Summer Showcase — Pots that Sizzle

(continued from page 34) stakes with garbage bags tied around the base and stapled and we’re taking them off and on. The client can do that or we can do that.”

Roberts’ team also does many seasonal change outs. “Our clients include restaurants, and commercial spaces like retail and larger apartment buildings with amenity decks.” She creates vertical planters, window boxes, pots and large hanging baskets that adorn popular eateries in Chicago. “None of our hanging baskets are irrigated. We train our staff and the site specific staff to water them well, especially the edges.”

Soil Mix

Voyles uses Midwest Trading’s potting mix. “It’s an all-purpose potting soil and I find it’s a better quality because of what they use—peat moss, pine bark fines—the plants love it.” Hoxie uses a Miracle-Gro mix. “The potting soil has fertilizer in it and the plants take off.” When switching out the pots, both Hoxie and Voyles take out only the top few inches of potting mix and add fresh product when planting.

We Like Big Blooms

“When we first install — and we do spring, summer and fall—we put in a slow release fertilizer even though the Midwest Trading’s potting mix has fertilizer,” Voyles said “To get those really big huge arrangements they’re on our planter maintenance program. We’ll fertilize their hanging baskets or planters on a weekly or biweekly basis. We use a water soluble fertilizer because the roots take it up faster. You have this awesome explosion in two to three weeks time.”

Hoxie works with a palette of plants he likes to use. “But we always try to incorporate what the client’s looking for. One has several window boxes that are all in the shade. She wanted pink flowers and no chartreuse leaves. The boxes are a dark walnut so the pink really pops off of them.”

Looking Ahead

With Labor Day around the corner, some container plantings can hang on until the first frost. “We don’t change our pots because they still look fine going into fall,” says head gardener Marya Padour at the Camp Rosemary estate in Lake Forest. She’s responsible for several dozen elegant containers. “The pots filled with agapanthus still look great.”

Roberts typically changes out her clients’ containers in early to mid September. “I like it to cool off before we plant mums, cabbage and other fall plants. If they aren’t watered regularly the heat will dry them out quickly.”

“When switching out for fall I want to see autumnal colors and I want them to persist,” Roberts explained. “Foliage is important, more so than blooms since they come and go. For example purple cabbages, heuchera, pumpkins, acorus, red, orange, yellow and purple peppers, dusty miller and textural branches. Of course I love mums, but I just try to think beyond them to extend the show.”

Trends

“The hottest thing right now is self(continued on page 40)