Articles Directory | Free Articles | New Articles Daily | The application of colours, textures as well as Shapes in container and planter box gardening.

I like to compare the skill as well as the art involved in setting up a planter to that of flower arranging. Most of us have at sometime placed two or three flowers in a vase and enjoyed the results. A number of us have taken a little more time and arranged the flowers so they show themselves off to best advantage. A smaller number of us really go to town on flower arranging and will always be hunting for new flowers or foliage and unusual vases and vessels. There is a lesson that should be learned from the "go-ahead" flower arrangers, and I do think gardeners could do worse than borrow some of their energy and ideas. However the flower arrangers have a simple time when compared with the planter gardener. They have got the advantage of having the ability to place their arrangements out of the way of strong winds, baking sun and drenching rain. Florists can always work happily with the knowledge that what they arrange will stay virtually the same for the life of the display.
The planter gardener - with a few exceptions - has to have a vision of how the display will look several months on, when the planting matures. The few small plants planted at the beginning of the season are going to grow and by the end of the summer you will have a planter burgeoning with flowers and leaves.
It may be said that any plant can be grown in a planter, the sheer range of plants in the planter gardener's palette could possibly be considered daunting. It is, though, an opportunity to explore and experiment with different colour and texture mixtures, a chance to mix soft with hard and the bright with the soft. This diversity of plants for planters means that every taste and style may be catered for from your tightest, formal look to the wildest, informal display. Whether you wish to produce a statement or simply have some wooden planters or planter boxes that will look pretty on the patio, there are planters and plants available to do it with and do it with style.
Texture
The single aim of ornamental
Gardening is to excite the senses and bring us pleasure.
Plants with textural foliage not only stimulate us visually, but also invite us to get up close and touch them. Inevitably, you will want to feel or touch their leaves to see if they are as smooth, silky, rough, hard, soft or as spiky as they seem to be. The chance to experience pleasurable tactile sensations is unquestionably one of many joys of gardening.
As a planter gardener, one may work with the range and interplay of textures by putting together plants with a similar feel like those with soft and furry foliage and stems, or those that ate fleshy and smooth. You can also develop appealing contrasts of texture by planting the hard and smooth next to the soft and velvet-like. Through the textures of the plantings that you use within a given space, different moods and effects can be created. Sharp, spiky plants make for a vigorous and energetic mood, while softer more pliable plants induce a more relaxed and mellow feel. These principles apply not just to foliage but also to flowering plants. And always remember to include the planter within the equation. Select a material or a finish which will enrich your textural planting as well as produce a distinctive display.
Scale and proportion
Getting these two crucial design fundamentals right is amongst the greatest challenges of planter gardening. The proportions of every planting are constantly changing as plants grow and mature. This certainly presents issues for planter gardeners who have got to try to see the finished display in their minds eye when planting: a testing task when young plants, at this point, may be less than a quarter of their eventual size. Whilst planning the scale and proportion of a display, it is essential to take into account the growth habit of the species you have chosen; this will assist you figure out how the planting will look over time. For standard designs, that feature a tall central plant inside a round pot, ideally the finished height ought to be between one and one-and-a-half times the height of the container, and the planting roughly triangular in shape. However this proportion of planter to planting is not a rigid rule to be applied in every instance. As I add to these articles you will see that it is a flexible guideline being adapted based on the shape of the planter. Generally, I endeavor to avoid large plantings in planters with narrow bases as they disturb the eye by appearing top-heavy, whilst the identical plants in a wide-based container look stable and pleasing.
Form
Careful use of form can help to generate drama and excitement, or
calmness in addition to tranquillity. The most obvious expression of form in the planter garden is topiary, where plants are trimmed into geometric or fanciful shapes for effect. Less manicured expressions of form, though, can be accomplished by utilizing plants with big or distinctive leaves or imposing arrangements of branches and stems. These "architectural" plants frequently work best when used on their own in planters, instead of as a mixed grouping, so that their form really stands out. lndeed, a particular well-shaped plant can have enough presence to stand alone as the centrepiece of a small courtyard or patio garden. When grown in containers, plants like Mahonia japonica, Aralia elata 'Variegata' Aucuba, Yucca, Cordyline, Phormium,
Acer palmatum 'Dissectum', Rhus glabra, Fatsia japonica and many palms and bamboos offer a variety of foliage and shapes to enhance a garden design. Effective on their own as garden focal points, additionally they work well as the primary feature in a larger collection of containers. When relying on plant shapes to create impact, avoid unduly fussy planter boxes since the detail will detract from the central theme. Pots with simple outlines and powerful shapes work much better.