Container rules are meant to follow, bend, or break by Elizabeth Licata
In a recent column, Washington Post gardening columnist Adrian Higgins addressed the long-hallowed “thriller/filler/spiller” theory of container gardening. He defended it and debunked it at the same time, which seems right to me. While it’s true that the drama of a tall plant is heightened by contrasting plants that spill over the sides and fill in the middle, there are plenty of other ways to create great containers. One big beautiful plant—papyrus, coleus, colocasia, banana—or a colorful array of dense annuals can be glorious in a good container. Ordinarily, however, I do like color contrast. My favorite contrasts are various permutations of yellow/purple/white, and green (light green). It tends to work better if the contrasting plants have different forms and textures, so you find yourself following t/f/s almost by default. There are other elements where I agree and disagree with the how-tos. Soil Containers Please note: the whole idea of putting shards, gravel, packing peanuts etc. in the bottom of pots for drainage has been thoroughly debunked by our friends, the Garden Professors, many times. Just google it. Goofy containers I know that some gardeners think of containers as high maintenance or otherwise troublesome. Not me. They’re excellent vehicles for experimenting with new annuals, enjoying tropical outside, and having fun with color. Agree? Container rules are meant to follow, bend, or break originally appeared on Garden Rant on May 22, 2018. Via Gardening http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/05/container-rules-are-meant-to-follow.html May 23, 2018 at 02:13AM
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |