Container gardening: Your guide to a new passion

Containers of all sizes, descriptions and colours can add excitement to your garden. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION – LIFESTYLE

The time will come when I decide that apartment living is for me ... which means I will be reduced to container gardening. So, I thought I would investigate how difficult or not this way of gardening would be.

Is it all it’s cracked up to be?

I have seen a whole rose garden surviving in containers, and I have seen a wonderful vegetable garden flourishing in containers as well.

I am rather partial to quirky containers, and I have a few. I have an old copper one full to the brim with flowering red geraniums, a water urn sporting a ladder fern, and I am rather partial to the odd terracotta pipe here and there!

Containers can come in any shape or form, whether an old wine barrel, plain terracotta pots, colour-glazed pots or even an old recycled concrete wash tub. You can even utilise fence space and do a spot of vertical gardening!

Having flowers and vegetables survive in containers all year round ... am I up to the task I wonder?

Vegetable container growing

I like the idea of growing vegetables because you get a lovely reward from all that hard work. I know that potatoes and tomatoes happily grow in containers, as do herbs and lettuces.

Correct-sized containers, good soil, plenty of water, adequate sunlight and a good temperature are all necessary to get good results. Your vegetables will also need to be fed regularly with good fertiliser and compost for added nutrients.

Some of the vegetables that grow well in containers are peas, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, eggplant, leafy greens, and peppers.

Almost any vegetable, herb, shrub, or small tree can grow successfully in a container. Dwarf and compact cultivars are best, especially for smaller pots.

Colourful flowers

Don't forget to mulch your pots as well as the surroundings.

Whether you choose colourful pots or colourful flowers, you can make a lovely display with container growing. Containers planted with hardy perennials and shrubs can be grown and enjoyed from year to year.

How often you water your container plants depends on many factors such as weather, plant size, and pot size. Don’t let soil in containers dry out completely, as it is hard to re-wet. To keep large containers attractive, spread a layer of mulch as you would in the garden. This will also help retain moisture, but mulch away from the stems.

Container plants need regular feeding. Fertilise them often, I like to use liquid seaweed, but you may find granules to your liking.

For container plants to look their best, you need to regularly remove tattered leaves and deadhead spent flowers. Prune back plants that get leggy or stop blooming. To keep mixed pots attractive, dig out or cut back any plants that don’t grow well or that clash. You can add something else or let other plants in the container fill the space.

I always think plants in pots look more aesthetically pleasing if similar pots and plants are grouped together, but that is just me ... you do whatever catches your eye!

So, if you have been playing with the idea of container gardening, give it a go — yes, it is a little bit of work, but you will find ways to make it easier for yourself; and remember the old saying “you reap what you sow”!