Southern Living Southern Living Container Gardening 2022

KNOW-HOW GROW Your Own Succulent Garden North Carolina plant lover and terrarium genius Megan Cain shows you how it’s done BUILD YOUR BASE After picking out your own unique container (with no drainage holes), add a layer of sand to the bottom until it’s one-fifth full. Then follow that with a layer of pebbles or rocks of equal depth. FILL WITH SOIL Add a thin layer of activated charcoal (available at hardware stores) atop the pebbles to promote freshness. Then fill it to the top with appropriate soil. (A cactus mix will work best for succulents.) GIVE IT LIFE Arrange and plant your succulents, placing the tallest ones in the center and working your way out until you like the design. Add finishing touches (such as rocks or shells) to fill any blank spaces. SHOP SMART Selecting Plants Before picking up…

CREATIVE LICENSE Herald spring with blocks of color A sure sign of welcome, Charleston’s window boxes overflow with flowers. Hand water in early morning for best results. WHAT’S GROWING Spiky cordyline, white bacopa, yellow million bells, coral twinspur, and orange snapdragon SWEEPING VINES Use trailing plants for vertical impact Jen Stringer Obi designed this stop-and-stare sight. A trio of matching boxes enlivens the facade of the historic home. WHAT’S GROWING White caladiums, red ti plants, and dramatic swags of creeping Jenny and ivy Beautiful gardens in miniature—that’s the essential appeal of window boxes. No matter if you lack the time, money, or energy to maintain large, sumptuous borders, you can still enjoy colorful flowers and foliage in planters that are small enough to change in five minutes and striking enough to give your house a new look. So asserts…

DEFINING MOMENT Dress up a front porch with pots of French hydrangeas. This popular shrub also grows well in containers when given morning sun, afternoon shade, and regular water. Line the steps with a mix-and-match collection of neutral vessels planted with mophead blooms in various colors for a dramatic display. WINNING COMBO Prep the patio for spring with a vibrant arrangement that reblooms year after year. Pair compact pink French hydrangeas with wilder variegated English ivy. Both prefer a shady spot and regular water. Trim the evergreen ivy periodically so it stays tidy. Cut back hydrangeas after they have finished flowering in fall and before they set new buds in early spring (between November and January) to keep them healthy. PUTTING DOWN ROOTS Brighten the yard with billowy blooms. A large pot…

Hello, Yellow! Boost curb appeal with a blooming front door display. Find a similar lined hanging basket with a sturdy handle at a crafts store, and fill with potting soil. Layer plants of various heights and textures like petunias, daffodils, violas, a succulent, and string of pearls. Secure lemons with florist picks; finish with a complementary ribbon. Give regular water and sun so it lasts all spring. Orange Crush For the kitchen, pick an arrangement that’s equal parts attractive and practical. This one is planted with fragrant ingredients ready to be clipped for cooking. Fill a ceramic container (add a hole in the bottom for drainage) with potting soil. Then plant parsley, thyme, Swiss chard, and violas. Nestle a few tangerines on top for extra punch. Form a “handle” out of fresh rosemary.…

WHAT'S GROWING 1. ‘Plumbago and Guacamole’ hosta 2. Fan flower 3. ‘Meyer’ lemon, plumbago, SunPatiens, and creeping Jenny BRIGHTEN UP WITH BLUE AND WHITE THE BIG IDEA This covered seating area looks like it could be overlooking a rocky beach in Greece. To maintain that effortlessly European vibe, Jason Daniel chose oversize cobalt-glazed containers that complement the shimmering aqua wall tile and deep-blue accents in the window trim, rug, and pillows. He kept the plant palette calm with pale blues, whites, and greens. Daniel contrasted the dialed-down colors with some plantings that spill out of the containers for a lush effect. To keep them thriving, remember not all plants need lots of water. “Because this is a shaded, covered porch area with little to no direct sunlight, watering should be light and overwatering must be…

WHAT'S GROWING 1. ‘Sunny border blue’ veronica 2. Delphinium 3. Tulip 4. Lilac 5. Dusty Miller DIY ARRANGING WHAT YOU’LL NEED Chicken wire (found at a local hardware store); florist snips; a watertight container; at least four different types of similarly colored, 10-stem bunches of flowers (in various shapes and sizes to give texture to the arrangement); rubber bands; and one bunch of greenery (such as the dusty miller used here) STEP 1 Cut a piece of chicken wire so it’s slightly larger than the container’s diameter. Shape the wire into a loose ball, and then tuck it inside the container. This creates a cage across the top to help hold the blooms in place. STEP 2 Bundle together flowers of the same type with a rubber band (except for the dusty miller). Cut the bundles so their heights…