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1. Why Garden in Containers?

The idea for this book came during my first trip to Europe, eight years ago, when I was thrilled by the casual abundance of pot plants in the patios and courtyards of southern France, Italy, and Greece. In the cities and towns of northern France, England, Scotland, Belgium, Holland, and particularly Switzerland, I marveled at the window boxes of luxuriant red and pink geraniums.

Since then I have made two extended trips to Europe to visit other countries. In Portugal and Spain, I saw se­cluded patios, with rippling fountains and pools adorned with potted roses and carnations. Throughout Ireland, Austria, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries, I ad­mired the countless window boxes filled with geraniums and tuberous begonias. All this left me with the thought that we, too, should use container plants with greater freedom.

One Plant, a Garden

It occurred to me that a single attractive container plant at a doorway or on a porch or balcony is enough to make a pot garden. The idea was strengthened one hot August afternoon when I saw a tub of Black Prince fuchsia gracing a simple colonial doorway. Similarly, the container garden might even comprise two specimen plants, as urns with clipped yews or clumps of geraniums.

Growing plants in containers is a distinctive form of gardening. It is particularly appealing because the plants can be moved about for a change of picture and mood. But it also has an architectural quality lacking in plants that are grown in the open ground. What garden sight is more delightful than a flight of stairs bedecked with pots of fiery red geraniums? Or what compares to a pool re-flecting great blue hydrangeas in tubs or urns or to win­dow boxes overflowing with petunias high above the city streets.

In recent years, growing plants in movable or immov­able containers—pots and tubs, window and plant boxes, planters, and hanging" baskets—has developed into a new gardening concept. In part, this is due to contemporary architecture, which presents numerous opportunities for the display of container plants around house and garden. Patios and terraces, paved walks, paths and driveways, planters, raised beds, and retaining walls are character­istic at today's new homes. Sun decks, barbecue areas, garden shelters, swimming pools, tennis and badminton courts, carports and private docks for boats are other indi­cations that Americans are spending more time outdoors. Although container gardening is essentially old and time­less, it has evolved to suit the needs of the day.

ILLUSTRATION I
Hanging baskets of ivy-leaved geraniums and concrete tubs of upright Japanese yews at the entrance of a colonial house.

But why grow plants in containers when you can gar­den in the ground? Aside from the advantage of mobility, it is easy to discard and replace unsightly specimens and to avoid overcrowding, a problem in borders. At party time, new kinds can be introduced for color, foliage, or pattern effects. In addition, rare and unusual varieties and those with special soil, temperature, and light needs can be more easily cared for, while plants with small and delicate or fragrant flowers can be brought to close range. New kinds can also be tried out before they are placed in the garden.

Immediate Effects

Immediate effects can also be achieved with pot plants. When you plan a terrace party, you can purchase flower­ing or foliage specimens from florists or nurserymen to use where needed. Sometimes, cut blooms of large flowers —gladiolus, peonies, delphiniums, calla and other lilies, snapdragons and birds-of-paradise—can be inserted in bot­tles of water and then arranged in containers to look as if they were growing. To create this impression, cover the tops of the bottles with sphagnum or peat moss. Or from the garden, you can lift and pot up annuals—petunias, marigolds, or ageratum—or perennials such as phlox, hardy asters, and chrysanthemums. Do this a little ahead to give plants time to adjust. Keep them in shade for the first few days and water frequently to avoid their drying out. Then arrange them for terrace decoration.

ILLUSTRATION III
A tubbed standard geranium by the doorway of a charming house. There is a similar specimen on the other side.



ILLUSTRATION IV
Glossy-leaved spathiphyllum in a tub at the side entrance of the home of Daniel J. Foley. This tropical plant requires a warm place in the winter.

Saving Time

With containers, gardening chores—watering, feeding, weeding, staking, spraying, and removing faded blooms-are easily managed. To save time and energy, the wise enthusiast will keep his container plants concentrated in one, two, or three areas.

Water Scarcity

Where water is limited during the growing season, con­tainer gardening can be the solution. Hot, dry summers are responsible for the widespread practice in the Medi­terranean countries, in Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico, as well as in Mexico and other areas of similar climate. Gardeners who live where there is drought can also adopt the method, since sufficient water is usually available for pot plants.
After planting annuals in the spring, you can pot up the leftovers as a reserve supply for failures.

ILLUSTRATION V
Informal homemade wooden boxes with geraniums on the steps of a summer place.

Where Dutch bulbs are raised in containers outdoors (they need some protection where temperatures go below freezing), they can easily be removed after flowering to avoid the unsight-liness of ripening foliage. In the North, tender tropicals can be potted and treated as summer subjects and then brought in for the winter. The same plants can remain outdoors all year-round where the climate is sufficiently warm.

Plant-lovers, who live in rented houses or apartments and have no space to garden, or do not want to invest in permanent plants even if they have a place, can rely on potted plants. Then, if they decide to move during the growing season, the containers can be taken along to give a new house a lived-in appearance. Families living in trailers can also adopt the practice to advantage. Further­more, animal pests are apt to be less troublesome to plants in containers, especially bulbs, some of which are sought by squirrels, moles, and gophers.

Those who wish can develop an entire container garden at waist level on specially built shelves or benches, on low walls or in raised beds and planters, with potting equip­ment and supplies stored in a nearby shed or cabinet. This arrangement eliminates stooping and bending and is fine for the elderly and the afflicted who could not otherwise enjoy the pleasures of gardening.

ILLUSTRATION VI
Clay pots covered with decorative baskets. The plant on the left is a Martha Washington geranium; the other, a chrysanthemum.

ILLUSTRATION VII
Specimen shrimp plants at the front doorway of Mrs. Owen Moon. These profuse flowering plants require regular pinching to keep them bushy.

ILLUSTRATION VIII
Golden Leaf euonymus and heart-leaved philodendron in a wall basket on a garden gate. Several types of containers are available for gates, fences and walls.

For Meeting Places and Church Gardens

The pot gardener will find that he can perform a real civic service by lending his plants for club meetings, church gatherings, and other community affairs. An acquaint­ance, whose town was sponsoring an important concert, decorated the stage with handsome potted geraniums from her terrace. She placed them against a background of beech branches. The effect was so striking, she heard "about it for weeks afterwards."

Today many churches are establishing gardens on their grounds, often with the aid of community garden clubs. Large boxes planted with evergreens at the main entrance and tubs of geraniums and chrysanthemums at side door­ways will contribute considerable charm to any place of worship. And in the garden itself, particularly if it is mainly green, pots of flowering plants—white lilies at Easter and golden chrysanthemums for fall—will be most attractive.

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