So, how does one become a pro at container gardening? It does not happen overnight, but we’ve got some great tips to share.

Choosing the Right Vessel and Site Selection

1. Choose planters that work for you and your plants. This will range from color scheme, textures, materials, sizes, etc. Bigger pots are easier to maintain, they hold more soil and therefore more water. (Check out our Perfect Pot for Every Plant blog for tips on this!)
2. Drainage holes are critical. Choose pots with drainage holes, or drill some. Keep the holes 1” from the edge and about 2” apart. Tip: Put a paper coffee filter over big holes to keep the soil from coming out.
3. Keep flat pots off the ground. Elevate pots on wheels, sturdy pot feet or bricks for better drainage and air circulation. Trays with wheels make it easier to rearrange and lessen the chance of water damage like rot, fungus and bacteria growth.
4. Place them first. Put pots in place before filling them, or they may be too heavy to move. Use a potting mix that feeds plants and helps control moisture in the soil. You may need specially formulated mixes for some plants, such as palms and citrus. Consider the plants’ needs before placing pots, as some plants need full sun, part sun or shade.
5. Watering schedules differ from plant to plant. Some materials, like terracotta, tend to soak up more water, so be sure to keep an eye on your plants for signs that they are thirsty. You can use a drip irrigation system to make watering easier.

After finding the perfect pot, you need to choose the perfect plant(s). We have container combos ready-made for you to grab and go each season. This is easy for the gardener on the go; simply pop out a new assortment each season and get back to doing what you love. Or, for the DIY gardener, create your own container combos.

Containers planted with a single species — rosemary or a bold variegated ornamental grass, for example — can be stunning accents to any landscape. Containers planted with a mix of plants are even more fun to create. The ideal combos depend on choosing the right plants for your container – plants that feature handsome foliage and flowers produced over a long bloom season.

The 3-Step Formula for Gorgeous Containers: A Thriller, a Spiller, and a Filler

1. Start with one focal-point plant (the thriller), such as coleus, geranium, or purple fountain grass. Add a trellis or pillar to a container and you can even use a vine to add height to your container.
2. Add several plants that spill over the edge of the pots (spillers) such as petunias, bacopa, creeping zinnias, or ornamental sweet potatoes.
3. Finally, add plants with smaller leaves and flowers that add color and fill in the arrangement all season long (filler). Good fillers include salvias, verbenas, ornamental peppers, and wax begonias, as well as foliage plants like parsley or licorice plants.
4. You’ll need a total of five or six plants for an 18- or 24-inch container, for example.

Best Plants for Containers

1. Edibles: You can grow almost any vegetable, fruit or herbs in individual containers — from large pots to half barrels. Look for dwarf or petite forms of larger vegetables such as tomatoes, pumpkins, and winter squash. A combination herb container is always fun – try a little Italy with basil, rosemary, thyme, and oregano.
2. Annuals: The classic container plant. Annuals look good all summer long without much fuss. Choose warm-weather annuals that bloom all summer or have foliage that remains attractive. Geraniums, marigolds, wax begonias, coleus, scarlet sage, and flowering tobacco are all good choices. Experiment, and if one plant doesn’t work out, don’t worry about it — just pop it out and try again!
3. Perennials: Containers planted with hardy perennials and shrubs can be grown and enjoyed from year to year. Hostas and daylilies are great container gardening plants, but many other perennials work as well. Try ferns, European wild ginger, sedges, lavender, sedums, and ornamental grasses.
4. Trees and Shrubs: Choosing a tree for a container depends on its size, growing requirements, and location. Smaller species and dwarf varieties are good candidates. Choose trees based on year-round appearance, size, and maintenance requirements. Evergreens and nearly any other dwarf conifer would be an ideal choice as well as boxwood, yew, dwarf camellias, holly, dwarf Alberta spruce, Japanese maple, star magnolia, river birch, crepe myrtle, and many types of fruit trees.

It may be hard to know which containers will work best for your small space garden. We’re here to help. Email us at AskHomestead@homesteadgardens.com, or visit our stores.

