A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 flower pots

Hi Everyone,

i was hoping that someone had some good ideas for container planting. I would love to have a garden in the back but since we have a rather "large" dog that's not an option right now. I have always concentrated on the front of my house and thought this summer i would invest in some large pots, any ideas on what would be good, we have direct sun for most of the day.
Thanks for the help
Penny

I love celosia all the different varities. And lambs ear if it's close to the walk so people can touch it. And if you have one large pot without drainage that you can turn into a semi bog you can plant the tropicanna canna in it. Fantastic foliage and flowers. Then if you do a really tall pot with a small trellis in it you can do morning glories climbing up and then naustrium hanging down and possible some marigolds between the two to fill it in. wow there is just so much you could do. Lets see if I can get a little more organized in my thinking.

Anagallis in a fanciful wire hanging basket paired with trailing Snapdragons and pink milliflora Petunias.

Dianthus, Nemesia - Sunsatia Banana, tall asters could make a nice looking planter too.

Maybe it would help if I knew what colors and types of flowers you like.

Someone had miniature roses planted around a tree in there yard in a hot climate in a raised bed. They make a lovely planter too I think. As long as you don't have to worry about someone walking off with them. They are expensive.

Hi there,
thanks for the suggestions, they all sound great .
you have definetly given me some wonderful examples of what to put in the pots, i really like the lambs ear.
any other thoughts????

Hi Penny,

My favorites for Container Planting, is Geraniums. They grow so brilliant..
Also tried , white assylum last summer and it bloomed its head off......
Petunias and Marigold are lovely.

Good luck, have a nice summer..
dodge

Hi Dodge,
i have lots of geraniums out front but none in the back, but thats somthing to think about, marigolds are great too and they love the heat and my back yard gets full sun pretty much all day, so those would work too.
have a great summer too.
happy gardening...
penny

Have you thought about doing a raised bed rather than planters? It's much cheaper and the dog would probably stay out of something 30 inches tall. Especially if you put 8 inch edging around the edge up at the top. It's just a thought.

With a bed you could probably think about a 4 season flower bed with some shubs even. It's just a thought.

I like to plant some Portulacas(moss rose)towards the front of a lot of my containers....with something taller behind it. They are very heat tolerant!

thanks everyone.

i am actually thinking of a raised bed, the area it would go is huge, about 40 feet long and 4 feet wide, its at the bak of our yard and it faces a school and the sand blows through and i cnt get any grass to grow so we thought the flower bed would be a great idea for this, i need plants that will tolerate LOTS of sand blowing through the fence and it will also help keep people away from the fence, they go there at night to play witht their kids and end up at the fence bugging our dog- ohh its beethoven and they dont leave him alone, so they raised bed and at small fence should do the trick and keep him away, and i have a spot picked out for my little veggie garden but that will have to have fence too.
thanks everyone...
penny

The portulaca that were mentioned can handle a fair amount of abuse and thrive so they would definitely be one of them I would choose if it is a sunny location. Barberry towards the fence might be a good idea. It has good sized thorns on it and it comes with burgandy or lime green foliage both of which would make a great backdrop for flowers that are not so abuse tolerant. Or maybe trellis some climbing roses at the fence side of the bed. That would be soooooo good looking and the trellis would provide some protection from the sand and wind.

I love portulaca. I have seen it growing as a walkway hedge, sort of, but I've never been able to get it to do well out of a pot. Any ideas?

I've got tons of lambsear in the ground but none in pots.

hi everyone,

i have started to sketch what i want the bed to look like, it has to have plants that will stand up to abuse, they will get it for sure.
i am still going to have lots of pots placed all around because the dog leaves them alone and i am really getting into the flower bed idea for the back, i love the portulaca idea and i never thought of lambs ear, hmmm i have some researching to do...
penny

Penny, it's sounding good!

Sheri, it's funny because mine never does great in the ground but always does well in pots! They barely need any care in pots.....not much water at all...and like Tammy said the sunnier the better....I had a bunch of portulacas pics but can't find them all...this is the best I can do...Pink portulacas in one of my planter boxes with some Dianthus. BTW, on the far left there is a second Dianthus...Mark accidentally weed whacked the top of it off..... :p

hi loz,

thanks for the picture, the reds are gorgeous!!!
i really cant wait to get this started.
penny