3 tips for starting and maintaining a colourful container garden

There are lots of benefits to container gardening, especially the freedom to move your containers anywhere you want. Here are three tips for designing and maintaining an eye-catching container garden that will add a splash of colour wherever you place it.

As with other types of gardens, the first step in creating a container garden is deciding on the result you want to achieve and how much time you are willing to invest in the project. Some things to consider in your decision should include:

• All plants grown in containers require regular watering and feeding, but additional upkeep such as pinching, pruning, training and repotting varies greatly from plant to plant.
• From the beginning, be realistic about how much care you are willing to give your container garden. As such, choose plants, containers and locations accordingly.
• Many plants that need full sun will grow in containers, but a sunny exposure also increases the amount of watering you must do to keep your plants from being chronically thirsty.
• Lanky, long-stemmed plants that are supported in the garden by their neighbours may need to be staked, as will plants grown in windy locations.
• Flowering perennials that put on a brilliant show for a brief period, such as lilies and balloon flowers, may need to be moved to a less conspicuous location once their blossoms have faded and replaced with other plants.
• Bear in mind that growing plants in containers can be a short-term or long-term adventure. For example, a pot of tulip bulbs planted in the fall will develop in spring to dazzle your deck for a few weeks, but then the show will be over. However, a shapely juniper or Japanese maple may grace your patio for many years.
• Keeping at least one small shrub or tree in a container is rewarding, but because cold penetrates from the sides (making the soil extra cold) it must be at least two zones hardier than where you live.
• You can grow any type of garden plant in a container, including annuals, perennials, vines, groundcovers, bulbs, shrubs and trees.
• Check plant profiles to see if a plant that interests you is known to grow well in containers.
• Frequently, specific cultivars are preferred for container culture because they possess characteristics needed for potting.
• Study displays at local nurseries and garden centres to see what varieties are used in hanging baskets, other containers or are recommended for use in containers.
• You may also find certain varieties particularly suited to container gardening listed in garden catalogues.

Gardeners can choose from a vast selection of plant containers, ranging from classic clay flowerpots to whimsical wire baskets to items rescued from the trash bin, such as worn boots or rickety wheelbarrows.

• The single feature every plant container must have is one or more drainage holes, so that excess water can escape rather than pool up around plant roots.
• When buying containers, always check for drainage holes, because it can be difficult or impossible to drill holes in certain materials, such as glazed ceramic, without cracking or destroying the pot.
• You may want to move certain plants indoors during winter, in which case the containers (and plants) should be easy to carry and reasonably attractive to suit your décor– unless the container's appearance doesn't bother you.

It's tempting to think of container gardening as "instant" because the planting process is so fast and easy. Simply choose a container and the plants you want to grow, add potting soil and water, and voilà! You're ready to go! Or are you?

• Plants grown in containers have several special needs because the small space and volume of soil in which the roots grow limit the amount of nutrients and water available.

To help your container plants grow their best, it is important to use:

• High-quality potting soil that allows for vigorous root growth.
• Appropriate fertilizer to encourage healthy foliage and abundant flowering.
• Proper watering techniques that never leave plants parched and dry or drown them.

The flexibility that container gardening offers is one of the most attractive features of this hobby. When done properly, you can move your garden all around your yard or house, summer or winter. It's that easy and enjoyable!