|
|
|
Most garden containers get potted up with bright bedding annuals. They’re abundant, generally unflagging as long as they have sufficient water, and since annuals need replanting every spring, containers are a convenient place to put them.
But is this short sighted? Why not plan for something that will outlast the summer? At the Delaware Center for Horticulture, we use containers to beautify all year long on our grounds and in our public landscapes around Wilmington.
Here's how: although it might seem to be working backwards, try thinking of your winter vision for the container first. If the pot is large enough to hold a small evergreen, try a Cryptomeria, juniper, or holly. Anticipate getting three winters of greenery out of the plant before it outgrows the container.
If an evergreen is too large, try a perennial that, although dormant, will provide something interesting or beautiful to look at in the winter. How about a perennial that has interesting seed stalks that linger through winter like Phlomis or a taller Sedum? Or the spiky leaves of some Yucca filamentosa? Here are some more ideas:
- the dried sun-bleached flowers of an Annabelle hydrangea
- the peeling cinnamon-toned bark of a crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
- the golden blades of an ornamental grass like feather reed grass (Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster') or switchgrass (Panicum virgatum).
- corkscrew willow have interesting twisting stems
- a shrub dogwood cultivar like Cornus sanguinea 'Winter Flame' has yellow/red winter stems
Don’t forget to use native plants like chokeberry, fothergilla, sumac, and Christmas fern – we do a whole series of containers on Ninth Street in Wilmington with a native plant theme.
If you just love seeing the container filled with blooming annuals all summer, consider the simple solution of pruning some evergreen or otherwise interesting branches from elsewhere in your garden and sticking them in the containers for an attractive faux winter arrangement that you pull out as soon as the annuals arrive the next spring.
Choose drought tolerant annuals, as containers are hard to keep evenly watered in the heat of summer, and plant after Mother’s Day in May when we’re well beyond the threat of freezing.
As summer wanes, let the winter elements you planned take center stage, but before the soil freezes altogether, slip in some spring bulbs like crocus or tulips or grape hyacinth (or whatever you’ve found your local critters are least fond of) to enjoy the following spring.
For more container garden ideas, take a look at our pots around the city, where you can see Lantana, Scaevola, and Angelonia. Our Public Landscapes Manager, Andrew Olson, designs many of our center’s container plantings, and his favorites are at the Brandywine Zoo –“big, crazy, colorful things” filled with ornamental bananas and Canna lilies.
Sarah Deacle is assistant director of programs at the Delaware Center for Horticulture in Wilmington. She holds a Masters in Horticultural Science from Michigan State University. For more about DCH, visit dehort.org or call (302) 658-6262.
Most garden containers get potted up with bright bedding annuals. They’re abundant, generally unflagging as long as they have sufficient water, and since annuals need replanting every spring, containers are a convenient place to put them.
But is this short sighted? Why not plan for something that will outlast the summer? At the Delaware Center for Horticulture, we use containers to beautify all year long on our grounds and in our public landscapes around Wilmington.
Here's how: although it might seem to be working backwards, try thinking of your winter vision for the container first. If the pot is large enough to hold a small evergreen, try a Cryptomeria, juniper, or holly. Anticipate getting three winters of greenery out of the plant before it outgrows the container.
If an evergreen is too large, try a perennial that, although dormant, will provide something interesting or beautiful to look at in the winter. How about a perennial that has interesting seed stalks that linger through winter like Phlomis or a taller Sedum? Or the spiky leaves of some Yucca filamentosa? Here are some more ideas:
- the dried sun-bleached flowers of an Annabelle hydrangea
- the peeling cinnamon-toned bark of a crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
- the golden blades of an ornamental grass like feather reed grass (Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster') or switchgrass (Panicum virgatum).
- corkscrew willow have interesting twisting stems
- a shrub dogwood cultivar like Cornus sanguinea 'Winter Flame' has yellow/red winter stems
Don’t forget to use native plants like chokeberry, fothergilla, sumac, and Christmas fern – we do a whole series of containers on Ninth Street in Wilmington with a native plant theme.
If you just love seeing the container filled with blooming annuals all summer, consider the simple solution of pruning some evergreen or otherwise interesting branches from elsewhere in your garden and sticking them in the containers for an attractive faux winter arrangement that you pull out as soon as the annuals arrive the next spring.
Choose drought tolerant annuals, as containers are hard to keep evenly watered in the heat of summer, and plant after Mother’s Day in May when we’re well beyond the threat of freezing.
As summer wanes, let the winter elements you planned take center stage, but before the soil freezes altogether, slip in some spring bulbs like crocus or tulips or grape hyacinth (or whatever you’ve found your local critters are least fond of) to enjoy the following spring.
For more container garden ideas, take a look at our pots around the city, where you can see Lantana, Scaevola, and Angelonia. Our Public Landscapes Manager, Andrew Olson, designs many of our center’s container plantings, and his favorites are at the Brandywine Zoo –“big, crazy, colorful things” filled with ornamental bananas and Canna lilies.
Sarah Deacle is assistant director of programs at the Delaware Center for Horticulture in Wilmington. She holds a Masters in Horticultural Science from Michigan State University. For more about DCH, visit dehort.org or call (302) 658-6262.
