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Creative Containers

© Ann Cherin

If you're looking for ways to add interest to your container garden, get creative with your containers. There's no reason you have to use standard pots and window boxes - almost anything that will hold soil can be a container. In New England, where I live, summer is the season for yard sales and flea markets - a great time to go treasure hunting.

When transforming something into a container for growing plants, you just need to follow a few simple guidelines:

• Make sure you have enough room for soil. Keep in mind that small volumes of soil will dry out very quickly - which can make your watering job a lot harder.
• Avoid putting metal or dark containers in full, hot sun
• Give the plant adequate drainage so its roots aren't in water. If you can't (or don't want to) drill drainage holes in something, try using it as a cache pot rather than planting directly in it. ("cache" meaning a cover-up or hiding place for other pots)

I've found a lot of inspiration from the posts at the Container Gardening forum at Gardenweb: http://www.gardenweb.com/forums/contain/

Here are some ideas for things you can plant in:
any kind of baskets
a car bumper
wire birdcages
shoes and boots
driftwood
wheelbarrows
tea kettles & coffee pots
buckets
watering cans
dresser drawers
toy trucks
an old bathtub, sink... or even an old toilet

Two of my favorite ideas from the GardenWeb forum...

• Create a flower bed with an old headboard and footboard. One gardener used white alyssum for pillows and created quilt pattern using moss rose and begonias

• Plant an old BBQ grill with Celosia 'Plumosa'... think flames!

So, what are your most creative containers?

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