Gardener

Designing a
Container Garden

Color, texture and
flower form are the
basic elements in
designing a
container garden.
With color today,
anything goes. Gone
are the days when
pink and scarlet
clashed—today you
can combine any
colors you want in a
pot or in a grouping.

Texture is often
best brought out by
including foliage
plants such as
leather-leaved
ferns, or asparagus
sprengeri with its
long lacy fronds. Let
trailing plants spill
over the edges of
the containers to
soften and
de-formalize
plantings. Some
perennial ground
covers offer
interesting textures,
and can be dug up
and replanted in the
garden in the fall
when annuals have
died back.

Flower forms can be
grouped into three
basic shapes. Line
forms like Salvia
spendens or
snapdragons are tall
and spiky. Mass
forms such as
daisies, petunias or
marigolds have
many small or large
flowers. Focus
forms, such as
African marigolds or
a spectacular
geranium plant, are
characterized by
large or distinctive
flowers.

One example of
combining these
forms would be a
large container of
red salvia (upright
form and tall), pale
blue petunias (round
masses of flowers,
medium height), and
white alyssum
(small, lacy flowers,
low and trailing). Or
use tall blue
lavender for height,
and white petunias
and red creeping
phlox for color.

National Garden
Bureau

OK hydrangea lovers, let's go
over it one more time: acid soil
turns typical hydrangea blooms
blue, while alkaline conditions
will turn them pink. So, adding
dried blood meal or any of the
common garden sulfur com-
pounds such as aluminum sul-
fate or ferrous sulfate will low-
er the soil's pH. Incorporating
lime into the soil will increase
the alkalinity. And for a quicker
change of color, consider grow-
ing your hydrangeas in large
containers rather than in the
garden.

* Worried about sowing tiny, pinhead-sized seeds too thickly? Just mix
them with sand,pour into an old salt shaker and shake, shake, shake the
seeds into their proper place in the garden.
* After the foliage has faded on naturalized spring-flowering bulbs is a
good time to dig up and divide any clumps that have become
overcrowded. One of the most obvious signs of overcrowding is a drop in
flower production.
* A shady porch or deck can be livened up with a container garden or
hanging basket with such pretty plant material as begonias, ferns,
impatiens and/or English ivy.
* It is time for the bulbs of summer. Warm-season beauties such as
acidanthera, caladiums, cannas, dahlias and gladioli can be planted now.
* It is also a fine time for vines. Quick growing annual eye-catchers such
as climbing spinach, hyacinth bean, moonflower, morning glory and
black-eyed Susan vines can not only add vertical interest to a garden
but can also provide a quick, all-natural screen.
* It is now warm enough to plant dahlias. Since many cultivars tend to
grow tall and become top-heavy, secure a support stake in the planting
hole now so you won't disturb developing roots later.
* Annuals such as zinnias, salvias and petunias can become long and
lanky, but pinching the plants back when they are about 6 to 8 inches tall
will encourage bushier growth.
* Plants in the water garden have awakened by now. For best production
from lilies and lotus, fertilize them about every three weeks, while
marginals will benefit from added nutrients every five to six weeks.
* The soil should be warm enough in the next few weeks to round out the
vegetable garden with plantings of southern peas, okra, eggplant, hot
and sweet peppers, lima beans and sweet potatoes.
* As early-planted beans, peas, lettuce, cucumbers and summer squash
mature and begin to produce crops, establish a regular harvesting
schedule to keep the plants picked. This will encourage a larger, more
extended yield.
* Water is critical in the vegetable patch, but it is especially important to
keep onions and cucumbers from drying out. If they aren't watered
regularly, onions will not mature to their proper, plump size and cukes
will develop a bitter taste.
* Love radishes but hate the heat that builds up in them as the spring
season grows long? Try planting a Daikon-type radish, which remains
crisp and mild even as the summer starts to simmer.
* Blossom-end rot prevention on tomatoes and peppers begins now.
Keep the plants on a regular watering schedule and, at the end of the
month, mulched to prevent them from becoming stressed and thus more
susceptible to blossom-end rot.
* Keep your basil bushy. Pinch it back now for more compact growth.
* Want fresh, home-grown fruit that doesn't require thinning and
constant spraying? Try blueberry bushes, which, by the way, can also be
attractive ornamental additions to the landscape.
* The early bird gets the strawberry. Berries keep best if they are
harvested early in the day. To also help extend storage life, don't wash
or de-stem the berries until you are ready to use them.
* Tough plants for tough places such as parched, open areas and
sun-baked hillsides include creeping juniper, ajuga and moss pink.
* Slugs, snails and other soft-bodied invaders starting to suck on your
young plants in the garden? Discourage them naturally by using light
rings of ash from last winter's wood fires around any tender targets to
keep these pests away.
* Want a window box to show off flowering plants? Select wood over
metal, as metal window boxes can easily overheat plants in the summer
sun. Wooden boxes act as more of an insulator against harsh sunrays.
Also, use light, reflective colors as opposed to darker, more
heat-absorbing hues.
* For the same reasons, if you want a fully functional birdhouse, choose
a wooden one. Ornamental metal birdhouses should only be used as
indoor decorations because they can quickly become small ovens in the
summer sun-not exactly a hospitable environment for raising a young
brood of fledglings!
* By the middle to the end of this month, the soil should be warm enough
in annual vegetable and flower beds to allow the addition of a 2 to 3-inch
layer of organic mulch to protect root zones through the heat of the
summer.

Pesticide Safety

Some pesticides are more dangerous
than others. A clue to a pesticide's
toxicity can be found on its label. If
it is marked "Danger," it is a real
potent punch. A "Warning" label,
however, is not a s toxic to humans,
but it still needs to be handled
carefully.

The safest pesticides are usually
marked "Caution," but remember,
they are still poisonous. Generally, a
person would have to swallow an
ounce to a quart of this type
pesticide to be in serious trouble. (As
compared to a slight taste of a
"Danger" pesticide or one teaspoon
to two tablespoons of a "Warning"
pesticide.)

Of course, swallowing smaller
amounts of these chemicals will still
cause problems, so keep the
containers in a safe place when they
are not in use. If you can't lock them
up, place pesticides in a high,
out-of-the-way place inaccessible to
children. Also, if for some reason you
don't put a pesticide back into its
original bottle or bag, be sure to
clearly mark the chemical's name on
the outside of the new container.

Before applying a pesticide that is
unfamiliar to you, read the label
thoroughly first. Not only will it tell
you the proper way to apply the
chemical, but it will normally tell you
what to do in case a poisoning
accidentally occurs.

Some pesticides don't need to be
swallowed to cause problems. Many
can be harmful if they are splashed in
the eyes or on the skin. Some are so
dangerous that even the fumes will
get you if you are not careful. So,
the appropriate battle-gear to wear
while using these chemicals is a
long-sleeved shirt, long-legged
pants, a hat and, for more dangerous
pesticides, a respirator.

Also, for both better concentration
on your plants and safety's sake,
don't spray or dust when it is windy.
You could easily get more pesticide
on you than on the problem you are
trying to control.