Containers by design

southern

Use pots to punctuate your garden.

Planning a landscape is a lot like interior design-- you are dividing up outdoor space into rooms, furnishing it with plants, and accessorizing it with containers. Pots and their plantings give a garden personality and turn ordinary space into an inviting outdoor retreat.

We talked to several expens who all have something to say about the significance of containers in garden design. Here are their experienced opinions.

Focal Points

Jan Feamster, a garden designer in Mooresville, North Carolina, artfully placed an old bird-- bath as an eye-catching feature in her garden. As you look through the arbor, this simple, shallow container draws your interest into another garden room and provides a visual stopping point.

Consider other ways to use containers as the focus of a garden.

* Place a pot at the end of a path to accentuate where the walkway stops.

* A large urn or substantial container centered in a round bed draws attention to that spot. Without it, the garden lacks a clear starting point.

* Use a container at the end of a low wall to give weight and architectural detail to the stopping point.

Define Spaces

Set boundaries in an undefined space with containers. Arranged in clusters of three or set as cornerstones, they function as portable walls in a garden room. "Pots are accents, but they also delineate space," says Barney Bryant, with B.B. Barns in Asheville, North Carolina. "Use containers to define a garden room's area. They are focal points and stop the eye," he says.

Large containers lining a walkway easily define the space as a promenade. An alle of crepe myrtles, berried hollies, or palms in large pots becomes an inviting passageway of live plants. Place them on opposite sides of the path in pairs or zigzagged down its length. Either way, an odd number of containers on each side is the most visually appealing arrangement.

Accessories

One of container gardening's most underutilized benefits is portability. Small pots can be moved easily, while a lightweight dolly is invaluable in relocating larger ones. Why move them around? "Containers are like accessories," says landscape designer Kristin Pategas, in Winter Park, Florida.

Think of your pots as you would furniture. Move them seasonally with changing light, or rearrange them for an event to direct foot traffic or hide a view. "Occasionally a plant will put on a spectacular show. Put it by the front door for a wonderful welcoming element through its bloom time," Kristin recommends. "A lot of people think that once they place a container, that's where it remains, but it doesn't have to stay put."

EXPERT ADVICE

Here are some additional tips for container success.

* "A windy location can be a challenge when your container is planted with something tall. Use a square-bottomed pot-it's less likely to tip over," says landscape architect Stephen Pategas.

* "When you need height, place an obelisk or trellis in the container," Kristin Pategas says. "Plant a flowering vine on it for an easy focal point."

* "Use a glazed pot as a distinctive addition to the garden. The container becomes as much a part of the design as the plants in it," says Kristin.

where to find it

CONTAINERS BY DESIGN

Page 108: Design by Barney Bryant, Jan Feamster, Kristin and Stephen Pategas, and Sharon St. John.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Mar 2003
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved