Container Gardening

Container gardening can be useful if you're looking for something to brighten a dark spot in your garden or if you live in an apartment. Just follow some easy instructions and put your imagination to work.

The first step is to find a pot whether it be a hanging basket, a ceramic pot or an old pair of rubber boots that you just haven't gotten around to throwing out. The most important thing to remember is good drainage. Poking holes in the bottom of your pot or filling the bottom with gravel, pistachio shells, pebbles or an old cracked ceramic pot broken into pieces should do the trick.

The next step is to fill it with dirt. Your best bet is an all purpose compost mixed with a slow release fertilizer.

Here comes the fun part. Choosing your plants. You can come up with your own design or go to your local nursery and ask for some help on choosing plants that grow well in containers and which ones grow well together. You can even grow vegetables!

Just a couple more things.

Remember to keep your plants watered. Plants grown in containers are more open to wind and sun and tend to dry out a lot faster than plants grown in the ground.

Don't forget to dead - head your flowers. This promotes growth and a larger abundance of flowers on your plants.

Happy Planting!

Must Try Recipe

Pasta Primavera

Serves 4

1/2 cup carrots sliced in medallions

1/2 cup onion sliced into rings

1/2 cup broccoli cut into bite size pieces

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup sweet peppers, julienned

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 large tomato, diced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter

8 oz dry pasta

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Melt butter and olive oil on medium-high heat. Add vegetables and stir fry until

tender crisp. Remove from heat and add pasta and parmesan.

Serve and enjoy.

*Frozen vegetable mixes can be used in place of fresh vegetables.*

Plant Profile

Lobelia - Annual Flower

A wonderful addition to container gardening. Small compact flowers sit on top of mounds of green and bronzed foliage. Available in dark blue, light blue or white. Perfect for a splash of colour in a shady corner.

h. 4", w. 4" - 6" Prefers shade to part shade.