Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 20, 2006 Linda Stevenson of Ashland makes container gardens out of chairs (right), baskets, pots and ornamental planters. The technique will be taught in a class Saturday at the annual Master Gardener Spring Fair. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell) Small gardens for big dreamers The controlled world of container gardening opens up creative possibilities while saving water, space By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune The bench outside Linda Stevenson's Ashland home isn't for sitting. The tricycle isn't there to ride. Stevenson has turned both into containers to hold all manner of plants: daffodils, hyacinths, irises, tulips, vinca and dusty millers. But these aren't simple planters. Stevenson calls them "container gardens" — layered plantings of flowers and greenery designed to provide color and fragrance year-round, all in a portable container. "I love flowers," says Stevenson. "They make me happy — and I don't have to wait for summer to have them." Container gardens are the topic of a class set this weekend at the annual Master Gardener Spring Fair at the Jackson County Exposition Park in Central Point. The idea, says instructor Connnie Skillman of Ashland, is to build a planter that has something blooming at every time of the year, and in a container that can be moved around as desired. Advertisement The containers don't have to be pots or traditional planters. Fans like to go creative, using suitcases, benches or parts of fences, for example. Into the containers go layers of coconut fiber, and into each layer goes bulbs, annuals and perennials. A mainstay plant or two drapes down from the middle. One of the nice things about container gardens, says Skillman, is their humor. One looks like a bird cage, another like a birdhouse with the roof off. In a third, plants pop up from a small steamer trunk. For Susan Eisenberg of Ashland, the motivator to start planting containers was her flat land, which prevented "vertical gardening." Now she haunts antique shops, finding many old "pedestals" for her work — iron containers, old chairs, a lawn mower. "I took the middle of the chair out and planted in it and I hung one from the lawn mower," she says. "It's so fun!" Skillman designs wrought-iron containers at her Ashland business, Pot Luck Container Gardens. Any old wrought-iron device can be painted and wired with a pot or bowl, then adorned with old boards, mirrors or what have you, she noted. When planting a container garden, you want to make sure you get a variety of plants that bloom or drape their leaves in syncopated schedules all year long, says Skillman. All should like about the same amount of sun, shade, water and do well in the same temperatures. In each of three or four layers, plant things that keep going with the calendar — pansies for the winter, bulbs — dwarf irises, daffodils, crocuses, early and late tulips, hyacinths — for spring, and summer bulbs — gladiolas and lilies, for example — for warm-weather months. Into the center go the "bones" — plants like vinca, ferns, million bells or duck-foot ivy that hang down and anchor the look and greenness of the presentation, she says. As things begin to cool, break off the dead flowers, pull out the old annuals and plant more pansies and new bulbs, if needed. Skillman advises using slow-release fertilizer in the containers, which need to be watered at least daily in hot weather. As houses get larger and lots get smaller, container gardens are growing more popular, says Skillman. "You're seeing smaller yards and more water restrictions," she notes. "With container gardens, you're more in control. You don't have to fight the weeds. You can put deer netting over them. You can move them around for a wedding or entertaining. You can decorate with them and change the look of the patio." Stevenson sees other advantages as well. Containers are easy to water and weed, she notes, and harder for slugs and snails to get into. Purchased container gardens aren't necessarily cheap. Simple containers start around $10 and elaborate structures can sell for several hundred dollars, Skillman says. Most sell for $50 to $100. But fans say the versatility is worth it. "It adds another whole dimension to gardening," says Eisenberg. "If you're clever, you can splash color all over your porch, and you get away from that old thing of sticking a geranium in a pot." John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Connie Skillman will teach a class on container gardening at this weekend's Master Gardener Spring Fair. The fair is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Jackson County Exposition Park in Central Point. Admission is $2. Skillman's class is set at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and lasts about 45 minutes. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Email Security Advertisement s Advertisement