Gone to Pot
by Rick Vyust
With the display of succulents, the sky’s the limit!
By the time April rolls around, it’s only natural we’ve grown impatient for spring to arrive, and we are ready for soil, nature and colorful impatiens. It’s time to enjoy gardening again! April is the perfect month to get ambitious with your container gardening skills. Pots give us the chance to get a head start on the season and get our hands dirty. Don’t worry about a frosty chill spoiling your garden party, as pots allow for you to simply move plants undercover and away from the cold.
To get a jump on your gardening game, consider creating container gardens in the early spring season for:
- Frost tolerant pansies
- Herbs (mixed planters)
- Succulents
- Vegetable plants
- Tillandsias
You can also purchase these early season plants at the garden center and “babysit” them for a few weeks indoors. This can also be done with seed starters. On nice days when the air is calm, they can be set out to begin “hardening off” to the great outdoors. Come May, after you’ve had your early spring gardening fix, they will be ready to make it outdoors on their own. As with all container planting, remember to allow for growth, use a good quality potting soil and provide holes for drainage.
Unconventional “Pots”
Succulents are the perfect adaptable plant for indoors or out in early spring. With a wide variety and interesting textures, it’s no wonder they are a growing trend. With the display of succulents, the sky’s the limit!
Add charm to your kitchen by planting a cluster of these green beauties in soup ladles and hanging them from your wall.
Air plants, or Tillandsias, are another alluring and amiable plant as versatile as your imagination. Air plants have no need for soil and require little watering. Display them virtually anywhere you want to add a dash of wonder and a splash of green.
Rick Vuyst
