Look ma, No Flowers!
Flowers are beautiful. They provide incredible color and interest to our containers and gardens. But they also require deadheading, fertilizing, more deadheading and a midsummer nap to perform at their best. And, if you are like me, the last bloom drops right before your big party!
Why not forego flowers and plant a container of all foliage? These are some of the best options for time-pressed gardeners. The containers on my back patio are all foliage. Because after I have been out in my client’s gardens deadheading all day it’s the last thing I want to do when I get home. Best of all, containers made up of great foliage plants will look better in September then when you plant them in June. You can’t really say that about flowers.
Creating a great composition using foliage is not that different from getting dressed in the morning. It’s all about combining patterns. Choose one boldly patterned foliage plant, one that might be a bit smaller and then a neutral. Of course, all the plants you put together should enjoy the same light and moisture requirements. I often go around the nursery with my inspiration plant in hand and find out what it looks good with. Some of my favorite foliage plants include: heuchera, dichondra ‘Silver Falls’, coleus, colocasia, strobilanthes and cannas.
So this summer why not focus on foliage? After all, nothing says “enjoy that glass of wine” like a container that needs no maintenance.
A look back. A look ahead.
During the somewhat quieter winter months I look back and take stock of the previous year. I spend a lot of time going over photos and looking at combinations. I evaluate what worked and what didn’t. I make a list of what plants I will use again and which ones I will send packing. This winter was another challenging one as Thanksgiving was late and time for decorating was compressed. Thanks to a great team all was done before the dreaded hard freeze.
This time of year I am not planting, rather planning. As I look forward to spring I gather info from previous seasons and make notes of what we will do. Client’s suggestions, color schemes and even dates of special events are made note of and become part of the overall design plan. Of course, as with all planning, flexibility is key. If I build a whole design around a certain plant and it is unavailable or not healthy, we need to quickly switch to Plan B. I love these spring projects from our portfolio and hope they inspire you in your planning.
Winter containers
Spring containers
Container Gardens to Fall For.
Fall container gardens are some of the most fun (and challenging!) to create. Plant material must be able to handle temperature extremes since one day can be a balmy 70 degrees and the next can be in the high 30’s. So, what’s the trick for creating fall containers, like ours, that look good from September until the end of November? One word: foliage.
Creating a long-lasting fall container garden is not hard if you focus on foliage. There are many great, and colorful, options that you can incorporate into your fall designs. Cabbages, kales, Swiss chards (especially the Bright Lights series), heuchera, and euphorbia are all wonderful options. Cool season herbs and veggies like sage or lettuce are great fillers. Perennials like amsonia and bergenia can be planted in summer containers and allowed to transition into fall. As the weather cools the ferny foliage of the amsonia will turn buttery yellow and the leathery leaves of the bergenia will begin to tinge pink.
Fall is such a beautiful time of year, why not keep the beauty going with your container gardens?
One pot. Three ways.
This winter I created many different containers for various Garden Clubs. During one particularly busy week I challenged myself to use similar materials without creating the same container. In this instance I had a beautiful bright red pot, birch poles and greens. By using different design aesthetics I was able to put together three pots that, while they had similar elements, could not have been more different.
First Pot
The first pot was exuberant. Birch poles took center stage and were surrounded by lush greens in many textures. Cryptomeria and pine provided nice contrast. Artificial red berries echoed the reddish tint of the leucothoe, as well as the stems of the pieris.
Second Pot
The second pot had a more contemporary feel due to the nature of its linear, segmented parts. Like the first pot, the birch poles were in the center. Next was a very tight circle of red huck. The red huck was slightly shorter than the birch. Extra-large pine cones held upright provided the next level. Working my way down I used deep green Nordmann fir, and stood it upright. I knew that the green would provide great contrast at the edge of my pot since green and red are opposite each other on the color wheel. I needed to somehow tie the color of the pot into the arrangement so I added some artificial red berries.
Third Pot
The third pot combined the linear feel of the second pot with the lushness of the first. Red huck and silver fir stood tall and straight encircling the birch. Then the softness took over with cryptomeria and cedar draping over the edge of the pot. To make things even more dramatic I added some pretty frosted ornaments. The silvery white ones picked up the colors of the silver fir while the reddish complemented the container.
It is so fun to see how a container’s look can be changed just by using its components in different ways. If you haven’t tried mixing things up a bit, I highly recommend it!
DIY Fun
I really love hosting workshops. It is always wonderful to see the creativity within a group, whether a garden club, young mothers group or fundraising event. I have conducted wreath workshops, terrarium workshops, container garden workshops, even succulent topped pumpkin workshops.
I provide a few easy instructions, lots of great and unique material and step back. I empower participants to use their own sense of design and color to create something that is uniquely them.
I even offer in-home workshops for smaller groups. These are great for a Girls’ Night Out, bridal shower, or birthday parties.
Click through our workshop photo gallery.
A Dream Project
I was recently invited to create some new container gardens for Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. What a thrill and an honor!
The Calderwood Courtyard is beautiful and the new planters are perfect for the spot.
I was asked to work with a simple green and white palette since there are so many weddings that take place there. There are mature birch trees in the courtyard so we mimicked them with birch poles at the center of our plantings. This also provided needed height.
The courtyard is a bit shady so we used white hydrangea, asparagus fern, lamium, and white muscari. With a nod to future wedding receptions, we incorporated daffodil ‘Bridal Crown’ – one of my favorites. It smells absolutely delicious. We even managed to squeeze in some white columbine.
The weather on that late April day was gorgeous and with a great crew to help it was an amazing project.
The Best Thing To Plant in Your Containers Now
Would you laugh if I said “herbs”?
In my honest opinion, it is the best thing to plant in spring.
Add some beautiful curly parsley to your pansies and pussy willow. Add some purple sage or lemon thyme for pops of non-flowering color. Mint will do well in shadier locations. Rosemary is great in a drier situation. The beauty of these plants is their longevity. Like the Energizer Bunny they keep going and going and …. You may need to re-arrange them in your summer and fall containers but they will still be looking great. And at the end of the season (mid-September) perennial herbs can be planted in the garden. Talk about bang for the buck. Your $4.99 investment got you three seasons, plus an addition to the garden.
When using herbs in containers make sure their companions like the same growing conditions. And I do not mix basil with anything. I find it is happiest in its own pot; preferably terracotta since the roots do not like being wet.
Can you spot the herbs in these container gardens?
This year I encourage you to use herbs in your containers. Not only will you be rewarded with beautiful, long-lasting arrangements at the end you may even get to make some tabbouleh…or mojitos!
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