Just as I planned to economize by using plants I already owned, I established a low budget ceiling for containers, hoping to reuse ones I already had.
The half-barrel was non-negotiable -- I couldn't move it if I wanted to. If you don't fancy the super-rustic look, the rusted metal can be cleaned up with a barbecue brush and some mineral oil.
I already had a ceramic container I wanted to use for a water feature. In the winter it holds an over-sized croton, but in summer the croton is released into the wild and the glazed dragon container is available for whatever. A water garden, in this case. (A match made in heaven, since you can't put holes in the bottom of it anyway.)
I let myself buy one large-ish plastic pot in a pretty light green colour but told myself that, for the rest, I would have to make do with existing containers.
It was starting to sound dangerously like a hodgepodge even to me, so I tried to introduce some uniformity by using only black containers for the rest. Maybe that would make my choices seem more intentional -- less "whoops" and more "there!"
I had a lot of black plastic pots left over from other years. I made one of these into a hanging planter:
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| Creeping jenny, Japanese forest grass and lobelia |
And then in an unguarded moment I found myself at Ikea, and what do you know --
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| The HÖSTÖ hanging planter, only $6.99. I got the black one, obviously. |
And this window box:
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| A HÖSTÖ flower box, $12.99. |
Now I find myself in the embarrassing position of having too many pots and not enough plants.
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