Well, wouldn’t you know it, I am behind again. In addition to everything waking up for spring, May brought with it a lovely period of visiting family from the UK (that’s good!). Unfortunately, the visit ended abruptly with a nasty head cold being spread around (that’s bad!). The weather was fantastic for most of the visit though (that’s good!), but the bugs were also making the most of the lovely weather and have been on the thick side ever since (that’s bad!). Luckily, I am mostly recovered from the head cold and can refocus my energy back into my previous plan from last month (fingers crossed!).

Despite being time constrained and sick, I was still able to get some annuals planted in the wooden containers at the end of my driveway. I haven’t been a big fan of container gardening, as I have found containers often point out failures in surrounding garden design rather than make a space more appealing. But since I won’t be redoing the driveway section for at least a year or two, and the containers are sitting right there anyway, I thought I might as well have a little fun with it and ignore my silly, and overly critical, thoughts.

My original goal was to grow some annuals from seed, but that plan quickly went out the window. Instead, I went for the faster, albeit costlier, option and visited a few local greenhouses. In the end, I think I spent approximately $75 all in. Not super great, but what can you do — I will be better prepared next year!

Here is what I purchased:

• (x2) Dracaena indivisa
• (x2) Osteospermum ‘Margarita White’
• (x4) Petunia ‘Morning Gold’
• (x4) Petunia ‘Bee’s Knees’

Right off the bat, I broke one of the cardinal “rules” with container gardening: they mush contain a thriller, a filler, and a spiller. Or, maybe bent might be a more accurate descriptor of what I did. Instead of following the rule, I used Dracaena indivisa as a backdrop (since it doesn’t produce flowers), and incorporated Osteospermum ‘Margarita White’ as a smaller “thriller”. I’m not entirely sure if it will grow to the advertised size, but it is an inversion of Petunia ‘Morning Gold's’ primary flower colour and, worst case, it will add a little more detail for those who come up the driveway. Regardless, both Dracaena indivisa and Osteospermum ‘Margarita White’ add contrast in colour, texture, and height.

In my mind, Petunia ‘Morning Gold’ and Petunia ‘Bee’s Knees’ act as the “thrillers”, “fillers”, and “spillers” by themselves. They will be the primary visual draw (thriller), and strongly contrast with each other. They comprise the majority of the container in number (filler), and they should (keyword: should) end up spilling over the edge of the container and begin growing towards the ground, making even more of a visual impact from the road (spiller).

In terms of my goal with the containers and plant selection, I wanted to make the containers feel bigger than they are, catch the eye of people passing by on the road, and also hide the decrepit state of the containers themselves. I think, at this point, I will be happy if I’m able to keep the petunias alive all summer with the amount of travel I have coming up. But that is a problem for another day!

With my mind on containers, I am beginning to wonder if I have been naive about their use all these years. The 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show was all over my Instagram feed this past week, and the Nurture Landscapes Garden by Sarah Price struck a chord. In particular, it made me realize how big my blinders have been towards containers — maybe they can be incorporated into a garden design without standing out like a sore thumb! They can certainly address several issues I run into regularly here in Sudbury. Typically, clients end up making raised beds because of how poor the soil is underneath their turf. Perhaps I should start experimenting with them more in my gardens at home. More to learn and play!

n

design prompt: container gardening

The other main benefit to container gardening is their low stakes and immediate feedback because of how quickly they grow. This makes them an ideal place to play with design! You could try playing with colour combinations, or focus on texture and form. Odd numbers, even numbers, mix in some perennials; whatever comes to mind. Just keep an eye on sun exposure requirements, fertilizer, and watering. Some annuals hold a grudge if you forget about them…

Your design prompt for the month:

Try making an annual display of some sort for your home. Stop to think about perspectives when planning the display, and then create something that you enjoy.