And please follow us on social media and share photos of your favorite container plants! Because we love plants as much as you do!

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We have compiled a list of the best of the best for each category for small-space gardening.

Fruits to Grow in Small Spaces

1. Blueberries. Pick fresh blueberries just steps from your door when you grow dwarf varieties in containers. Look for disease-resistant and drought-tolerant varieties. Plant in an area that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day and feed with a high-acid, organic fertilizer.
2. Strawberries. For small spaces, plant in a container and place in a spot that receives full sun. While February and March are peak season, strawberries can be planted in fall, winter or spring, and a mild winter will create an earlier fruiting season.
3. Meyer Lemon. Hardy and sweet, dwarf Meyer lemon trees grow perfectly in containers. You’ll love the smell of the sweet citrus blooms in the spring and the bright yellow lemons are sure to brighten any gloomy day. Feed plants regularly with an all-purpose fertilizer for best results.

Small-Space Veggies

1. Cherry Tomatoes. Small variety tomato plants that deliver big flavor are just right for growing in small gardens and in containers on decks, patios and balconies. Select tomato plants with strong stems, lots of flowers and even tiny, green fruit. Place in an area that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day. Water tomatoes regularly and feed bi-weekly with an organic vegetable fertilizer.
2. It’s a snap to grow peas in small spaces – especially containers. They grow quickly and don’t need much attention. Try dwarf varieties, keep soil moist, and harvest this healthy snack in only two months.
3. With lots of water and full sun, cucumbers grow like crazy. Don’t forget to use an organic fertilizer every other week during the growing season. For best results, choose an extra-large container to support a trellis. This exposes more leaves to the sun and deters pests.

Container Herb Combos

Basil Mash-Up. Plant up a mixed pot of various basil varieties from sweet to spicy for pizza and pasta night. Combine green-leafed ‘Genovese’ basil with a purple leafed variety such as ‘Purple Ruffles’. Add ‘Thai’ basil for spice. The more the basil is picked, the more leaves they produce.

1. Rosemary, Sage and Thyme. Gardeners who love to barbecue often reach for assertive herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme, which grow nicely when planted in the same pot. Tie stems together into a small bunch and use it as a barbeque brush. Woody rosemary stems can be used as skewers, too.
2. Dill and Basil. Planning to make pickles? Dwarf ‘Fernleaf’ dill will produce plenty of leaves and flowers, and you can pair it with any type of basil to make pickled cucumbers or beans, or zesty herb vinegars.

Grow Walls of Color with Annual Vines

1. Black-Eyed Susan Vine. Though this flower is most commonly orange, newer varieties bloom in pale yellow, white or pink. These vigorous vines are easy to grow from seed or purchased plants, and they bloom continuously from midsummer until the first hard freeze.
2. Morning Glories. Turn any fence into a masterpiece, with dramatic morning glories. Cypress vine morning glory, which produces dainty fernlike foliage and small red flowers that hummingbirds find irresistible, is the easiest to grow.
3. Sweet Peas. Plant these fragrant vines near windows often opened during the day. Sweet peas stop blooming by late summer, however, so plant a few scarlet runner beans when peas are 12” tall to continue the show.
4. Blossoming varieties such as scarlet runner beans and hyacinth beans have a coarse texture compared to other annual vines, but their exuberant growth makes them ideal if you want to grow a high green screen. These vines climb a 10’ trellis and keep on going, so they are the best annual vines for tall tripods or string trellises attached to the sunny side of a building.

It may be hard to know which fruits, vegetables, and herbs to choose or what will grow best in your small space garden. We’re here to help. Email us at AskHomestead@homesteadgardens.com, or visit our stores.

And please follow us on social media and share photos of your small space garden! Because we love plants as much as you do!

The post Best of the Best Plants for Small-Space Gardening appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

Container gardening has come a long way from the terracotta era.

