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Are you itching to get out in the garden and start planting? Elizabeth Werle and Chris Rising, two of The LaurelRock Companys fine gardening experts, say that its not too early to plant colorful containers with hardy varieties bred to survive Connecticuts unpredictable spring weather.
Elizabeth and Chris came across the African yellow daisy at a recent horticultural trade show in Boston. It also comes in white and is deer resistant. But best of all, this plant is from Proven Winner, a brand that puts its plants through a rigorous selection process so they can withstand chilly weather. Plant either the yellow or the white daisy in the center of a pot surrounded by blue pansies. Your daisy will keep flowering well into July.
If you want to create eye-catching flowering containers, try what the pros call the thriller, filler and spiller method. First make sure you have a good sized container, at least 20 inches across, filled with sterile potting soil mixed with Plant-Tone and Gardeners Gold, a nutrient rich compost made from shellfish.
The thrillers are the star of the show. Place them in the center of your pot. Choose a tall, upright plant such as a dwarf lilac or an azalea. The fillers go around the thriller. Three plants are ideal but you can plant more if you like. Good early choices are primroses and cyclamen or forced tulips and daffodils. As these plants die off you can replace them with other annuals. Lastly, the spillers are used to anchor your container plantings by spilling over the edge of the pot. Try variegated ivy or eunymous, green ivy and trailing thyme.
You dont have to be a professional gardener to create magnificent containers, says Elizabeth. And with new hardy flowering plants you wont have to wait so long to see some color in your garden.
Do you plant the same flowers in your containers every year? Have you ever planted flowers in March? I'd like to hear if they survived. Email me at fpearson@mainstreetconnect.us.
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