"Garden Containers"

Garden containers have taken a real designer leap recently. Just a few years ago, a flower pot was the only receptacle available to grow your plants indoors or outdoors. But now, the choices are infinite!

However, we don't have to get a loan out to decorate the garden. Various objects can be used to grow plants in, including old watering cans!. In a formal garden, choosing neater containers and traditional styles will enhance the area much more than say a bunch of old saucepans or watering cans. Although in a cottage garden, these objects really do work. Painting them with a good outside paint or varnish will lengthen their life and look great on the patio or scattered around the garden.

Doing it yourself is a great way to go, but make a plan first or you'll end up with clutter rather than style!

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Crocus UK have a lovely range of planters, pots and containers.

Hyacinth Pot Garden Containers at Crocus UK Click on 'outdoor living' and scroll down to pots and containers.

And in the US, Jackson and Perkins is a good place to start!

Wheelbarrow Planter Jackson and Perkins US Choose outdoor decor, then garden decor and you'll find the link for planting containers.

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Any pot housing plants should be placed slightly off the ground to allow moisture to run away. Pots on the ground will trap excess water and can cause the roots of your plants to become diseased or waterlogged.

Put a little gravel or stones in the bottom of your garden container, and fill with a good compost. Always keep the compost moist. Growing plants in containers does need a little more observation than plants directly in the garden. Pots tend to dry out, and the roots have nowhere to go to get water.

The plants you grow will need a little planning as well. Trailing plants will grow over the edges of their container and will leave a hole in the middle. They can look very untidy. Stick to flowers and shrubs that grow in a bunch.

Try a colour theme for your patio. Grow different flowers in each, but choose varying shades of the same colour. Or go for blue and pink or your favourite combination. Perhaps your conservatory looks out onto the patio. Why not match the flowers to the curtains. It's surprising just how stylish this simple idea can be.

Herbs are great garden container plants, and if you have the space to bring them indoors,many will carry on growing for some or all of the winter months.

Containers are good to grow veggies in if you haven't garden space. Having a vegetable plot will normally be easier but without a garden, you can still grow vegetables in containers on a balcony or even roof garden!

A line of carrots or beetroot will need a long deep container to grow well and fully develop the roots. Lettuces, especially the 'cut and come again' types work well in pots. Leave one next to the kitchen door so it's always to hand. Remember though, they will need regular watering, especially in hot dry weather. I have watered my pots four or five times a day, but that was during a hot spell in France one summer!

With a little imagination, garden containers can be a practical and decorative plus to your garden.

Happy Gardening!

More "Garden containers" reading

http://www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/gardencontainers.html