4 Rules to Choosing the Perfect Pot

1. The number one dealbreaker when pairing plants with pots is drainage. If you fall in love with a container that does not have a drainage hole in the bottom of it, drill one (or a few for larger pots). Keep the holes about 1 inch from the edge and about 2 inches apart. Lack of water drainage can cause rot, fungus and bacteria growth – a.k.a. an unhappy and unhealthy plant.
2. The material of a container can make a difference in the growth of your plants, so do some research before buying. Plastic pots are more lightweight, cheaper, and fine for indoor gardening. The classic terracotta option is best for drought-tolerant plants because it is a porous material, which means it will absorb water from the soil, then dry out. Glazed ceramic pots are very sturdy (and heavy) but will work well for almost any plant, making them a great all-around option.
3. Plants are meant to thrive and grow, so you need to give them the space to do so. If you stick a plant in a small pot, it will not have room to expand and grow. When choosing a pot, opt for one that is 2 to 3 inches larger than the current size of the plant. So as your plant grows, it needs to be repotted and moved to a larger container.
4. Does your garden or gardening space have a certain look and feel that you are going for? Find a planter that makes sense for your space. This is your chance to add pops of color and texture, or keep it minimalistic. A happy gardener makes for happier plants.

At Homestead, we are passionate about containers. If you need help figuring out which container will work best for you and your plants, we’re here to help. Email us at AskHomestead@homesteadgardens.com, or visit our stores.

And please follow us on social media and share photos of your container garden plants! Because we love plants as much as you do!

The post The Perfect Pot for Every Plant appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

Just because you live in a small space doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy gardening. Whether you want to grow cherry tomatoes with your kids or some herbs to add fresh flavor to your cookouts, just follow these easy tiny gardens for tiny spaces tips — almost no room required.

Tips for Container Growing

Small space gardening is all about the containers. Look for containers that are frost-proof so you don’t have to stop gardening when the weather cools off. There are great plastic and composite options with the look of clay or glazed pottery that can be left outside all winter. Choose containers with drainage holes to avoid root rot from soggy soils.

Self-watering containers make container gardening a breeze because you’ll only have to fill up the reservoir once or twice a week instead of watering every single day during the warmer months. If you’re not using a self-watering container, water plants when the top two inches of soil are dry.

Always use soil that’s specifically labeled as potting soil. It is specially formulated to drain well and often has a bit of slow-release fertilizer in it. If the soil doesn’t have fertilizer added, sprinkle a slow release fertilizer on top of the soil or mix it in with the potting mix when you plant.

What to Grow

Herbs, such as basil, mint, sage, parsley, cilantro, and rosemary do excellent in containers.  They’re also a worthwhile use of your space since purchasing fresh herbs can really add up.

Other edible plants that grow well in containers include patio tomatoes, ornamental pepper varieties, strawberries, swiss chard, green beans, cucumbers, and lettuce. You might also consider growing a few edible flowers like nasturtiums or violas which can add a lot of visual interest to a space and then be turned into a salad. Look for new container fruit varieties such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries that will grow in a large container year round.

Almost all flowers will thrive in containers for at least one growing season. Annuals will bloom all summer long, but many new perennial varieties will bloom continuously or re-bloom, an important plant attribute for gardeners enjoying limited space. You want to get the most out of your small garden, and a plant that blooms for a week and stops isn’t going to cut it.

Small Space Projects

Assemble a Herb Wall

Grow up by planting an herb wall! They’re beautiful, functional, and a lot of fun to make. Most herbs need at least 6 hours of sun per day. If you don’t have much sun, there are other, better projects.

There are a variety of vertical gardening kits that you can buy. Some are boards with pot hangers mounted on them into which you can slip clay pots. Others are three-tier troughs. Herbs will grow well in felt or plastic hanging pockets. Just make sure the container, regardless of what it is made of, has drainage holes.

