Container Gardening: A City Dweller's Delight

I have always loved flowers, but have not had the luxury of creating a beautiful garden since my husband and I are apartment dwellers. However, we are lucky to have a 10 foot balcony in the front of our apartment. For over 20 years, I have delighted in creating a new "look" on our balcony each spring, by using containers, window boxes and hanging baskets to display an array of flowers and herbs. I look forward each year to planning my "garden", and have learned a great deal over the years about what works in our particular environment.

In many respects, successful container gardening requires as much creativity and knowledge as tending a regular garden. In order to grow beautiful flowers and/or herbs in containers or window boxes, you must take several factors into consideration. Here are some important tips for adding color, interest, and overall beauty to your outdoor space.

1) If you want to grow flowers or herbs in containers or window boxes, first consider how you will arrange the containers. If you are placing containers on steps, be sure they will not be a hazard to those walking up and down the stairs. Boxes placed on a balcony railing should always be firmly secured so as not to fall to the sidewalk.

2) Carefully observe the amount of sun exposure in the area you will place the containers. You will need to choose flowers that will flourish in your particular environment.

3) Choose the right type of soil for the flowers you will grow. Today, there are many brands of soil that include all of the necessary nutrients and moisture you will need to be successful. Miracle Gro is one brand that we used last year and our flowers grew large and beautiful. Miracle Gro has many types of soil, and you can discuss what's best for your flowers with the staff in your garden center.

4) Choose flowers that don't grow very tall. Container gardens should include dwarf varieties of plants, or flowers that don't grow larger than about six to eight inches. It is always nice to have a mix of flowers and colors, or have a color theme among your containers. It is also nice to have some type of cascading flower or vine in the front of your container to add interest.

5) Look carefully at the labels in each plant you would like to buy. There will be a tag indicating whether the flowers will grow in shade, part sun / part shade, or full sun. If you have observed the amount of sun exposure, it is important to match your flowers to the amount of sun they will receive.

6) Consider planting herbs in some of your containers or boxes, especially if you have good exposure to the sun. There is nothing like fresh herbs in salads and other foods during the summer. You can also dry the herbs, or cut and freeze them for future use. Some easy to grow and common herbs include basil, oregano, thyme, mint, sage, tarragon and parsley.

7) Check the moisture level in your containers daily, especially during dry periods, and extreme heat. Containers dry out quickly, and you will need to water them more frequently than if you had plants in the ground. The exception would be containers in shaded areas. You will also notice that the flowers or herbs will droop if they need water. However, it is important that you don't overwater as you can rot the roots.

8) If you want your flowers and herbs to spread and grow more, pinch the flower off as it fades, and every few weeks or so, cut down some of the flowers to promote spreading. This is especially true of flowers such as petunias. For herbs, pinching new growth every so often will also help the plant to spread.

Finally, here is a list of some flowers that do well in containers, in sun or shade.

- Flowers for full or part/sun: Petunias, begonias, gazania, various types of daisies, dahlias, coleus (brightly colored leaves), geraniums, salvia

- Flowers for part sun / part shade: marigold, vinca, impatiens

- Flowers for shade: lobelia, tuberous begonias

Your garden center will probably have books or magazines that list many more flowers and their care. In addition, each year garden centers will feature some new or different flowers.

Container gardening is great fun and will definitely add beauty to your surroundings.