Summer Patio Container Gardens

 This year we planted a variety of flower and herb container gardens for our patio and enjoyed them all summer long.  Now that summer is ending the container gardens are in full bloom and have added color and interest.

Here are some photographs of my container gardens.

 

Know that this summer’s heat was on record for being the hottest summer in history.  Not only was it extreme heat there were also water shortages.   We were able to keep the container gardens hydrated by reusing household water, such as water used to cook vegetables or to rinse the vegetables and fruit in the sink.

While it took some creativity to find water for the containers, know that our efforts were worth it.  It's now the end of summer, the weather is cooler and the container gardens are in full bloom

 

Combination Container Gardens – Spring Bulbs

Extend your container garden bloom season by planting a variety of plants and bulbs that bloom at different times. When it comes time to put together a container garden I prefer to plant once, then enjoy early, mid, and late spring season flowers. This type of container garden is good for someone who is busy and has no time to garden or someone who has a small yard, terrace, or balcony.

Flower Container Garden by sgolis

Grow a variety of spring bulbs but before you buy you will need to check the bloom time. If you shop online at Netherlandsbulbcompany.com you will read that some bulbs have bloom times in early spring, mid-spring, and late spring.

Here are a few spring bulbs that I like to plant in a combination container.  For early spring plants; Narcissus Jet Fire, Tulip Red Emperor, Crocus Large Flowering Mixture, Galanthus snowdrops.  Mid-Spring; Narcissus butterfly mixture, Tulip Red Riding Hood, Muscari Delft Blue Mixture  Late Spring Narcissus Pheasant’s Eye, Tulip Foxtrot, Giant Grape Hyacinth

Put your combination container garden together in the fall because the bulbs do need to have a winter season in order to bloom in the spring.

For abundant blooms and colorful flower container gardens, I plant 15 spring bulbs per square foot. The bulbs are planted flat side down, pointed side up, and are 3 inches apart. Yes, the bulbs are close together but come spring when they bloom the container gardens look fabulous.

Planting Tips:

1. Plant spring bulbs in the fall, six weeks prior to a hard frost.
2. I recommend mixing bone meal with the potting soil. The bone meal will provide the bulbs with phosphorous and calcium. It is great for strong roots. Plus squirrels do not like the smell of bonemeal and will stay out of your spring bulb containers.

Grow Violas in Containers - Garden Tips

  Now that it is early spring and the crocus and daffodils are blooming I want to add more color to my container's gardens and will achieve this by planting cool-season violas. Viola flowers are in the violet family; some are perennial, others are annuals and a few grow wild in your yard.

I find that the viola flower looks best when grown in freestanding containers, this is a small flower that seems to get lost when grown in the garden. Viola comes in a variety of colors; red, purple, yellow, and white are my favorite colors as these colors are so cheerful.

Before I plant in my container I always like to remove the plastic liner and I never use preexisting dirt. I will remove the dirt and wash the plastic liner with antibacterial dawn dish soap, rinse well, and let the liner air dry. Then I will fill the container liner with potting soil that is amended with compost or manure.

 When planting I like to plant using a color story I love violet grown with yellow and also containers of the same color violas.  Once the violas are planted, add some mulch before setting the container where the flowers will get lots of sun. 

This year I bought a variety of viola flowers from Lowe's garden center, know that it is important to watch the violas for the first month to make sure that the soil does not dry out. Dry soil can cause the plant to feel stress and it may die. You want to keep the soil moist but not wet. Too wet of soil is not good for Violas.

I do recommend applying a layer of mulch to go around the viola plants but stay a good inches away from the plant stem. Violas are hardy to 20” F which makes them ideal for early spring container gardens. 

Add Color to Your Winter Garden with Pansies

My winter yard and gardens are looking rather blah. The snowdrops are blooming and the crocus is coming up. The only green in my yard, besides the bulbs, is the evergreen shrubs and the Baltic ivy growing up the side of my oak tree.

The winter weather has been mild as we are twenty degrees warmer than the norm. So I thought I would plant a container of pansies and get a head start on very early spring gardening. I like the idea of having a container garden of pretty yellow and purple pansies close to the entrance of my home. Or I may plant some purple tulips that I have in cold storage in the center of the terracotta container and then plant a border of purple pansies.

Pansy Arrangement

Grow pansies in a container garden

Add color to winter gardens with pansies

The late winter/very early spring pansy flower containers will look nice growing on my deck. I will set them in a sunny location.

Know that pansies are easy to grow. You will need the following garden supplies; a Container that has drainage holes on the bottom, and potting soil that is amended with compost. Liquid fertilizer (I like to use  spray and grow), mulch, and winter hardy pansies.