Herbs that will grow well in smaller pots and give you a great harvest include:

• Basil
• Thyme
• Oregano
• Mint
• Chives
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Parsley
• Cilantro

Plant Window Boxes

Window boxes are always a popular option, regardless of where you live. Herbs, salad greens, and flowering plants are all great window box choices. Divide the window box into three equal parts and create a little plant combo that you repeat three times. In the combo, you’ll want a taller plant such as Swiss chard, a small hibiscus, or a fuchsia plant, a medium “filler” plant such as diamond frost euphorbia or calibrachoa (if you’re growing in the sun), and a trailing plant such as creeping jenny. Repeat that combo three times in the window box for a professional look.

Enjoy the Climb

A trough-like planter or narrow rectangular planter with vining plants won’t take up much space, and it can give you a huge bang for the buck. Add a trellis and plant vining cucumbers, grapes, or indeterminate tomatoes for an edible crop (as long as you get plenty of sun). Clematis, climbing roses, and honeysuckle are all great ornamental choices.

Grow a Fruit Forest

Dwarf fruit trees stay small with pruning and can also be espaliered (if you’re feeling adventurous). Grow fruit trees in large self-watering containers and “underplant” with annual flowers or shorter edibles to get more out of your space.

Don’t let apartment or patio home living stop you from enjoying a garden this season. Work with the space you have and plant something! Grow your own food, herbs, and flowers whether you’ve got a few plants on your patio, an herb wall on your balcony, or just a window box.

The post Tiny Gardens for Tiny Spaces appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

Interest in container gardening continues to grow because it’s so versatile. Use containers as accent pieces all over your garden, to liven up a balcony or to frame an entryway. Annuals in hanging baskets can add color to a drab patio and banana plants in big pots can turn a swimming pool into a tropical oasis.

Containers mix your personal style and flair into every aspect of your property, including patios and can make an outdoor dining area look refined. Plus, they are ideal for small space gardening.

Choosing Plants

There are no limits when it comes to container gardening. Plant them full of annuals for an all-season floral display or full of herbs and place them near your kitchen door for the freshest flavor enhancers. Some vegetables and fruits, like Bushel and Berry’s compact blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, also thrive in containers. Create a small water garden with miniature water lilies or lotus. Succulent arrangements are perfect for tables, and don’t need to be watered every day. You can show your patriotism with red, white and blue combinations for Memorial Day and the 4th of July.

Choosing a Container

Almost any pot will work as long as it has good drainage, except for a container water garden, of course. Keep in mind that the smaller the container, the faster the soil will dry out. Larger containers allow you to create displays with more impact. If weight is going to be an issue (think about carrying a pot upstairs to a balcony), look for lightweight pots. There are high quality plastic pots now that are hard to distinguish from terra cotta. The soil you use is very important and a specialty blend like Espoma’s Organic Potting Mix or Homestead’s own Maryland Select Potting Soil is recommended. They’re specially formulated to help plants thrive through the nutrients found in the soil. Use a liquid organic fertilizer like Espoma’s Bloom! once a month to keep your plants flourishing.

Color Theory

This is a project you can really put your stamp on. Use terra cotta pots for a natural or classic look, try painted pots for bold statements, wooden barrels, wheelbarrows, you name it.

Try out different color combinations of plants, too, in your cart first, to get a feel for the overall look. Complementary colors, opposite colors on the color wheel, make bold combinations. Think of opposites like red and green or violet and yellow. Harmonious colors live next to each other on the color wheel. Think of blue, violet and pink or a warm combination like yellow, red and orange. Play around and have fun. That’s what gardening is really all about.

Thriller, Filler, Spiller

One well-known rule of thumb about planting containers is the thriller, filler and spiller method. The “thriller” is generally a tall plant with big bright blooms. The “filler” is medium sized, while the “spiller” is generally a trailing plant that gracefully cascades over the edge of the pot, softening the lines.

Read on for some ideas for sun and shade using annuals and tender perennials. Don’t worry, perennials, tropicals and small shrubs can work well too. You can even plant summer bulbs in containers like Montbretia, Bulb.com’s Summer Bulb of the Year. When planting in shade, consider textures – your combinations may be more subtle, but they can be equally beautiful as a full-color sun container.

Top Picks for Your Container Garden:

Thrillers for Sun

• Butterfly Bush
• Ornamental Millet
• Hibiscus
• Mandevilla
• Angel’s Trumpet

Fillers for Sun

• Angelonia
• Pentas
• Lantana
• Verbena
• Nemesia

Spillers for Sun

• Bacopa
• Calibrachoa
• Helichrysum
• Sweet Potato Vine
• Lobelia

Thrillers for Shade

• Ferns
• Elephants Ear
• Coleus
• Ornamental Grasses
• Asparagus Fern

Fillers for Shade

• Fuchsia
• Begonia
• Double Impatiens
• Wishbone Flower

Spillers for Shade

• Creeping Jenny
• Wire Vine
• Polka Dot Plant
• Euphorbia
• Diamond Frost
• Ivy

Whatever you choose, remember, there are no hard and fast rules. A pair of containers planted simply with an evergreen in each has a subtle splendor. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

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Traditional holiday plants like poinsettias add color and beauty to your home during the holiday season, but did you know they don’t need to fade away when the last of the decorations get boxed up? 

With a little loving care, you can keep your holiday plants alive and blooming long after Santa heads back to the North Pole.

Poinsettia

Poinsettias are tropical plants, and despite the fact that they’re synonymous with Christmas, they don’t love cold weather. Here are some poinsettia care tips that will help you coax another bloom out of your plant next year.

• Water your poinsettia when the soil is dry for as long as it looks healthy.
• Place it in a sunny spot away from windowpanes.
• Tuck it into a cool room at night, 55 to 60 degrees, to extend the life of the blooms.
• In mid-spring, let it dry out and shrivel.
• Cut it back to just a few inches above the soil and repot it in fresh soil.
• Water it, keep it warm, and fertilize when new growth appears. You can move it outside in the summer.
• In autumn, keep it in total darkness between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m., and voila! It will flower just in time for the holidays.

Christmas cactus

These beautiful plants thrive in the short days of winter, so don’t give your Christmas cactus too much sun. Here’s how to keep your winter cactus thriving when the snow melts.

• Keep your cactus in a dark room from sunset to sunrise to encourage blooms.
• These need more water than other cacti, so check the soil often and water if it feels dry.
• Don’t re-pot these temperamental plants.
• To get a second round of blooms in the spring, water it less frequently and fertilize it.

Amaryllis

These dramatic blooms can live for years if you care for them correctly.

• Plant the bulb in a container that is twice as deep as the bulb. Make sure it has a drainage hole, and use soilless potting mix.
• Keep the container in a cool room.
• Increase watering when the first sprouts appear.
• In the spring, put the container outside and cut back the leaves. In the fall, stop watering it until winter and it will bloom again.

Paperwhite narcissus

These elegant white blooms add a touch of sophistication to your holiday decorating. Here’s how to keep them at their best.

• Use a container that’s 3 to 4 inches high, with no drainage hole. Add some pebbles in the bottom.
• Keep the pot in low light until the shoots appear, and then move it gradually into direct sunlight.
• Make sure not to overwater.
• Plant new bulbs in the pot every few weeks.

With some care and attention, you can keep the holiday spirit alive and well in your home long after the snow melts. Check out our selection at Homestead Gardens.

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If you have the Valentine Vibe…give it a lot of love! Above all spread the love with something lasting like flowers and herbs in pots (NOT CUT) which will continue to flourish long after any cut flowers would be tossed in the trash.

The fresh selection is immense. Rosemary topiaries are whimsical shaped into a Valentine Heart and emit a gorgeous aroma as well. Miniature roses, loads of orchids-large and small, cyclamen, jasmine wreaths, New Wine Hydrangea, stephanotis, bromeliads and succulents in “heart” containers are all unique “love” gifts this season.

And don’t forget some chocolate-plain or fancy! You just gotta have it on Valentine’s Day!

