March is here and the official start of spring is right around the corner. Depending on where you live, you are either starting the annual spring garden clean-up, or staring moodily at a landscape still covered with snow. No matter what your situation, get the creative juices flowing with some spring flowering container arrangements. The plants will lift your spirits now, and liven up the outdoors later. It’s a “win-win”, even if wintery mix is currently pelting the windows.
Getting Started
Whether your “garden” consists of traditional beds and borders, or containers, take stock of what you have. Chances are you already own something that can hold plants and soil. Be creative. I know of one celebrated Irish gardener who used repurposed “dust bins” (trash cans) for container planting. A restaurant owner of my acquaintance grew his entire supply of summer basil in repurposed commercial-size tomato cans. Positioned around an outdoor seating area, the red and yellow labels and overflowing basil plants made the display festive.
If you are using a repurposed container, remember to punch some holes in the bottom for drainage. Line with a coffee filter to prevent the potting medium from escaping, and you are ready to go.
If you are a full-time container gardener, plant up your arrangements in lightweight plastic liners that can be removed when spring is over and replaced with summer-blooming plants.
Plant Picks–Thrillers
The display pallets at your local garden centers may not be overflowing with spring plants yet, but check around at local grocery stores, florists, big box stores and nurseries. Spring bloomers and branches are already available in many places.
For small container displays, choose a large single plant, like a full size daffodil or tulip, or two or three small specimens. Have fun by grouping smaller containers together, uniting them with a common color theme.
If you prefer larger container arrangements, you can get creative using the ‘thriller/spiller/filler” combination of plants. The “thrillers”—tall elements for the back or center of the arrangement– might be seasonal branches, like pussy willow, or cuttings from one of the red-twigged willows, like coral bark willow (Salix alba var.vitellina ‘Britzensis’, or red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera, syn. C. sericea). You might also choose a large hellebore, in bud or in bloom. Lenten rose or Helleborus orientalis is reasonably cold-tolerant, and can be replanted outside once the weather gets a bit warmer.
Colorful Fillers
The fillers are easy. Pansies or violas come in a variety of colors and sizes and fit nicely into large or small containers. Intersperse them with primroses (Primula vulgaris), which bear an abundance of blooms in shades of cream, yellow, pink, red, or purple. You can keep the color scheme monochromatic, matching your blue-purple pansies with primroses of the same color, or create contrasts. The lettuce-like primrose leaves provide added soil coverage. Both primroses and pansies will rebloom regularly if the containers are kept well watered, and the dead flowers removed. If you have garden space, they can also be replanted in beds and borders after putting on a show in containers.
The weeks surrounding the St. Patrick’s Day holiday are prime time for ornamental oxalis or shamrock plant. Bearing either green or dark purple clover-like leaves, the plants also feature small pink, white or yellow blooms. Like pansies and primroses, oxalis thrives in full sun to part shade, and will flourish indoors until the temperatures allow for outdoor display.
If your local plant vendor or supermarket carries small pots of miniature daffodils or tulips, you might also use them as “fillers”, possibly combining them with pansies or primroses. The daffodils can be replanted in the garden later, and will most likely return next spring. Tulips may or may not return once they are planted out, but add lots of color to containers.
Bountiful Spillers
Spillers cascade over the sides of planters, adding drama. Garden centers and nurseries generally carry an array of ivies, most of which make great spillers. Some of the trailing spiderworts or tradescantias, like the striped Tradescantia ‘Zebrina’ are excellent, easy to grow trailers. If you are growing one as a houseplant, take a few cuttings—the plant will never miss them–remove the lower leaves and install them in the damp soil around the edges of your chosen container. Short cuttings will grow out relatively quickly. Take longer cuttings for more immediate impact. Nothing could be easier.
Decorative Elements
You may want to add a few decorative elements, especially if areas of soil remain uncovered after you have installed plants. Moss balls or twig balls, available at florists’ shops or online, make nice accents. So do found items like pinecones or sea glass. Dried lotus pods add a touch of the exotic.
Prepare for Success
Once you have chosen your containers and selected the plants, give your arrangements the best chance of success by using a high quality potting mix like Fafard® Ultra Container Mix with Extended Feed. This will provide your spring beauties with all the nutrients they will need this season. Water well at planting time, and regularly as the plants’ roots settle in. Place your containers outside once the danger of frost has passed—most likely when night temperatures stay above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Check weather forecasts and either bring plants indoors or protect them during late spring cold snaps
