How To Grow In 5 Gallon Buckets

 

Photo Source:  Old World Garden Farms

My preferred method of gardening is container gardening that I highly recommend.  Old World Garden Farms' article is an excellent resource for beginning container gardeners.

Click here to go to the Old World Garden Farms article.

read more

Things You Need to Know Before Planting a Single Pepper Seed

 

Photo source:  Rural Sprout

"Peppers are a popular choice for home gardeners to start from seed. Whether you’re a fan of sweet peppers or you love the heat of a good hot pepper, there are a few things you need to know about these popular nightshades. Get to know them a little better, and it will be that much easier to grow a peck of pickled peppers."  Comment from Rural Sprout

Peppers of all types are one of my favorite plants to grow from seed.  I don't know about the rest of the world, but in zone 9b Florida they are one of the easiest plants to grow from seed or plant.  One of the things I love are the peppers themselves that turn colors as they grow.  I like growing them with both marigolds and zinnias, the smaller varieties.  They look pretty together.  I've had good luck growing them in containers, which is what I prefer.

I have not had good luck with growing bell peppers.

Click here to go to the Rural Sprout article.

read more

Citrus Trees You Can Grow in Pots and Containers This Winter

 

Photo source:  Martha Stewart

"Growing your own citrus tree can be an incredibly rewarding experience, and you don’t have to live in a warm climate to make it happen. While not every tree is ideal for indoor cultivation, there are several varieties that thrive in containers, allowing you to enjoy fresh fruit right from your own living room. With the right care—namely ample sunlight—these resilient plants can flourish inside, and really liven up your space."  Comment from Martha Stewart.com

I've had citrus trees in the past, but never in containers or indoors.  Very interested in growing them in containers and would love to grow them indoors.  

Click here to go to the Martha Stewart.com article.

read more

Overwintering perennials and shrubs in containers

 

Photo Source: Proven Winners

Many would like to overwinter their container plants for use again the next year, especially if they are on a tight budget.

Kerry Meyer at Proven Winners has written a very informative article on overwintering perennials and shrubs in containers.  Topics include what to do with potted plants at the end of the season, choosing the best plants for overwintering, choosing a container, care considerations, and overwintering marginally hardy plants.

Click here to go to the article.  Thank  you Kerry.

Here is a video to go with the article.

read more

Grow Trees in Containers

There are so many benefits to growing trees in containers. For one thing, they are so easy to move around and I love them for my carport jungle.

Click here for the article from Garden Therapy.

read more

Bouganvillea Container Gardening

I never thought of growing bougainvillea in containers . . . great idea!

Click here to go to an article with great information on soil mixes and everything else you need to know.

read more

Container Gardening

I've been known to use all types of items for my container plants.  My favorite is a discarded coffee maker . . .

Click here for an excellent article on container gardening!

read more

Pruning a potted fruit tree

Since most of our fruit trees were killed by winter freezes and Hurricane Irma, we are thinking of starting them again in large containers.  They would be much easier to maintain and keep alive.

It will be a new experiment for us and we need all the information we can get on the basics.  This article contains everything you need to know about pruning those fruit trees!

read more

Herbs to Grow and How to Cook With Them

Herbs are the easiest and most versatile plants to grow in your garden, at least in my experience.

There have been times I had so much basil dried and put up for at least a year and also kept friends and family supplied.  Cooking a spaghetti sauce with basil is so much tastier than store bought basil.  For me, basil is the easiest of all to grow.

Of course the climate in which you live and if you grow them indoors or outdoors has much to do with the success of individual herbs, but you won't know unless you try them out.

Click here for an excellent article on growing and cooking with herbs.

read more

Creative Container Planters

Since Hurricane Irma dropped my beloved oak tree on our house, rendering it not habitable even today and destroyed our garden beyond belief . . . we have to start all over again with containers and the garden in general.

Click here for some great ideas for container plants . . . I can't wait to put some of these projects into action when we return to our home!

read more

Trellised Containers for Inspiration

I am so inspired by these photos of large container plantings with trellises for support and I thought I would share it here even though I don't have a photo source.

The photo was shared in a Facebook Gardening Group, A Not So Secret Garden that is packed with awesome ideas and inspiration.

What I love about these containers other than being so functional is the beauty of all the colors.  Check out the peppers!  They sure do look happy . . . so does the tomato plant.

I can't wait to put some of the containers together for our carport jungle . . . great way to start the spring season!

read more

DIY Hypertufa Plant Containers

Spring's arrival brought ideas for all types of garden projects.  

Hypertufa containers is something I never experimented with, even though I loved my concrete DIY projects.  Since my emphasis is going to be container gardening this year, this is a project I am going to try.

Click here if you would also like to get inspired to make your own containers . . . The Empress of Dirt will guide the way for you!

Click here for another article from The World of Succulents on hypertufa containers.

read more

Awesome container gardening idea

Since container gardening is my preferred method of gardening, I'm always looking for new ideas.

Garden Lovers Club has an article on container planting that includes a video that includes a great method of assembling a large container planting.  

Click here to go to the article.

read more

How to Make a Log Planter

How cute is this log planter?  I love it!!  We still have a huge log that fell on our outdoor shed that needs to be dealt with.  This is the perfect solution for what to do with it.

It would be awesome to use the log planters to form a raised bed.

Click here to find out how to make the log planter.

read more

Unusual Succulent Container Inspiration

What a cool and unusual succulent arrangement in a meat grinder for inspiration!

Look at yard sale and flea market items in a new way :)

Photo Source

read more

Tiered Herb Garden

This tiered herb garden represents the best of container gardening as far as I'm concerned!  

Pack this beauty with herbs and annuals for a practical and beautiful show.

Click here for the tutorial from Decor and The Dog.

read more

Container Plants for the Shade

Love a shady garden!

When I moved into my house, several decades ago, it was a shady yard with large oak trees and citrus trees. Before that time, I thought growing in full sun was the only way to go, but I was so wrong!

Coleus plants are one of my favorites to bring bold color to the garden without flowers . . . and they are grown in such a wide variety of leaf shapes and colors. There are many other plants that are shade loving.

If you grow in the shade or would like to, click here for an excellent article on plants to grow and how to care for them.

Happy gardening!

read more

Inspiration from Brenda's Patio

It has been years and years since I've followed Brenda's life adventures through her blog, Cozy Little House. She and her precious dogs went from a large house in Texas with a gorgeous yard with babbling brooks and waterfalls, to a small house in Oklahoma and finally has settled in her tiny apartment in Oklahoma.

The photo is from her latest blog post about entertaining outdoors. Click here to go to the post and get a look at the rest of her impressive patio garden.

Her patio garden is a run of the mill apartment concrete patio.  She has used her imagination and turned it into a very impressive, peaceful place.  She takes container gardening to a new dimension.  I want that gazebo!

Hope you draw some inspiration from Brenda!  If she can create a paradise from a concrete floor, those of us with a real yard can create a beautiful and peaceful place too :)  Check out the rest of her blog for great home dec ideas for indoors too.

read more

Container Plant Inspiration

Some beautiful container plant gardening inspiration!

Source

read more

Upcycled Container Gardens, Planters and Vases

Love these cute containers!  A trip to the thrift store, a yard sale or flea market searching for potential items for cute container gardening can be so much fun and add so much personality to your container garden.

Click here for a gallery of photos for inspiration.

read more