CONTAINER GARDENING 101
Simple planter ideas that are guaranteed to brighten your patio
Sun Salutation A beautiful agave like a century plant cultivar ( Agave americana cvs.), with thick, broad leaves and fierce spines, never fails to impress. Centre one in an urn with ‘Angelina’ sedums that have golden needle-like leaves and Oscularia deltoides, or dew plants, that feature chalky blue, toothed succulent foliage surrounding it. All tolerate the hot summer sun and deep droughts.
Blissful Bouquet
Hang this container basket at nose level and inhale its sublime scent! Snow Princess hybrid sweet alyssum offers tiny but intensely perfumed white flowers whose heavenly fragrance will last until the first snowfall. Superbena Royale Chambray and Superbena Royale Plum Wine verbena hybrids add a dash of colour to this arrangement.
Pizza Party
Plant a compact Italian tomato, like ‘Little Napoli’, in the centre of a 60litre fabric container (such as the Smart Pot) and plant the following herbs all around, spacing them evenly: dwarf basil, chives, rosemary, oregano and parsley. Not only will the ornamental effect be superb, but when the tomatoes ripen, you’ll have all the ingredients for a delicious pizza sauce in one pot!
Cool Hues, Hot Summer
Here are two plants that tolerate the oppressive heat of sweltering summer days, yet radiate coolness: Blue My Mind dwarf morning glory, with its azure-blue flowers, and Luscious Royale Piña Colada lantana, featuring creamy-yellow flowers that fade to white over time. Plant two of each variety in a 35-centimetre-diameter pot for a refreshing arrangement.
Easy Elegance
This blend for a somewhat shady location couldn’t be simpler. In a 30-centimetre pot, combine one Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime sweet potato vine with two wishbone flower hybrids like Carolina Grapeo-licious and Summer Wave Large Blue. The sweet potato vine’s bright green heart-shaped leaves really pop next to the purple, white and blue of the wishbone flowers.
Simply Salad
Plant mesclun mix in a 60-centimetre by 20-centimetre flower box. Mesclun is a salad mixture that contains a variety of greens, such as lettuce, arugula, mustard and chervil, with leaves of various colours and shapes—green, yellow, purple, whole, cut, curly, etc. Sow the seeds 5 millimetres deep and about 10 centimetres apart (or sow more densely, then thin out later), cover with soil and water well. In just 30 days, harvest all the leaves you need by cutting a plant here and there down to 1 centimetre from the soil. It will grow back again and again from the stub you leave behind, promising delicious salads all summer long!
Tower Trio
Bring a sense of harmony to your patio with the repetition of three tall identical 40-centimetrediameter planters. Centre one Vertigo purple fountain grass in each planter and surround it with Illusion Garnet Lace sweet potato vine, Supertunia Latté petunia, Supertunia White petunia and fibre optics plant ( Isolepis cernuus).
The grasses’ tall, dark purple leaves are perfectly complemented by cascades of bronze sweet potato leaves and the white, bright green and deep chocolate of the petunias, while the fiber optics plants’ thin lime green foliage gracefully drapes down the sides of the containers.
Hummingbird Haven
Hummingbirds are drawn to flowers in shades of red and orange, and especially to the Cuphea hybrid Vermillionaire large firecracker plant, a small tropical shrub whose numerous tubular flowers practically drip with nectar. In this arrangement, it’s accompanied by two Calibrachoa hybrids that hummingbirds love almost as much: Superbells Dreamsicle and Superbells Double Amber. Two plants of each of these three varieties will perfectly fill a 35-centimetre-wide pot.
Subtle Splendour
A planter doesn’t always need intense, eye-catching colour. Sometimes an arrangement that blends with the surrounding landscape is a better way to go. In this 35-centimetrediameter hanging basket, the silvery green-grey hue of the licorice plant ( Helichrysum petiolare ‘Licorice Splash’) highlights the white verandah while the lime green of the golden moneywort ( Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) references the surrounding vegetation. Plant one licorice and moneywort plant, then add two Summer Wave Large Violet wishbone flowers for a hint of colour.
Patient Impatiens
In 2013, the garden impatiens ( Impatiens
wallerana) disappeared from the market after it was nearly wiped out by a devastating new disease, impatiens downy mildew. It had been, up until then, the most popular annual in Canada. Now, it’s back in the form of a new disease-resistant variety: the Beacon series. Why not celebrate its return by planting a six-pack of mixed Beacon impatiens (they come in several colours) in a 30-centimetre hanging basket. Water well and place the pot anywhere, even in deep shade, and it will continue to bloom throughout the summer.