Choosing a Container Garden that provides beautiful floral elements as well as yummy food
Many gardeners choose to create and maintain a vegetable garden out in their yards. So too did I. That is, until every outside creature deemed THAT space as their own…not mine! SO…I have adjusted my goals and the size of my garden to containers on my deck. Recently, I’ve been combining a couple of veggies and flowers in each container.
My thoughts were to have whatever I planted to last throughout the summer season. THRILL…FILL…SPILL.
We have had presenters here at our garden club meetings who have suggested these three aspects of a garden container. With this in mind, I sought out three plants that would satisfy my desire for both flowers and vegetables.
For the THRILLing parts, I chose 5 pea pod seeds for the center of my container, planted in a hill, surrounding a central pole driven deeply into the soil filled container. These seeds would provide height and lush green to provide early green and a yummy treat. When the peas finished producing, I pulled out the plant gently providing more space for the carrots to grow.
For the FILLing requirement, I selected carrot seed tapes to create an octagon placement around the center of pea seeds. The frilly carrot tops keep growing and are just beautiful until the carrots reach maturity in late summer.
The SPILLing aspect of my container was nasturtium seeds, planted all around the perimeter of the pot. These spillover the container throughout the summer into the fall, providing multiple colors and textures. The flowers are edible and can be eaten right off the plants or added to your salads.
Everything about this garden is edible and beautiful for your porch or deck. It loves full sun and can be moved around your deck if you place the container on a rolling base.
So all you need is:
- a container of your size and design choice
- a big bag of potting soil
- three seed packets: pea pods, carrot strips, nasturtium varied colors
- a tall pole for the peas to climb
This is my suggestion for a container garden that fulfilled my needs. There are many books and magazines that can give you many additional ideas, depending on YOUR needs and desires.
Here are two:
- A book: “Container Theme Gardens: 42 Combinations, Each Using 5 Perfectly Matched Plants”, by Nancy J. Ondra
- A magazine: “Container Gardening” available through the Libby system
Happy Planting & Munching,
Diane Cook