Greenbook: A Local Guide to Chesapeake Living - Issue 7 | Page 13

GARDEN

CONTAINER
GARDENING

101

How to add bursts of color and flavor
to your outdoor landscape
BY DEBORAH FURLAN

greenbook
J. MELVIN PREMIER PROPERTIES

This time of year I am instinctively drawn to the
garden, where the seasons change right before my
eyes: one hour can mean the unfurling of a leaf,
one day the emergence of a flower, one week the
growth of an entire plant. As soon as I determine
that warm weather trends are here to stay, spring
fever hits my gardener’s heart like a heat lamp
on a hibernating hedgehog! I can’t resist the
temptation to splurge on the sweet small seedlings
that appear in local nurseries, and my sketchpads
quickly fill with ideas for plant varieties I haven’t
tried before or renovations to my landscape beds
and plots.

gardens can be set up in fifteen minutes or less
and require a minimum of maintenance.

How To Do It

You don’t have to be completely prepared to set
up your garden on the first day of sunshine.
Remember though, that the joy of spring
flowers and greens is that they are fleetingly
tender and delicate, lasting only until true heat
begins in Mid-May.

If you too feel pulled toward the earth, but don’t
have time or space for a proper potager, consider a
micro-garden. This is a fancy, trendy way of saying
that you could grow a miniature (but beautiful and
varied) garden in any sort of container.

Begin by choosing a location on a deck, balcony,
walkway or other sunny spot where water can
drain from the pot, the plant is protected from
extreme weather and where harvesting or
admiring your garden is easy and convenient.
Where you plant will usually inform what you
plant, so be sure to give careful consideration to
placement.

There are many reasons to love micro-gardening.
Carefully curated pots and plants are a microcosm
of natural beauty and art that are compact,
versatile, practical and even edible. Container

Next, make a list of the plants you might wish
to grow. Your list may be a brainstorm of all the
plants you like for their taste, texture or
appearance. You may not be able to grow them
GREENBOOK | SPRING 2016

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