With the end of summer fast approaching, I thought I’d post the last of my garden series. Today I’d like to talk about container gardening or to be more precisely, flower boxes. For the past several years, I have been experimenting with the idea of creating nontraditional flower boxes. Instead of using the familiar annual flowers with accent plants, I’ve been combining vegetables with savory and flowering herbs. My goal is to create an unexpected but aesthetic arrangement.
A successful container garden always starts with good soil. I begin with a premix potting soil that contains slow-release fertilizers. During the hot summer days, I water the containers every day, and I fertilize with liquid fish fertilizer every week. It’s also important to keep an eye out for pests and treat them accordingly.
I start my designs with a contrasting or monochromatic color scheme. This year I chose the purple hues of the flowers and vegetables. I also pay attention to the foliage, and I attempt to vary these green hues as well.
The purple monochromatic theme includes the fuchsia veins of the “purple” cabbage to the mealy cup sage’s soft lilac hue.
The green monochromatic theme includes the brightly saturated leaf of curly-leaf parley to the muted hues of flat-leaved sage.
Flower boxes provide aesthetic beauty and color, but they also function to keep rabbits and other animals from eating them.
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