  In the fall I will plant an assortment of spring bulbs and then on top of the bulbs I will plant close to the soil surface an assortment of winter hardy pansies, with Baltic ivy cascading down the sides.

This autumn container will provide color and interest at the entrance of my home and will look good until the weather turns bitter cold.  

When winter comes I will add cut branches of balsam greenery for filler, red holly berries for color, eucalyptus branches and branches of wild nandina berries for interest.  Sometimes I use honeysuckle vines, and pine cones. I fill the containers up with evergreens so that I can look out and see beautiful greenery during the winter season. The possibilities are endless for creating a  seasonal container garden.  All you need is to think outside the box and be creative.

Photographs of Container Gardens: 

A container garden will add color, and interest to your home, patio, and garden.  Here are some tips for planting and growing container gardens.  If you have any additional questions please leave me a comment.

Seasonal Container Gardening Questions and Answers:

When is the best time to plant a container garden?

Plant your container garden after the danger of a spring frost has passed or plant it 6 weeks before a hard frost. 

What seasonal plants are best for container gardens?

Choose from a variety of annual and perennial plants that have the same growing requirements.  In spring you may want to grow bulbs; crocus, hyacinths, daffodils, or tulips, in summer perennial and annual flowers, herbs, or vegetables.  

In the fall season, I like copper or dark chocolate coleus, bayberry, ornamental grass, ornamental purple cabbage, dwarf yellow lantana, or purple or coral heuchera.

Choose plants that tell a color story.  Look for flowers that are a contrast to your container.  If your container is black then you may want to choose a green plant like the sweet potato vine that will cascade down the sides of the container, dwarf yellow lantana, and pink variegated coleus. These plants will make a black container pop.

There are many plants that you can grow in a container, choose plants that will complement each other and are eye appealing.

Are drainage holes important?

Check your container for proper drainage holes. Turn the pot over and look for holes.  Proper drainage is important because your plants will die if the roots are in wet soil.  If you do not have drainage holes then you need to make them.  For plastic or wood window boxes use a drill to make drainage holes.

How to get containers ready for planning?
If you are reusing a container then you must clean it to protect the new plants from disease.  Remove the soil, then clean the container by mixing equal parts of bleach and hot water.  Dip a wire brush into the cleaning solution and then scrub the inside of the container.  Rinse the container with water from your garden hose and allow it to dry well before using it.

What soil is best for a container garden?

Fill the container with Miracle-Gro moisture control potting soil.  This special formula soil is perfect for container gardens because it protects the plants from overwatering and underwatering.

Container garden design tips:

Keep the containers bright and cheerful and use no more than 4 types of plants in a container.  Choose a feature plant for the center, this plant is a tall plant like fountain grass, then add medium-sized plants around the fountain grass, the medium plants are the filler plants, you can add a few vines that will cascade down the sides; sweet potato or ivy are nice and will add interest to the container.  

Caring for Container Plants

• Water your container plants in the early evening by watering at the soil line.  Water until it drains out the bottom of the pot.  Container plants dry out quickly and if the soil is dry the plant will wilt. A wilting plant is a sign of stress.  It is best to keep the soil in the container evenly moist, not wet.  Watch your container gardens and if they need water, or the soil feels dry then water them.
• Stop watering when the water drains from the bottom of the container as this is an indication that the water has reached all of the roots.
• Fertilize your gardens once a week with a liquid fertilizer that will boost the blooms.
• Apply a layer of mulch or moss around the plants to help to retain moisture.
• Use a saucer under your container to protect your patio or deck from water stains.  

January is a good time to plan an indoor container garden.  You can grow any plant indoors as long as you provide the plants with sun, heat, and water.  If you have a southern exposure window then set your container close to this heat source.  If not then buy an artificial grow light. An indoor container garden is a perfect size for vegetables, flowers, or greenery.  View this YouTube video for some ideas:

Planting Tulip Bulbs

Plant a tulip bulb garden in the fall season and the flowers will bloom in spring. Tulips are attractive when planted in masses along a walkway, close to your entrance, or as accent plants in your yard and in a container.

For an informal tulip garden, you may want to plant your tulips in masses mixed with other spring bulbs; daffodils crocus and hyacinths are a few that look lovely when grown in masses. 

