Expert Container Garden Care Tips

You can create a container garden with little space or budget – we shared how to find the best spot, types of containers and how to choose soil & plants. Now, we’ll share a few tips to have you gardening like an expert!

Best Container Care Tips from Philly Gardeners

1. The most important thing to do when starting a garden is to research the plants and make sure you know how to create the best conditions for the sun, water, and temperature they need.

2. Water with care. The way you water a plant can make or break it. Anthony Bottiglieri  (Urban Jungle) emphasizes the importance of the water needs of each plant. He advises watering early in the morning, especially during summer, so the plant has enough water to stay hydrated throughout the day.

3. Don’t water midday. Bottiglieri cautions to never water plants midday when the sun is at its brightest, because the water can burn the plant’s leaves. You can give plants additional water at night if needed.

Arranging Your Garden

Plants can add a lot of beauty to your home. We asked our experts for their best tips on designing container gardens for small spaces.

4. Thrillers, fillers, and spillers. Bottiglieri explained this concept of as the garden design world’s method of achieving full, lush, and dramatic containers. Start in the middle of the container with an attention-getting plant that is big, tall, colorful or otherwise spectacular, aka the “Thriller.” Then, planted around the thriller is the “Filler,” texture plants to add mass and fill the area of the container. Finally, the “Spiller” is made up of plants that spill over the edge of the pot to unify the garden design.

5. Don’t overplant. Woody Wilson emphasized simplicity in garden design, saying this is his biggest advice for gardening in small spaces. Seed packets generally have spacing information to make sure that plants are far enough apart to not become tangled.

6. Don’t over think it, have fun, and happy farming! In the end, designing and arranging a garden is certainly up to one’s own style, so have fun with it. Both of our experts said this was their main takeaway, and we agree!

Readers, what gardening advice do you have? Tell us on Facebook.