Pansies can tolerate light snow, but if it gets extremely cold I will cover them with frost protection or drag the containers into my mudroom.

Note: You can plant pansies in the fall also.  It is a good way to add color to your container gardens.

Another Productive Day in the Garden

Today I was up early and out the door before stopping for coffee. I needed to be at my client's house at 8 AM to do their spring bulb containers.  Lucky for me my client Marge handed me a cup of coffee and also offered me 2 slices of cinnamon toast. It is safe to say I have been on call to do their gardening needs for years and tend to think of them as friends who are also my clients.

The bulb resin containers came in two sizes 16 inches and 19 inches, and both were deep enough for the bulbs.  

Planting the spring bulbs was an easy project.  I planted the two large containers that would feature red tulips and Dutch master daffodils and the other 2 containers would feature grape hyacinth bulbs, Muscari with yellow daffodils, and narcissus bulbs. 

Then I did some smaller daffodils and tulip containers that would be kept in cold storage (average temp 48 degrees Fahrenheit)  My client said she would use the small bulb containers to decorate indoors; dining table, and coffee table, and she would give some to neighbors.

Since the bulbs came from clients' cold storage and had sprouted already I did not recommend that they put the containers outdoors especially if the weather was bitterly cold and the soil would freeze. This would not be good for the bulbs that had signs of new growth.

My client agreed and said they would put the containers on their deck where there was plenty of sun.  Then if the weather turned bitter cold again they would move to a protected area where the soil would not freeze. 

 I also recommended that the soil stay evenly moist but not wet as they did not want the bulb to dry out.

After the spring bulb container gardens were planted I went back home and got busy being productive in my own garden. Worked some on my new herb garden and also made a list of the things that I needed for the garden center at Lowe's.

This time of the year is busy for me because clients are calling for help with their yard and garden needs and I also need to get my gardens ready for spring flower blooms and garden plantings.

Today was another perfect day for working in the garden. I am glad that we have had warm days in January because I have used my time wisely by being productive in the yard and garden.

Late Season Planting: Spring Bulbs in Containers

Its January and normally I do not plant spring bulbs outdoors during this time of the year but a client emailed me and told me she had a bag of 200 mixed spring bulbs; hyacinths, daffodils and red tulips that she wanted me to plant in her plastic containers.

In the past I have planted bulbs in containers and then kept them in the greenhouse but I have never planted them for outdoors this late in the season. There will be snow this weekend and a hard frost.

I think the bulbs should be okay as long as the containers are deep and wide enough for the spring bulbs.  However I did suggest that they keep the newly planted bulb containers on their covered patio.   This area would protect them from excess ice or snow being piled up on top to the containers. Other than that I am certain that as long as I get these bulbs into a container that is mixed with compost potting soil and bone meal that they will be just fine. 

So tomorrow I am going to head over to my clients house and plant her 200 mixed spring bulbs in containers. I will do all the planting in her garage so I won't feel too cold. The spring bulb containers will be topped with a layer of cypress mulch. I think this is wise since there is snow in the forecast.

All I need to do is do the arrangement of the bulbs so they containers look pretty when they bloom, then fill the planters with the amended soil and plant the bulb according to my drawing and then water. My clients husband said he will take them outdoors.

Now I am wondering if the garden centers have any leftover spring bulbs because I would like to fill my plastic containers with spring blooming flowers also. Maybe I will run to Lowe's garden center in the morning and talk to the master gardener that oversees that department.

Learn more about planting tulips in a container by viewing this tutorial.

Getting Container Gardens Ready to Come Indoors

The weather forecast indicates that there will be a light frost on Sunday night which means it is time to get the outdoor container gardens ready to come indoors.

 

Before bringing Plants indoors do the following:

Herbs are grown in containers

1. Check to see if any of the plants are root bound or in need of a new container.  Transplant now if needed with new soil. 
2. For all other container gardens; look over your plants to make sure there are no grasshoppers, snails, or spiders. 
3. I found spiders and fleas on my plants and treated them all with a soap soak to get rid of all unwanted garden pests on the leaves and then I mixed a handful of spent coffee grounds into the soil.
4. You do not want your plants to go into shock due to a change in outdoor and indoor temperature, so bring them in before it gets too cold outdoors. Best to bring the plants in before you turn on your furnace heat.
5. Pick plastic drain saucers to protect your floor from water stains.  Find them garden centers;  Lowe's, Home Depot, and Walmart may have some also.
6.  If you cannot find saucers put containers in plastic under the bed storage container.  You will be able to fit a few small pots in one container.

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Other Yard and Garden Posts by Sgolis

Autumn Yard and Garden Check List

Attribution Freerangestock.com