growing a container garden

hello friends!

Today I’m talking about every plant-loving renter’s dream: growing a container garden!

I’ll start by saying that this container garden has been a learning process for me. Some of the plants I started with didn’t make it from spring to summer. Some are thriving on their own, while others need a lot of attention. But that’s one of the things I love about growing things: you have to pay attention, get your hands dirty, and adapt.

I started my container garden in February because I have no chill and just could not wait until spring to green up our outdoor space. One of the only evergreens available at our local nursery at the time was laurel. I liked the rich green of the leaves, so I bought two. As you can see from the photo above, they weren’t really ready to be potted and left out in the cold (we even had a snowstorm a couple of weeks later!), and some of the leaves started turning yellow and dropping. Thankfully, the weather warmed up, the laurels adjusted to their containers and before long they were green as can be and growing like crazy!

One of my favorite evergreens is Japanese Euonymus. I planted four of these in late spring and have LOVED having them in my container garden. The leaves are a lush, deep green and they grow along the stem all the way down to the soil. So pretty!

Another favorite are Vinca, aka Periwinkle. While Vinca is considered an invasive weed in many areas, I find it to be the perfect flower to add cheer to my container garden! The delicate white flowers don’t wilt like other plants (ahem, looking at you, Geranium), and they are super low maintenance. My vinca are thriving in a shallow ceramic planter I keep on our outdoor coffee table.

Some other plants in our garden include boxwood, campanula, snapdragon, alyssum, hostas, basil, oregano, geraniums and succulents. We also have a cherry tomato plant, but the little tomatoes are having a tough time ripening with this heat we’ve been having (over 100 here this week-yikes!)

My best advice for growing a successful container garden is to pick the right plants. This may involve a little trial and error, like it did for me. For example, I learned that geraniums and hostas struggle in the heat and direct sunlight on our back patio, while the euonymus loves it. I learned that laurel likes a large container with well-draining soil and lots of water in the summer heat. Buy plants from your local nursery instead of a big box store, and ask questions. Often, nursery employees are plant enthusiasts themselves and know a lot about what grows well in your particular region.

I hope you’ve found a little inspiration to start your own container garden today! Remember: everyone can grow a garden! :)

xo