Plants in the Container – Thrillers, Fillers and Spillers

One of Polly’s Pots

You have the containers that you want to fill with plants and those containers have one or more holes in the bottom. You have covered the hole or holes with something that will keep the soil in but will let excess water trickle out and you have filled the container with good soil. Remember, the better the soil, the happier and healthier the plants will be. TheGardenLady wrote that you can buy potting soil in the stores. There are those purists who don’t like to buy their soil in bags, saying it is not alive and healthy. They prefer all compost. But gardeners will have success with good bagged soil. And when you have saved enough compost, the next time you make containers, you can use your own compost. That is why it is so very important to compost all your garbage and lawn clippings and leaves.

So what can you grow in a container? Just about anything that grows in the garden. If you have a container large enough you can plant trees. If you have very small containers you can plant alpine plants. You can plant just one plant in a container. For example, there are containers called strawberry pots where people like to plant strawberries. Or you can use them for planting succulent plants or herbs. (see here)  You can plant more than one plant of the same kind like Begonia ‘Dragon Wings Red’  that will create an impressive show.

And you can use your containers to grow a variety of plants. This is what I am hoping readers will do.

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Plants that Love Both Acid and Shade

Happy Easter from Georgias Callaway Gardens! by UGArdener
Happy Easter from Georgia's Callaway Gardens! by UGArdener

TheGardenLady received this question from Jennifer.

I have a shady area under my pine trees where nothing grows except weeds. I want to plant some blueberries and other acid loving plants there. Do you have some suggestions on plants that would love very acidic soil and full shade?

When one has a very shady area under a tree, one can always do what is referred to as limbing-up a tree, which is cutting off lower branches to allow more light or space under the tree to have more room for plantings.

Blueberries like most vegetables, herbs and fruit want lots of sun. So though you can use the pine needles to mulch the blueberries, it would really not be advisable to plant blueberries under the pine trees. Blueberries want to be planted in full sun.

Azaleas or rhododendrons would look beautiful under your pine trees. Consider native azaleas to compliment the area and for uniqueness. There are many plants even some with flowers that will also grow happily in this dry shade area with acidic soil .

Enrich the soil by adding humus and mulch and work it into the soil under the tree without hurting the tree roots. Even if you love the shape of your evergreens and are reluctant to cut off branches you can still have plants that will be happy under the pine trees.

Some good shade plants that will work are hostas, foam flowers –Tiarella cordifolia, sweet woodruff – Galium odoratum, lily of the valley, woodland flowers like Celandine Poppy or Wood Poppy-Stylophorum diphyllum, as well as many of the ferns like:

Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) – Hardy in USDA zones 5-9. Easy to establish. Rabbit and deer resistant;

Lady Fern, Athyrium filix-femina. by Jeff Wardeska
Lady Fern, Athyrium filix-femina. by Jeff Wardeska

Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina) Hardy in zones 3-8. Rabbit resistant;

JAPANESE PAINTED FERN by Daisy.Sue
JAPANESE PAINTED FERN by Daisy.Sue

Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’) – Hardy in zones 3 to 8;

Christmas Fern by ellyssian
Christmas Fern by ellyssian

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) – Hardy in zones 3-8. Very easy to grow.  Can take very dry to moist soils.