How to grow container gardens

Find out how container gardens can add some character to your landscape and how to grow your own.

Budget-conscious gardeners know that container gardens add pizzazz to your backyard without a high pricetag. Whether you want to add visual interest and dimension throughout your yard, spruce up an entryway or bring splashes of colour to a patio or small sitting area, containers provide an easy, cost-effective solution. Better yet, containers are versatile, too; by selecting suitable plants, you can container-garden in both sunny and shady areas.

No doubt about it — containers are a gardener's best friend. Before you dive into container gardening, take a good look at the lay of your landscape. Is there something unsightly you'd like to hide, or a garden or home entrance you'd like to highlight? Or perhaps there's a dull, drab spot in an otherwise colourful landscape that needs a visual shot in the arm. Whatever the case, containers can fit the bill.

Just one caveat: Avoid spots that are vulnerable to wind, which can snap off plants, topple over containers and make precious water evaporate more quickly, which will increase your watering chores.

• Once you know where you want to place containers, it's time to select pots. In some cases, the space available will dictate the size. Small pots will look puny on a sprawling deck, for instance, and large pots will appear out of place in tight quarters.
• Overall, the sky's the limit when it comes to containers. From utilitarian clay pots, stunning glazed pottery, elegant wooden planters and galvanized-metal beauties to glass-fibre pots, stylish bamboo, simple plastic and muscular concrete and reconstituted stone, there's something for everyone. (If you buy metal planters, though, don't put them in full sunlight, lest they bake the plants they hold.)
• To do use containers on the cheap, recycle everyday objects into fun and whimsical containers. Virtually anything is fair game, as long as you can drill or punch drainage holes in it.
• Use your imagination and consider everything from old bicycles, vintage watering cans and discarded coffee pots to worn-out boots, retired washtubs and character-laden kettles. (Just be sure to select containers that are at least 15 centimetres/six inches tall to allow plant roots room to fully develop.) Yard sales are great sources for tossed-away treasures that will add charm and personality to your yard. And don't worry if items don't match a particular colour scheme you have in mind; there are few things a coat of paint can't cure.
• Keep in mind that clay pots dry out quickly, which can promote water evaporation and increase watering needs. In addition, choose lighter-weight pots if you think you'll move them around frequently; you'd be surprised at how much even a medium-sized, soil-filled pot can weigh!
• And whatever you do, use a container that will be large enough to hold mature plants and fill the space you want to occupy. Buying a pot that's too small for full-grown plants is a common beginner's mistake. If you plan to keep the plant for the foreseeable future, it might be a good idea to start small and keep repotting as the plant grows larger, rather than starting out with a small plant in a big container.

1. Scrub old pots thoroughly to remove pests and diseases.
2. Line pots with old newspapers to better retain moisture.
3. Check for several evenly spaced drainage holes, which are better than one big hole.
4. Use coffee filters to stop soil from running through container drainage holes.
5. Mix in slow-release fertilizer at planting time (apply according to manufacturer's specifications).
6. Utilize water-retaining beads, which can hold many times their volume in water, to keep soil moist.
7. Group pots together for eye-catching displays. It'll also keep humidity around the plants higher.
8. Deadhead plants throughout the growing season to encourage continual growth and blooming — and keep plantings looking neat and tidy.
9. Select stone, wood and terracotta containers to offer good insulation for roots, making them the best candidates for locations in full sun or with northern exposures.
10. Anchor tall containers that are vulnerable to high winds by driving a sturdy stake into the ground (or between concrete slabs, if that's the case), then slide the pot over it through a drainage hole.