Nancy Kressin designs containers in Boston and is sharing some of them with us today.
I first learned the term “shopping in my garden” from the writer and podcast host Margaret Roach. As I planted my pots this year, in an effort to fill them without going bankrupt, I went shopping at my local garden center AND in my garden. I bought fancy annuals such as caladium, coleus, and begonias (boliviensis) from the garden center and supplemented them with self-seeded annuals and perennials from my yard.
I also purchased ‘Dragon’s Blood’ beet seedlings to add maroon foliage to the containers. These thrived, and gave me sizable beets in September.
From my garden, I dug Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, Zones 5–9), sorrel (Rumex sanguineus, Zones 4–8), Juncus, Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Rainbow’ (Zones 5–9), various hostas and carex, Lamium ‘White Nancy’ (Zones 3–8), Astilbe, and Impatiens balfourii (annual), adding them to the container compositions to add height, color, and “spillers.”
Caladiums combine with hostas and begonias for a colorful shade-tolerant display.
Leucothoe, Japanese forest grass, and Impatiens balfourii
I am especially delighted with this accidental combination of plants, as several are self-sown (aster and blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis aka Iris domestica, Zones 5–9) ) and the variegated redtwig dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’, Zones 3–8) was a holdover from the red twigs I cut and inserted into my holiday planters last year, which then rooted in the pot. The begonias revived after a winter in my unheated basement, where I gave them no care.
I hope that some of these ideas will inspire you, help you identify ways to use plants from your garden in your containers, and save you some money too!
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
Comments
Bravo, Nancy, on your lovely, resourceful and creative planters! Love the idea of the beets, and the rooted dogwood.
Beautiful containers, Nancy.
It never occurred to me to use some of my garden perennials or annuals - great idea!!! And I love how all of your containers have turned out!! I’ll be “shopping my garden” from now on too. Thank you!
Nancy - I love the look of your containers. I hope you share more photos next year!
Beets and sorrel... fun, fun, fun!!! Brilliant container combos... you got the EYE, Nancy!!! love it.
Nice choices of foliage shapes and textures!
The Dock in top picture i grow in my garden. It is great in soup and salad. perennial and in fall forms platelets on tips of its flower stalk. It easily self seeds too.
What a lot of great ideas I can use! Especially the beet seedlings! And the dogwood- great, easy way to acquire new shrubs. And that impatiens- how am I not familiar with that one? Beautiful containers! Can't wait to see the next batch!
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in