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You know there's just something about having lots of beautiful flowers around your house.
It makes it feel more like a home. You know, whether you have limited space, or you're
just trying to do something a little more creative around your garden, containers. Gardening
in containers is the way to go. Now, there are five simple things that I want
you to remember that will make your endeavors in gardening even more successful. Now, you
have to start with a container and believe me the size of the container really matters.
The larger the container, I think the better. You don't want something too small because you're
not going to have enough soil volume to really support the plants the way you want. For instance,
I'm going to plant three of these Supertunia Raspberry Blasts in this container. So you've
got to have plenty of room for them to grow. The other thing you want to keep in mind is,
whatever kind of container you use, you want to make sure it has a drain hole in the bottom.
Most of these plants do not like to sit in soggy soil. So drainage is very very important.
I'm using a classic terracotta container. I just like the look. But if you use clay
or ceramic, you need to be aware you're going to have to store them in the winter to make
sure they don't freeze. They can be fragile, particularly when temperatures drop below
freezing. Okay, the next thing you need to keep in mind
is the soil. You need a good garden soil that's blended for container gardening. This makes
a big difference. You want a soil that when you squeeze it like this and you hold it in
your hand it crumbles and falls apart just like that. That's soil that's ready for plants,
and they'll take off once their roots get in it. You see, you want to make sure that
the soil drains well, and that is an indicator also that the soil is going to drain well.
Okay, the next thing you need to think about is fertilizer. Nutrition. You need to make
sure that your plants are well fed. So, I start out with a granular fertilizer that
I work in the soil like this. You can use a slow release that can feed them over the
season. Once you get them planted you can begin feeding them regularly with a water-soluble
plant food, and that'll really increase the flower power.
Next comes the plants. This is where it gets really exciting because there are so many
beautiful plants to choose from. For instance, in this container I mentioned that I wanted
to plant some of these Supertunias. I just love these. And this one is called Raspberry
Blast. So what I'm doing here is I'm creating a singular sensation, meaning that I'm putting
all of one variety in one container. Kind of like I did up here by the front door. If
you want to get really creative, one of my rules of thumb is to mix it up just a little
bit and use three different types of plants. For instance, you'd use something tall and
spiky in the back or in the middle. We call that a thriller. And then around the base
of it add something that will sort of fill in. That's a filler. And then for
cascading over the edge, choose something that would be a spiller. So you get it, you
got a thriller, a filler, and a spiller. Okay, now let's talk about water. Water is
very important. You just want to make sure that you're actually watering the soil and
deep soaking the roots of the plant and not spraying water all over the foliage and the
blooms. You see, when you do that you create an environment in among the leaves and so
forth that just creates a breeding ground for disease, which is no good for your plants
and no fun for you. With these, I'll deep soak the soil and the roots around these plants
as soon as I get them planted and I'll make sure the soil remains consistently moist.
Now, when to water. This may seem like a really basic question, but it's really not. The best
way to test is to go and stick your finger in the soil. If it feels dry, the plants need
some water. You may think, well, if this container needs water then they all do. Not necessarily
true. If you have smaller containers, they're going to dry out more quickly.
So, the next time you garden in containers, give these five tips a try and just see what
a difference it can make in the health and the beauty of your plants.