CONTAINER GARDENING:

Published 12:00 am Saturday, September 13, 2008

Window boxes an easy way to add a burst of beauty|IN THE GARDEN

Container gardening is practiced in nearly half of all households in the United States, according to Norman Winter, a Mississippi State University horticulturist, TV personality and author.

Containers are a great alternative for those gardeners who want color on patios and around swimming pools. They also work well for gardeners who have poor or extremely heavy soil and either don’t have the time or desire to improve it.  An almost forgotten form of container gardening has begun to grow in popularity, and some gardeners are finding that it adds just the right touch to their homes.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

“We wanted to give a little color to the front of our house,” Danielle Schmidt explains. She and her husband, Roy, added window boxes to the front of their house in Fairways several years ago. The concept was not new to Schmidt. Her mother lives in France, and window boxes are used everywhere.  

Fall Flower and Garden Fest coming  in October

 From staff reports

 Mississippi State University’s 30th annual Fall Flower and Garden Fest is set for Oct. 17-18 in Crystal Springs.

It is one of the largest home gardening shows in the Southeast, having drawn as many as 6,000 people in the past. The event will include a plant sale, wagon ride and walking tours.

Also, Let’s Go Walkin’, Mississippi will host a one-mile fun walk at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 17. Free pedometers will be given to the first 300 walkers.

Following the walk will be an antique car parade to celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary. It will feature Model As and Model Ts from 1919 to 1926.

The Fall Flower and Garden Fest will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day and will be at the Truck Corps Experiment Station off U.S. 51. Admission and parking are free.

For information, visit http://msucares.com/fallfest or call 601-892-3731 or the Warren County Extension Office at 601-636-5442.

“You see them on second-floor windows, around fountains, along the sidewalks just — bubbling over with bright, colorful blooms. Ivy geraniums are often used,”  Schmidt comments. “The boxes are made of concrete and are permanently in place.”

Schmidt originally started with earthenware containers that sat on her window ledge but had trouble with the dog and the breakable boxes. The boxes that have worked best for Schmidt are those with trays underneath. The trays trap water that drips out of the boxes, and they don’t have to be watered as much, she explained. Wroughtiron boxes are available as well as those made from wood and plastic. Whatever type is chosen, drainage holes in the bottom are critical. A drill can be used to add holes to plastic or wooden containers.  

Gardening HowTo Magazine (March 2004) recommends choosing a window box that is at least 11 to 12 inches deep. That depth will provide enough space for roots to take hold and enough soil so that watering once a day is enough. Less depth will require watering at least twice a day. Choose a good quality potting mix. Schmidt uses pre-mixed with time-release fertilizer. Water-retaining granules mixed in with the potting soil is also recommended by many experts.

When a wrought-iron frame box is used, it can be lined with sphagnum or sheet moss around the sides and front to hold the potting soil in the frame and prevent it from drying out too quickly. Landscape fabric can be fitted at the back of the box to hold in potting soil and is not as expensive as the moss.

Wax begonias have filled Schmidt’s boxes this summer. She generally brings them in at the end of the season, but could very easily plant them with cool-weather choices such as pansies, violas, bulbs, snapdragons, flowering cabbage or kale, parsley, lettuce or nasturtiums.

Winter advises using the “thriller, filler, spiller” theory for planting any container, including a window box. He says the “thriller” is usually the tallest plant and is generally planted in the middle. It reaches out and grabs your interest with texture, color or incredible beauty. Grasses can also function as the “thriller.”

“Spillers” fall over the edge and give a strong vertical feeling to the box. In summer boxes, sweet potato vines are excellent for this effect. There is also a new pansy called purple rain that would be delightful in a fall or early spring planting.

“Fillers” close up the pockets between the “thrillers” and “spillers.” If using bulbs, plant them last. It is easy to damage them while planting other things in a container.

Plants tend to use up nutrients quickly in containers. Gardening HowTo recommends fertilizing them with a liquid product every two to three weeks or a granular every four weeks. Water is needed daily or when soil becomes dry. Some boxes may require twice-a-day watering. Schmidt uses mulch around the plants when they are first planted. This helps to conserve water and prevent weeds from popping up so easily. Some deadheading may be necessary as well as pruning if some of the plants get too far out of bounds in the box.

“The French just love flowers,” said Schmidt. Her window boxes are a great way for her to share a bit of her heritage with friends and neighbors.

Miriam Jabour, a Master Gardener and master flower show judge, has been active with the Vicksburg Council of Garden Clubs for more than 20 years. Write to her at 1114 Windy Lake Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39183.