 

Plant a formal tulip bulb garden by choosing a color theme that will compliment your home and landscape. A garden around a tree with a color theme of red and white looks nice or purple and yellow will certainly make your feature garden pop.  Then plant tulips in stately urns and set the urns close to your home entrance. The tulip gardens will add color and curb appeal to your home. 

Things you will need to plant a tulip garden

• Tulip Bulbs
• Compost
• Bonemeal
• Organic Mulch
• Garden hose
• Garden gloves
• Shovel
• Tiller (optional) 
• Water soluble fertilizer

Choose large tulip bulbs that are firm to the touch.  Refrain from selecting bulbs that are soft or have mold. Purchase quality bulbs, and you will grow healthy tulip flowers.

Select a garden site that has full sun with well-drained soil. A garden that is raised is a good choice because tulips need soil drainage, they will not grow if the bulb is sitting in water. 

Tulips will tolerate part shade at the end of the day but do require a minimum of seven hours of sun per day.  If growing under or close to a tree, plan on buying early spring blooming tulips.  These tulips will bloom before the leaves on the trees open.  If the garden has good light the stems will be straight and tall and will not bend toward the light. 

Plan your tulip garden by drawing the design out on paper. Use colored pencils to indicate the planting location for the tulip bulbs. For an informal garden of mixed spring bulbs, you would add these flowers to your garden plan. The garden design is very helpful when you are planting tulip bulbs as a color theme.

For massive plantings of tulip bulbs dig trenches that are twelve inches deep. The easiest way to do this is with a tiller. Remove the soil from the trench. Use your hands to loosen the soil until it is a light texture.  

Mix compost with the soil and fill the hole to 8 inches from the surface.   

Sprinkle bonemeal in the bottom of the hole. Plant the tulip (flat side down, pointy side up) at a depth of 3 times the size of the bulb diameter. Space your bulbs six inches apart. Cover the bulbs with soil and water well.

Tips

Water the tulip gardens one inch per week until the first hard frost.

When the ground starts to freeze, you would then cover the gardens with six inches of organic mulch; pine needles, or chipped tree bark.

In early spring remove the mulch before the tulip stem starts to come up.  If the spring is dry begin watering tulips gardens, with one inch of water per week.  Deep watering is good as it will get to the bulb.  After the tulip blooms cut back on watering.

When the tulip foliage breaks the ground, feed with a water-soluble fertilizer.  I use miracle grow bloom booster and have good results.  Remember to fertilize when the tulip starts to come up but not when the tulip is ready to bloom.

 Allow the tulip to die back naturally.   You can add mulch around the tulip after they have bloomed to retain moisture and deter weed growth.

If your summers are dry then water the tulip gardens.  Even though it is not blooming it is still alive under the ground and needs hydration. 

You can plant tulips as late as November.

Fall Container Garden Ideas

Fall is the time when you pull out the summer annuals from your container gardens and replace the plants with colorful fall shrubs and flowers.  

September and October has been warm during the days here in the central states and my annuals are still blooming however the foliage is starting to fade due to the cooler nights.  

Today I removed the annuals from the containers and then got the containers ready for fall plantings by adding some compost.  


In the fall I like to add color and interest to my container gardens and tend to be creative by planting shrubs, pansies, grasses, ground covers, and Chrysanthemums.I also like to plant urns of purple and yellow cold hardy pansies.  Pansies are a good way to add color to your fall containers

These plants are will make a long-lasting container that will last until Thanksgiving.  If your winters are mild the container will last throughout the winter season and will make the entrance of your home feel warm and inviting.   

View this YouTube video for some creative fall container garden ideas.

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Tips:

When your Chrysanthemum blooms fade, remove the plant from the container and replace it with a new plant. By doing this you will have a continuity of color.  Plant the mum with spent blooms into your garden.

Dwarf coral red barberry will add color to your fall containers.  It is a compact mound-shaped shrub that is slow-growing. This shrub features orange flowers in the spring and ornamental bluish black fruit in the fall.

One of my favorite plants for fall containers is the caramel coral bells Heuchera. The white-pink flowers bloom on 18-inch spikes in May and June. The fall foliage of gold, orange with pink variegated is what makes this plant outstanding.  

Accent your fall containers with orange pumpkins and gourds.  Set the pumpkins around your fall container so that it is attractive to the eye.

Elephant Ear Containers look good in the fall as long as there is no hard frost.  Accent your containers with yellow Chrysanthemums.  Leave the elephant ears in the container until it is time to cut them back, dig up or bring them indoors.