Container gardening as a landscaping design idea can be every bit as impressive as traditional garden landscaping. During my days of actually working with a gardening and landscaping company in Atlanta before I started writing about my experience, I got to see up close and personal a lot of different landscaping design ideas. Some of them worked. Some of them didn't. But one thing that rarely changed was the potential for container gardening to be effectively applied to everything from from the constricted space of apartment patio gardens to the most expansive landscaping designs in backyards from Lawrenceville to Jonesboro. One other thing I learned is that it behooves you more to learn about the types of containers available for this gardening landscaping design idea than anything else you need to learn.
Metal Garden Planters
Metal garden planters ensure durability above everything else as an element in your container gardening plans. A downside to using metal garden containers is rust and oxidation transforming their shiny appearance over time, but even a rusty metal garden planter can still be effectively used to grow plants. The real benefit of metal gardening containers is the way it lends your landscaping a healthy amount of industrial chic. You just cannot get that industrial chic element from gardening containers made of stone or terra-cotta. One factor to keep in mind when settling on container gardening as your landscaping design idea of choice is that that metal planters specifically made of aluminum are among the most affordable and lightweight flower pots available today. On the other hand, metal garden planters made of heavier cast iron or beautifully aesthetic copper are much more expensive. Of course, they will also last longer in your garden landscape than aluminum.
Terra-Cotta Pots
Terra-cotta pots are among the most popular materials for use in container gardening landscaping design. Terra-cotta pots provide an earthy ambiance to your garden and can even endow it with a pre-Columbian feel which is about as far from industrial chic as you can get. One of the advantages to using terra-cotta pots is that you can add to your container gardening landscaping idea over time with new pots because terra-cotta planters that are virtually indistinguishable from each other are easy to find. On the other hand, you can break up that potentially boring consistency found in container gardening featuring an abundance of these planters by investing in terra-cotta feet to place beneath some of your pots. This feature can effectively supply more charm to a container garden overrun with too many terra-cotta pots that all look alike. Keep in mind that terra-cotta planters can break very easily so if you've got younger kids around your container garden, you may want to think twice. Those living in very cold regions will have to get used to bringing their terra-cotta containers indoors during very cold weather to keep the pots from cracking. The cost factor is an advantage because terra-cotta pots are very inexpensive. Glazed terra-cotta will cost more and the bigger the pot, the higher the cost.
Fiberglass and Plastic Containers
Fiberglass and plastic garden containers are built with one aspect very much at the fore: durability. These containers are lightweight and come in a vast array of colors and styles. Fiberglass and plastic containers are highly resistant to temperature fluctuations and although there is the potential for cracking if dropped, they will withstand a fall much better than a terra-cotta pot. If you are looking for a way to dazzle with your container gardening landscaping while sticking to a tight budget, fiberglass and plastic is the way to go.
Concrete Containers
Container gardening landscaping design ideas can range from classical to ultra-modern using concrete pots and planters. Concrete containers can also be painted to blend in with the surrounding decor. High quality concrete containers are quite durable and extremely resistant to the vagaries of high heat and intense cold. The exact opposite is true of cheaper quality concrete containers. Concrete containers tend to be less expensive than stone containers, but more expensive than terra-cotta or plastic.
Ceramic Containers
Ceramic gardening containers are desirable because they are available in a wide range of very vibrant colors. These containers are ideally suited for garden landscaping around your patio, deck or even a tabletop. Ceramic containers break easily, however, so keep them away from rowdy children who, let's face it, shouldn't be anywhere near a serious garden anyway.
Wooden Garden Containers
Wooden garden containers are generally constructed from weather-resistant species like cedar. If your landscaping design plans are built around creating a rustic effect, then wooden containers are exactly and probably only what you should use. To extend the life of wooden gardening containers, it is recommended that you treat them with a preservative. When shopping for gardening containers made of any species of wood, the important thing is to inspect the joint construction. Keep an eye out especially for tight joints. The tight joints will further ensure that wooden gardening containers are going to be able to withstand the shrinking and expanding that occurs as a result of moisture accumulation. Wooden containers should ideally be placed on concrete or wood surfaces instead of directly on the ground to reduce the potential for rotting.
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