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INTO THE GARDEN
Photo: thespruce.com
Photo: Kerry Michaels
Sprucing up for Spring How you can create eye-catching container gardens at your home • By Danica Dodson
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f you want to take your garden to the next level, plant containers are a fun and simple way to add character and volume to your space. The right arrangement of texture, height, and color can go a long way, especially if you’re working with a small planting area. Arlington Parks & Recreation Department’s Urban Forestry Land Manager, Wendy Pappas, suggests these ideas for creating eye-catching plant containers that are sure to bring your garden to life! Container Options It’s important to choose the right type of container for your planter. Whether your planter will be made of clay, metal, plastic, or any other material, it needs to have some form of drainage hole. All plant containers need adequate drainage to release excess water. If the container is a large pot, one drainage hole in the middle may not be enough. If you purchase a plastic container with no holes, you’ll need to drill holes in the bottom yourself. Your best bet is to find containers that already have drain holes to eliminate the drilling step.
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ARLINGTON TODAY • March 2021 • arlingtontoday.com
Soil For Containers After you choose your container, you’ll need to decide which type of soil to add to the container. For small planters, a standard potting soil mix will work just fine. If you have a very large planter, you may consider adding filler material beneath the soil to take up space. This will allow for better drainage than filling a large planter entirely with soil, and it will also make large containers much easier to move. Some common filler materials are pool noodle pieces or packing peanuts. Just make sure your filler material is lightweight and will allow water to filter through to the bottom of the container rather than pooling. Choosing Plants Of course, choosing plants for your containers is the most exciting step! This mostly depends on personal preference and how you want your container to look. For a normal flowering planter, it’s a good idea to choose something that will grow tall for the middle of the pot. One option is an ornamental grass,
