Showing posts with label Garden Design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garden Design. Show all posts

Monday, 10 February 2014

Container gardening design means that you should have a simple rule or a plan around which you can base the container gardens.
MIMIC THE NATURE
Most container gardens mimic the nature. This means like the forests in the nature, the container garden should have taller elements like the trees, which seem to rise up to the sky. It should also have secondary growth like the shrubs, which fill out the spaces, and short growth like ground covers and vines. The short growth hangs out from the edges of the baskets.
Its important to create a right balance of all three for the container garden to look good. The short growth in the forest is more abundant than the secondary growth and the secondary growth more than the trees in the forest. In the forest all plants are fighting for sunlight and water. In this process there are competing against one another. However, in container gardens this is not likely to happen.
All plants will get their share of nutrients, sunlight and water, though there would be plenty of leaf droppings from the interior sections of the container as plants grow up. In essence for a great container gardening design, you need maximum ground cover and minimum taller plants.
THE THREE RING FORMAT
This format resembles the bull’s eye. With a middle target and then three rings around it. The middle target can be left without container plants and the other three things will have ground cover, secondary growth and the taller elements in that order.
You can leave the target area empty or have a spiked plant. You can also interchange the format of the three rings. Have the ground cover in the second ring. The outer most rings can accommodate the mid sized plants very easily.
VINING PLANTS IN THE SECOND ROW
Most gardeners prefer to plant their vines on the outer most rims against the wall. The vines take the help of the wall and climb up. Sometimes it leaves gaps and this gives the container garden an unfinished look. But you can also plant the vines in the second ring. In the second row, they grow both upwards and outwards and this gives them a billowing look.
These vining trailing pants will also look towards the sky for their sunlight. These plants will look as if they have appeared like magic from other parts of the garden. The gardening design would look a lot less formal and rigid in this way.
PLANTING RANDOMLY
You can plant ground cover pants and tall vining plants randomly and not give the plants a segregated look.
CONCLUSION
As a container gardener, you have to choose the varieties of plants, which look great aesthetically. Alter the design and the pattern of the plants and see which of the container gardening design fits best in your setup.
A lot many times, this is accomplished through trial and error method. As a gardener, you should feel happiness in seeing, smelling and sometimes also eating from your container gardens.

Friday, 7 February 2014

Container gardening is a great stress buster as well as fat buster. It’s a visual feast for the eyes, especially with the array of fruits, vegetables and shrubs that you can grow. You can even have container gardening color themes. In this way, you can have a blast of colors or keep a few simple colors in your garden. Before looking into different  container gardening color themes, there are a few factors that you should  keep in mind. These are:
Finding The Containers That Suit Your Personality
Too many types of containers will give the garden a very uneven look. Therefore, you should have the same types containers in various shapes, sizes and similar colors. Mix and match a few of the containers and you can create the look that you desire. For showing off beautiful floral arrangements, go for simple containers. Ornate containers would take away the importance and the look of the flowers.
Size Matters
Bigger plants need ample spaces and smaller plants can make do with smaller containers. If you've decided on a single container gardening color theme, then plant the smaller plants in smaller containers as they work best for this scheme. Group these together to have the desired color effect and voila! Your container garden is a visual treat.

Utilization Of Vertical Spaces
Container gardening color themes can also work well using vertical spaces, especially for small apartments. Use a grow pole for hanging and use wall-mounted brackets to hang the baskets. Grow similar flowers or flowers having the same color pattern. You can even color the containers. There are many options that are available and you can easily get them at your local garden supply store or pick them up online.
Use Of Foliage
Foliage is an essential part of container gardening. It provides a backdrop for the flowers, as the arrangement of the flowers will show through the foliage too. Foliage can be soft and shiny, rough or spiky. Foliage can be red, purple, and yellow and can even include variegated plants that are now available. Use a variety of foliage and its many colors apart from the greens to make your container garden stand out.
Keep in mind the container gardening systems as they provide the all important irrigation for your container gardens.
Complement The House
The container gardening color theme should complement the color themes of your living areas, the furniture and the outdoor fixtures and fittings. For example, if you have a southwest style home then you could use your container garden to compliment that theme. While a neutral theme of colors in the house can work with any color range. It’s more challenging to work with bold colors present in the house such as red, yellow and purples.

Container Colors
The color scheme of the container plants should not match that of the containers exactly. Place the plants in containers that don’t distract the eye from the plant itself.  For example, ornamental flowers should be planted in very subtle containers. This adds to the beauty of the ornamental flowers.
Soil Mix Is Very Important For The Plants
Container gardening soil should be light and crumble in your hands, yet is able to retain moisture for the plants. A good drainage in the plants is equally important. The drainage should be just right. There are many soil mixes, which are available in garden shops. There are many recipes that will work well for the soil mix. Ask a local gardener which soil would suit your plants the best. There are also many types of fertilizers and pesticides to enrich the soil as well as other products. Both organic, as well as, chemical products are easily available.
Note The Weather And The Climatic Conditions Of The Area
Do this before you decide on the color theme. For example, the amount of sunlight available, the wind conditions, the summer heat and the winter chill. Then decide on the plants that can be potted in your container garden. Nothing is more discouraging than putting in a lot of time and effort into something like container gardening and then having your plants begin to die one by one. Don't be concerned though. You should be fine just by paying attention to detail, reading the instructions on your supplies thoroughly and asking questions about anything that you're not sure of.
Your container gardening color themes will then be based on these various conditions and factors.