 Fudge Bliss Yogurt Cake

Serves 10-12

For the cake:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
  1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
  1 teaspoon kosher salt
  1 cup water
  2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
  1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  2 large eggs
  1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• confectioners sugar for dusting the top

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10 or 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring, just until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking soda. Add half of the melted butter mixture and whisk until completely blended. The mixture will be thick. Add the remaining butter mixture and whisk until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until completely blended. Whisk in the sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and the vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto a rack. Let cool completely before dusting with confectioners sugar.

And don’t forget Evelyn’s Boutique! 

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Succulents

The Homestead Gardens staff members love mixing and matching varieties of echevaria, agave, haworthia, kalanchoe, sedum and sempervivum succulents because these plants present a beautiful diversity of heights, leaf patterns and colorful flowers. Plant them in rock gardens on the patio or using porous soil in artistic containers for a creative living decoration inside your home. Succulent container gardens work wonderfully in the Chesapeake Bay region because they can be brought inside into a sunny spot during the colder months for continuous enjoyment.

If you haven’t worked with succulents before, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to design a succulent garden. Try these tips from the Homestead Gardens staff, and you’ll appreciate the resulting beautiful garden.

Steps for Succulent Care

1. Choose your succulents. Visit the Homestead Gardens retail stores to find the cacti that best match your design tastes and personality. Pre-planted varieties are also available for sharing as gifts.

2. Use the correct soil. Succulents don’t like to be wet, so porous, well-draining soil is the best option for your garden.

3. Pick a container. Any vessel will work for succulents, as long as it drains well. Many succulent varieties don’t need a lot of soil and can happily live in a space as small as a large sea shell or a decorative tea cup.

4. Plant and decorate. Use a layer of sand or decorative topping for additional decor. Add some colorful accents like you would for a fairy garden, water once every other week and watch your garden thrive!

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Call me crazy but I think I outsmarted the insects this spring. Normally, I’d be pulling cabbage loopers off my brassicas and handing them off to the chickens for a treat.

Beautiful Brassicas

Insect parents are just like the rest of us: they want to make sure they have food and shelter for their offspring. They evolve with and come out of hiding when their food source will be available.

Cabbage Looper Larva
photo by David Cappaert, Michigan State University

Container Gardening

For years, I’ve had my vegetable garden in the same place. This year, I decided to experiment and grow everything in containers. My containers are at the opposite corner of the property from my veggie garden. These two containers are watering troughs planted with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and kohlrabi.

Watering trough planter

I believe that by moving their food source, I’ve eliminated at least the first onslaught of cabbage moths. Let’s hope that’s a trend this year!

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Perennials

With all these topics to choose from – square foot gardening, orchids, pickling and canning, herbs, aromatherapy and MORE – the one that interests me most is one called  “Drought-Resistant Perennials for Containers” because A, I love drought-tolerant perennials, especially succulents, and B, they’re the key to low-maintenance container gardening (watering being the BIG maintenance required of plants in pots).

Big Event

I’ll be there (at 10:00 Saturday 4/20 at the Davidsonville location), but to get myself in the mood I’ve rounded up some of my favorite photos that illustrate the idea.

In the top photo, French lavender looks gorgeous anywhere but particularly against burnt-sienna-colored walls.  Photo take in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Above, Ice Plant (Delosperma) at its fullest and most colorful, with a bit of Sedum on the left. 

Here’s my own collection of succulents in a pot, including a few Ice Plant blossoms.  Also in this pot are some Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum) and a creeping Sedum.  I added a rock or two for effect.

In Portland, Oregon I discovered (and fell for) this dish of Echeveria, Aloe, Sedum and the annual Tradescantia.

In a Raleigh, North Carolina garden this dish of very short plants that may be Sedums still stumps me – what ARE these things?  Plant ID coming soon, I hope.

Awesome collection of Hens and Chicks in the same Raleigh garden.  So blue!

This collection of pots is beautiful without any plants at all, but these greenish-blue plants are the perfect complement.  The tallest is an Agave, which is a plant I dearly want to grow, but it’s not cold-hardy enough for Maryland.  Maybe in my next life, in Tucson.

Photo credit:  blue pots with succulents.  Other photos by the author.

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