Enhance the elegance of your home by planting a container garden that has a formal flair. Choosing a planter with classical lines and made of stone or concrete sets the tone. With this container garden "recipe," you'll greet your visitors in style with a glorious combination of flowers perfect for a sunny front porch.
You can enjoy years of midsummer color from the dwarf crape myrtle shrub. Ever-reliable petunias match the deep pink of the crape myrtle. Variegated ivy cascades with wonderful grace. Daisies add bright cheer, and the contrasting deep tones of spilling lobelia complete the collection.
You can keep this floral display going season after season by simply replacing the annuals as needed with fresh plants.
Container: Sometimes the container plays as big a role in the show as the flowers — that’s the case here with an impressive cement urn. You can discover all kinds of styles, colors, and sizes in nurseries and garden centers, and although they may be more costly than traditional clay pots, urns return dividends as garden accents.
Plants: One dwarf crape myrtle, two English ivies, one marguerite daisy, five petunias, and four lobelias.
How to plant: Start with the dwarf crape myrtle toward the center of the urn, and surround this with the petunias. Drop the ivies along the front rim and plant the daisy in the center. Fill in the gaps along the rim with lobelias.
Special tips: Urns that overflow with flowers look best, so make sure that all the annuals fill in evenly. Frequent applications of liquid fertilizer certainly help. Keep faded flowers groomed, and pinch back the petunias if they get leggy.
