Working in a garden center has been a new experience for me. It has been a good one. The people I work with are great, and helping customers is both fun and educational. Often though my “Can I help you”, is answered by “No, just getting some ideas.” The other day I realized that essentially sums up my horticultural career: just been getting some ideas, and now with this column I have the good fortune to be able to share those ideas.
Container Mania
Today’s ideas begin with containers. It’s time for them and here’s a few suggestions for yours. Designing containers had always been a struggle for me until I read an article once that divided containers into fillers, spillers, and thrillers.The thriller is the focal point, and stands out above the crowd giving the container it’s vertical line. The spillers cascade over the edge of the pot, and the fillers are the in-betweens. I have no idea who wrote that article and when or where, but thank you whoever you are.
As for my favorites in those three categories, the spillers and thrillers are easy. My favorite thriller is pretty much any elephant ear. These include the Alocasias, Colocasias, and the Xanthosoma. They are guaranteed to give any container curb appeal. The one must have which I don’t currently have is Xanthosoma ‘Lime Zinger.’ Big, bold, and bodacious is what I have to say about it.
Two spillers top my list. Creeping yellow Jenny, or Lysimachia mummularia ‘Aurea’, and Dichondra ‘Silver Falls.’ Yellow Jenny can be an insidious creeper in a garden bed, but contained it’s glowing leaves are stunning. ‘Silver Falls’ is an apt name for when the shiny silvery leaves of this Dichondra reach the edge of the container they just drop like Niagra Falls. Perfect for tall containers or hanging baskets.
Favorites for fillers is a muddled mess at the top because I have a lot of favorites there. First is Purple Heart, or Tradescantia pallida, an annual spiderwort with long and narrow purple leaves.
It is a bit of a spiller so is good for a container edge too. Another purplish filler is Alternanthera ‘Red Threads’. It has very narrow leaves sort of the color of Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’, green with a purplish cast. And speaking of Heucheras, if you haven’t seen all the colors available from that genus, you haven’t been to a garden center lately. Definitely potential filler material there.
Lightening the load
Keeping with the container theme, I’m not sure where this idea came from but somewhere along the way I ran across the idea of putting styrofoam peanuts in the bottom of large pots. It lightens the load, provides drainage, and uses less “soil.” One problem I saw after the first year of doing this was when we dumped the pots in the compost pile. Hard to gather all those boogers up. The solution: mesh bags like a potatoe or onion sack. Oh, don’t use the peanuts made out of corn starch, the kind that are landfill friendly because they break down with moisture. Not sure, but you may end up with a gooey mess in the bottom of your container.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
When it comes to soil in containers, the three “Rs” are definitely a good thing to remember. Many experts will say to never reuse the soil in your containers. I say I’d like to use new stuff but the soilless mixtures that are best for containers are not cheap! I reuse mine unless I had a disease problem in it, and I’ve never run into a problem.
When it comes to choosing bagged soil, buy the bag that is the lightest. Those that are labelled topsoil are often the heaviest because they’re mostly muck and hold water like nothing else. You want a well-draining soil mix. Those are not; however, mixed with a bag of the lighter mix it helps it from drying out as much.
Plant of the Week
This week’s featured plant is becoming as popular and ubiquitous as Stella d’Oro daylily, and for good reason. Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is a perennial geranium that is capable of spreading out 3 feet in a season, yet retreats politely in the fall. Most of all it blooms bluish flowers all summer. Here’s a link to more information and some pictures.
What’s incredible is that there is no patent on it or trademark, and it comes in just a regular unbranded pot. That’s something unheard of today. In college football terms, ‘Rozanne’ is what you might call a walk-on that’s become a garden superstar.
Events
Looking at the various community calendars, the Memorial Day weekend is pretty quiet. Gorman Nature Center does appear to be having a Birds & Breakfast Walk this Saturday led by Director Jason Larson. It is definitely for early birds, starting at 7 a.m. at the Nature Center. Call them for more information 419-884-3764.
Looking ahead into June, there is a four hour class on using chainsaws. Definitely a very useful too but a very dangerous one. It’s being given at OSU Mansfield and the cost is $50. Click here for a brochure.
The weather is supposed to be good for this weekend. A good time to remember and a good time to get dirty.
Since his days as forced labor in his mother’s garden, John has learned to enjoy gardening and has actually made a career out of it. From the backyards of Columbus to the rooftops of Manhattan, John has soiled his hands. Former Head Gardener at Kingwood Center, John still gets his hands dirty in the local community. You can contact him at jmakley@centurylink.net.