Container Gardening Secrets: Ideas to Inspiration

Container gardening is only limited by the size of the container and your imagination. The right pot, with the right soil, placed in the right place can grow anything from a micro-farm of seasonal vegetables to your favourite specimen tree.

Why container gardening?

Container gardens allow anyone with a little bit of space and sunshine to garden almost anywhere and may even lead to an addiction of colourful pots and quirky vessels on your deck or patio. The impact of colourful glazed pots or the whimsical effect of a repurposed washtub lends a personalized aesthetic to landscapes like your own signature.

There are endless choices available to begin your container garden. Cedar boxes, railing baskets, large resin pots, half barrels, storage totes, fish tanks, and even the kitchen sink can be used to grow vegetables in as long as you abide by a few fundamental principles when choosing.

Principles of container gardening

1. Pair plants with a vessel that accommodates their growing root system.
2. Provide a soil mixture appropriate for plant choice.
3. Ensure drainage will be adequate for the variety chosen.

Thanks to their size, container gardens are much more manageable than growing in a ground-level bed. They also allow for greater control of the growing conditions. You can address soil structure, fertilizer, and water needs of specific plants and you can position containers so they are receiving the appropriate sunlight for each variety.

Placing containers in ideal locations will save water and lead to healthier plants that can fight off pests more readily. Used functionally to grow produce in a small space or as an accoutrement to the landscape, container gardens have many benefits to offer.

What can you grow in a container?

There are so many plants that will grow successfully in containers the simpler question may be what can’t you grow? To begin, research the needs of your favorite varieties to determine the space you will need for the root system and the type of soil you will use to ensure a thriving plant.

In the list below you will find a list of the conventional container plants. This serves as a general guide to the pot size and the right soil combination for each. Note that the pot sizes listed are the minimum requirements. Some plants will have to be repotted into larger containers or else they’ll become root bound.

Use the pot and planter soil calculator to see how much mix your containers will hold.

Common Container Gardening Plants and Their Needs