Container tips:

A large container needs less frequent watering.

Actively growing plants require fertilizer--add time-release fertilizer to the soil at planting time or use a water-soluble fertilizer during the growing season. When your plants become overgrown or leggy, trim them back to force bushier growth.

A simple recipe for containers: a bold thriller, fillers, and spillers!

Thrillers: canna, phormium (New Zealand flax), ornamental grass, banana, large coleus, elephant ears, mandevilla or passion vine

Fillers: begonias, coleus, Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus, annual), angelonia, cupheas,

fairy fan-flower (Scaevola), lantanas, pentas, trailing petunias

Spillers: ivy, sweet potato vine, creeping Jenny, purple heart

Seasonal changes: in the spring insert pots of spring-flowering bulbs, branches of pussy willow and curly willow, and pansies. After the spring season, remove the pots and plant your containers for the summer. Large pots of summer annuals can be inserted into the container to allow for easy removal in the fall. In the fall, add pots of ornamental peppers, mums, flowering kale. For the holiday season, refashion your containers with evergreen branches, curly willow, large pine cones, strands of mini-lights. Have fun and enjoy changing your containers throughout the year.