The only limit to what beautiful planters or baskets can be created for your yard is your own imagination. Use old wheelbarrows, tubs or tires, pots or window boxes, or build your own planter boxes. Whatever container you choose, make sure it has plenty of drainage holes drilled in the bottom. If there aren’t sufficient drainage holes, the plants will turn yellow and struggle for life. Put layer of gravel over the drainage holes so they don’t become plugged with soil over time. Add slow release fertilizer such as Ferti-lome Garden Cote or Osmocote to
fresh
potting soil before planting, or use as a top dressing after you have planted. Never use the same potting soil two years in a row. Soil salts and fertilizers build up in old soil and actually become toxic to the plants, and your basket or planter won‘t look as good as if you started fresh. Dump the old soil into your garden, and then nothing is wasted. Choose the plants you want by grouping plants with similar sunlight requirements together, and check to see what the mature plant height will be. Put the tallest in the middle, and the shorter ones around the outside. Some plants that go well in the center are spikes, geraniums, springeri fern, coleus, or tall marigolds. For the outside of the container, decide whether you want the plant to spill over the edge or remain upright. If you want it to spill, there are so many choices. Wave petunias, super petunias, and Million Bells can spill up to three feet and are really spectacular, especially in window boxes. Ultra or Supercascade petunias will also spill, but not so dramatically. Trailing Verbenas in many colors will overflow your container and are very showy. Bacopa, with it’s tiny white flowers, creates an eye-catching waterfall effect. Trailing foliage plants include Creeping Charlie, Vinca Vine, Licorice, green or black Sweet Potato vines, and others. And don’t forget to use Fertilome Root Stimulator to prevent transplant shock. It will make all the difference in how fast your planter or baskets gets going and becomes the gorgeous focal point you want it to be.
