Have you ever admired the beautiful potted flowers gracing the magazine covers this time of year? Me too! As most of you know, I love playing in the garden but mastering the art of container gardening is still a challenge for me. It does require some planning and strategy! Last week, Carmen Johnston, garden expert for the Southern Living Plant Collection, invited me to a planting workshop at the local Home Depot where she shared a wealth of information. While I was digging in the dirt, I took some mental notes to share with y'all.
If you want to plant a large group of flowers, start with a large pot and be sure that the pot has drainage holes on the bottom. Also, use dirt that is specifically labeled as potting mix or potting soil. This dirt is mixed to produce optimum results and drainage!
When choosing flowers for your container, consider where your container will live and if you need to shop for shade or sun plants. This particular container is filled with shade loving plants.
When arranging the flowers, always remember the three T's... Tall, Thick and Trailing. For our "tall" plant, we used Caladium. For our "thick"plant, we used Heucherella. And for our trailing plant, we used three Creeping Jenny which will eventually spill out over the sides of the pot. We also added a flowering white impatient for color.
Carmen also advised planting the flowers in a loose triangular pattern. You cannot see in this picture but there is a third Creeping Jenny in the back which makes a total of 6 plants in this large container!
Shopping for plants can be overwhelming even for the most experienced gardeners. Did you know Home Depot's plants are marked with a QR code that you can scan and quickly retrieve information on that specific plant? I LOVE that! Y'all have got to try it out next time your perusing the garden center. It's so much fun. If you see some crazy lady endlessly scanning plants in Home Depot, it's me.
I also learned that you can join the Home Depot Garden Club for promotions, offers and additional expert advice and it's totally FREE!
A big thank you to Home Depot, the Southern Living Plant Collection, the farmers at Pure Beauty Farms and Carmen for sharing your tips and love of gardening with us. I'm looking forward to creating many more flowering containers in the future.
If you decide to create your own flowering masterpiece, be sure to share it with Carmen on social media by using the hashtag #southernlivingplantcollection I know she and the team would love to see your containers too. Happy planting fellow peaches!
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