How to do Container Gardening – Tips for Beginners

Container gardening is a very simple and easy process by which you can create a small yet attractive garden. Since the space required is very small, you could create a colorful splash at any convenient place, be it along roof edges, balconies, or a patio. You could have your container garden in little pots of annuals or have long boxes perched on the window sill covered with beautiful shrub roses or multi-colored small perennials. You could arrange the pots in one big cluster to create a mass effect or even decide to focus on a smaller area with one specimen of a colorful flower. In any case, it lends the effect of a natural sanctuary to any environment.

There are numerous options on how you want your container garden to look. You could opt for a variety of flowers one after the other and as one plant completes flowering, you could plant another. You may decide to go for one color or have a contrasting effect. The few points you have to remember are: make sure there is a variety in heights of the plants, give some thought to the shape and texture of the leaves. Leaves which are tall give a good effect when you view it vertically rather than those which grow at pot level and are wide and flat in shape. Either you could choose plants which flower throughout the season or have plants ready to be planted, as soon as one plant completes flowering.

You could be creative in the types of pot you use. An old porcelain bowl or an old copper urn look wonderful though you could be more modern and use timber or tiles for the pot. There are a number of wonderful terracotta pots which you could buy for using them as containers but remember, this material soaks up a lot of water. if you do not wish your plants to get dried up, coat the interior of the container with a special sealer which is easily available at hardware stores.

Plastic containers also can be bought which are cheaper and you could color the exterior with some water-based paint for adding color and making it look more attractive. Along with pots, also buy matching saucers to hold the drips. The saucers prevent cement floors from getting stained or wooden floors from getting rotten. A good quality potting mix must be used in the container, to ensure maximum results from the plants, after they are potted.

In case there are a few steps to enter your home, put one pot on each step. This will be a very welcoming sight for any visitor. Inside, the pots add to the coziness and warmth of the home.

Before you start potting the plants, you must first decide where you are going to place the pots and then buy the plants accordingly. This will ensure that you do not put plants which need sunshine in a shady corner. Some plants which have long and large roots should be kept in the open garden rather than in pots.

If the frontal area outside your front main door is very large, consider putting a group of potted plants on one side rather than putting two similar plants on either side, which makes it rather boring visually.

When positioning the containers, vary them in terms of height and shape. Also group odd numbers of pots rather than even. To keep the pots together, arrange large rocks which look alike though may be of varying size. Three to five containers of similar shape and color but in varying sizes look rather attractive.

For a beautiful container gardening, all that you require are a bit of imagination, creativity and some will power to get it going. Soon your container garden can become the object of envy of your friends and neighbors.
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