Everyone who knows me, or has attended my container gardening hands-on workshops in the spring and summer months, is fully aware that I am nuts about container gardening. I love it. Even in winter as we stuff beautiful mixed evergreens into our pots to bring life and some color into the winter landscape – we are enjoying a form of container gardening.

Today, I am listing just some of the reasons why I love (and I mean LOVE) container gardening – and I think you should too:

It is easy, fun, and fast – Provides instant gratification! Even in winter, stuff in some greens, add some berries, and voila – You have a beautiful container garden on your front steps to welcome your holiday guests.

Container gardening takes less space and energy than in-ground gardening does to achieve success. It is instantaneous and provides lots of color and life to your yard. Just watching the plants and its visitors is good for your health. It makes you pause to view it all.

It is okay to make mistakes – This is how you will learn about plants. Plants in pots are more forgiving. You may easily fix mistakes quickly by re-potting or re-positioning the container to suit the plants’ needs, or the decor look you are attempting to achieve outdoors.

Deer can not jump onto your deck or easily visit your patio (hopefully) to dine on your plants in the containers and patio pots, and groundhogs have a difficult time reaching them too. Nice!

Your pets enjoy them – Cats enjoy them for shade in the summer, and they like to hide behind the planted pots when observing the birds or checking out the yard from different areas.

If you have dogs, they usually like to sit by plants in pots to rest and relax after playing in the yard. They are less likely to tromp thru big pots of plants which are up high or elevated versus a level big garden inviting them to run over it and everything in it, or dig there. Setting up a garden to be pet friendly is somewhat challenging compared to plants in containers where you can monitor your little furry friends near your entertaining spaces by you, your home, doors, and entrances. Just be sure to keep any poisonous candidates out of your pots if they are the curious eating types.

Plant caddies (trays with wheels) allows movement with a slight push of the pot anytime I want, or anytime the plant wants, to be relocated if it needs more sun or more shade, a better home to view it from, etc. That’s flexibility. You don’t even need to get your hands dirty.

It is instantaneous – which is important in today’s world. Most of us want to enjoy beauty around us without too much time if we are busy with work and other fun things. Container gardening is quick, it is not too difficult to learn the how-to’s of Five Must Do’s by Cathy T – once you know them, it is simple and gratifying – and you end up being addicted.

You may use practically “any” plant – You are not so tied to your planting zones or rules because you are enjoying your plants for the summer season, you can use tropical plants and more. Don’t limit yourself to just annuals in the summer season, there are so many choices.

Drama is created with big and bold – Think different, big, unusual, and BOLD.  We like beautiful and showy backyards – and container gardening is a great way to achieve this BOLD look. Just one big plant which grows fast in a gorgeous pot will stop you and your friends in their tracks.

You may create niches by grouping or staging various pots together. Potted plants will divide or connect spaces, they frame your view. It is an “extension” of your decor of your home and using some pots creates an additional room outdoors while entertaining your friends or being solo enjoying nature. The right pot can draw you out into your landscape to escape and veg’ out – something we all need to do more of, right?

Winter container gardens with evergreens dress up your outdoor space too – two pots by an entrance with greens, berries, golden or red sticks, is a way to say enter here and enjoy the holiday party. In Autumn, you extend your outdoor spaces with plants in pots that will remain until the first frost – they give so much those potted plants.

Not many bug problems or diseases in potted plants, and if there are any, you see them right away because your patio pots (and indoor house plants in pots) are usually near you. Potted plants have a more sterile environment as well, so the incidence of pests problems are less likely. If pests occur, the containers are easy to treat or quarantine.

If it fun to observe the cute visitors to your plants – hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, butterflies, bees, or even your mother in law admiring your patio pots! It helps your important pollinators – when you see bees visiting a flower, you will hear them buzzing as they go in and out to collect their nectar. It feels good to assist our little friends; we need them so lend them a hand by planting flowering plants in pots.

It helps your health – as you sit up close and personal enjoying your patio pots in your deck chair – you tend to relax, smell the aromas which calm your senses, and you take time to breath deeply – rather than think about all the weeds you have to pull from a garden bed. The distraction of admiring your potted plants in various mixed combination is a form of meditation which is very beneficial to your balance and harmony.

It is not too physically intensive, so if you have any issues with your back or knee problems, or digging in dirt in the ground with a heavy shovel is not your idea of fun, this type of gardening is for you. You may elevate pots or position them in a way for easy harvesting of veggies, herbs, and other goodness. Right outside your door – kitchen container gardens rule.

You can hide problem areas in your landscape, or place beautiful container gardens on your steps or patio to utilize pots as amazing focal points, or test the scale of a plant to be planted in the garden by putting a pot there first. Plants in pots are functional art – they say, “Go here, step down there, look here, and stay here to enjoy life and nature.”

Textures and/or colors to be added to the garden later are easily tried out by using plants of them in a pot in your garden first. If you are unsure what to plant in your garden, put a pot there for a while and contemplate the look and feel of the plants’ style, look, colors, etc.

Lastly, you can create containers of lush plants, strategically place them on your patio or deck, and drink a margarita – now that is my idea of gardening and reducing stress.

And let’s not forget – during the winter, you can admire all the beautiful container gardens and patio pots you have arranged and grown from last summer as you browse your own photos or ‘Pinterest Pages by Cathy T‘ and Instagram photos – This will help you get through the winter months when there is more snow on the ground than anything.

Container gardening and patio pots are part of life today for adding beauty all around. Add a rain barrel to the area near your pots in the summer to use natural resources to water them. Keep an empty big barrel by a greenhouse or garage door to fill with snow during winter, and take it inside to melt onto the soil of pots of dormant plants being sheltered for the winter.

We all will enjoy container gardening as much as I do. I hope…

Cathy Testa
http://www.ContainerCrazyCT.com
860-977-9473
containercathy@gmail.com