Some ideas for great containers next season

By Melanie Mathieson
Gardening Guru

Although many people have complained that we haven’t had much of a summer this year, it has been a good season for container gardens and planters. With ample rainfall and more moderate temperatures, container gardens have seemed to flourish this season. As I was admiring and watering my containers the other day, I was mentally planning my designs for next year.
I will continue to plant the tried and true wave petunias in the planters that line the driveway. Wave petunias provide a good value for the money as a few plants will fill a planter, cascading over the sides to the ground, while continuously blooming the entire summer. My two favourite colours to plant are dark purple and fuchsia. I usually rotate the colour from season to season but next year I think I am going to plant both colours together in the same pot. This season I also tried one of the new varieties of “Supertunias” called “Picasso” which has dark purple/pink flowers edged with lime green. This is a stunning colour combination. The “Supertunias” have wave growing habit but sport smaller flowers than the traditional petunia. I have these in two planters that get full sun all day and they have outperformed all of the other plants in these planters. Definitely a winner to try again especially since I find the smaller flowers more appealing.
Some other proven winners for foundation plants for planters in the full sun are:
•Licorice root as it can tolerate very hot conditions and seems to be quite drought tolerant. My favourite is dwarf licorice root which is a smaller leafed version of the full size.
•Wave pansies which are newer varieties of the pansy with trailing characteristics. A good value for your money as a small plant develops into a cascade of many blooms by mid-July.
•Portulaca is an annual that thrives on neglect, tolerates drought and looks great hanging over the edge of a planter or as a carpet in the flowerbed. Also known as moss rose because of its succulent like foliage and rose like blossoms. Although a species that has been around for decades, there are some new varieties to try.
With the foundation of the planter established I always try to mix up the middle for the planter with some unorthodox plants to create height in the middle without resorting to the tried and true Dracaena spike that everyone seems to use. Tall perennial or annual grasses, an annual climbing vine supported by an obelisk and tall annul flowers like are cosmos are all interesting choices. I have used cosmos as a focal point in my large planters for a few years now as they never stop fooling the visitors into thinking they are another type of flower because you don’t expect to see them in a planter. One of my successful experiments this year was using zinnias as a focal point with some height in a planter. Zinnias grow to about 24 – 36 inches and have large pompom flowers in brilliant colours. I’ll try zinnias again, but try to find some specific to the colour I want not a mixture and insert some plant support rings just to keep the zinnias nice and straight. An unexpected bonus of zinnias is that it seems that deer don’t like to eat them. Zinnias are a good alternative to the gerbera daisy and are much easier to care for.
With the cooler temperatures of this season my planters in the shade have also done very well. This year I planted double impatiens in a fuchsia colour. Each planter is a giant mound of blooms that look like miniature roses but without all the fuss of caring for real roses. Because they are so prolific this year and crowded out the other plants, I will cut back on the number of plants I use in each planter next year.
One of the plants I really like to find in a small pot in the spring is the fuchsia, as I plant them into my smaller planters to create my own fuchsia hanging basket. My mother and grandmother both liked to purchase fuchsias in hanging baskets every season which typically seems to be the only way to purchase them but occasionally in Thunder Bay some of the nurseries have them in 4 inch pots. One in each of my smaller planters is all it takes to produce a planter full of blooms by mid-summer for a fraction of what one hanging basket will cost.
As I have close to 20 planters it doesn’t take long before you blow the budget. I found this year with the more favourable growing season, that I can cut back on the number of plants in each planter for next season. In order to remember this by next spring, I am going to map out my designs now, that way I know exactly what to look for and don’t over buy next season. I encourage a bit of preplanning while things are fresh in your mind, to help you plan for next year’s gardening season and maybe even save some money.