Favourite Container Garden Plants

Containers make gardening accessible to anyone who has even a small space to place them. The container can be on a balcony, patio, deck, table top, in a back or front yard or on a fire escape, just about anywhere the plant(s) in the container get what they need to grow and thrive.

You can grow a wide range of plants in containers as long as the size of the container matches the growth of the plant: either too big or too small makes a difference in the plant’s development.

I always have at least one container on the go and there are specific plants that I prefer to grow in containers.

Tomatoes from the cherry to the beefsteak will be happy in a container and I usually grow three to six plants this way. Some years the tomato patch is larger with tomatoes both in the ground and in containers and some year’s it is much smaller. The size, type and number of plants, all dependent upon the site, and how much time I have.

This past summer I had nine tomato plants, three cherry and six Early Girl, which is a hybrid and not one I usually grow but they were a gift do grow them I did. All the plants performed up t expectations, however, next year, I will focus on the large end of the tomato varieties and grow beefsteaks in honour of my father who loved them and raised them for years.

Basil is another constant, if I am planting tomatoes, I am planting basil. This herb loves the sun and gets thirsty so do tomatoes. I often grow tomatoes and basil in the same container and for tomato sauce well without basil it is simply not finished.

I find that green peppers also do well in containers and have grown them on balcony and in the backyard.

I prefer to grow most other vegetables in a raised bed but a container herb garden nearby is a good idea. Most herbs do well in pots and I grow chamomile, chives, parsley and a number of others as well.

Daffodils, gladiolas and tulips enjoy containers and when you grow them this way you can palce them on the front steps as long as the spot gets six hours of sun each day and have these early season plants greet you when you come home from a day at the office. They also cheer up the space before other plants take hold.

Plants need sun, light, air and water no matter where you grow them, give them what they need and they will thrive.