SEASONAL INTEREST ON DISPLAY IN OUTDOOR CONTAINERS

To provide supplemental color and texture to Red Butte Garden’s themed gardens and plantings, the horticulture staff maintains 60 decorative containers located along patios and walkways, as well as the parking lot and main entrance to the Visitor Center. These containers are changed out two to four times each year to reflect and highlight seasonal changes. High visibility containers like those in the Visitor Center Courtyard get changed out four times a year, once for each season, while lower visibility containers are changed out twice per year for spring and summer. During these changeouts, the containers are dismantled, and soil is replenished before being replanted with a seasonally appropriate display.

More than 80% of our container material is produced by our greenhouse team using seeds, plugs, and cuttings. We work with outside suppliers to purchase other plants like large conifers, shrubs, and perennials. The Garden’s main production season starts in January and runs through May, while production for fall containers begins in April for September displays. Top: Planter on display in the entrance to the Water Conservation Garden Bottom: Herb Garden Container

An assortment of color, texture, and blooms in one of the 60 planters on display Utah’s hot summer months, each container must be watered by hand once or twice per day, meaning that water must be carried into or accessed in each garden throughout the growing season. Containers are maintained weekly for general aesthetics, such as removing spent flowers, pruning, and replacing plant material that is not performing as intended. Throughout the season, the container displays are treated for insect pests using natural, environmentally friendly pesticides as needed.

During the winter season, the staff monitors the outdoor containers for wildlife damage, excessive water retention, and winter burn. Containers that retain too much water may crack once the soil freezes, therefore excess water must be monitored and removed from the bottom of the pots. Ceramic containers, which are easily damaged during winter, are emptied and moved into the greenhouses for the winter, and returned outdoors again in the spring.

With so many different sizes and types of outdoor containers located throughout the Garden, you’ll want to plan multiple visits to see how these unique displays create seasonal color and interest.

Kara Hastings, Greenhouse Coordinator, has been working in the horticulture industry for over a decade. She studied environmental science at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and joined the Garden in 2018.

Black Capped Chickadee The Four Seasons Garden

What Will Be Your Legacy?

Help keep the Garden growing with a legacy gift through your will.

A legacy gift honors the donor’s life with a charitable gift to a chosen party, cause, or organization. Legacy giving is a lasting investment in Red Butte Garden & Arboretum, advancing our mission to connect people with plants and the beauty of living landscapes. When you include Red Butte Garden in your estate plan, you ensure the continued growth of the Garden for future generations.

For more information, please contact Natalie Cope, Director of Philanthropy, at 801.585.5658 or natalie.cope@redbutte.utah.edu.