New Container Gardening Website
Published: Jan. 7, 2009
URBANA - Transcending the barriers of time and space is one attraction of container gardening and University of Illinois Extension has launched a new website to help create special gardens to fit any situation. "Successful Container Gardens" (http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/containergardening/default.cfm) contains a wide array of information.
"In a world of limited time and space, container gardens seem to make more and more sense," said Greg Stack, U of I Extension horticulture educator and one of the new website's authors. "Containers allow you to enjoy growing plants in places that might be thought of as impossible or unthinkable.
"Poor soil or no places to put plants in the ground are no longer excuses for not being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of gardening."
Stack added that the popularity of container gardening has "exploded." In Europe, container gardening has become almost an art form as gardens show up in window boxes, balconies, and decorative pots filled with flowers, vegetables, and herbs on the most modest of properties.
The new website discusses choosing a container, selecting soil mixes, choosing and combining plants, fertilizing, watering and grooming basics. It also includes special containers including water gardens, hanging baskets, and topiaries as well as creating whimsical containers. A special section, Blueprints for Building Containers, shows plans for creating specific containers. The website includes several videos to demonstrate the various techniques and concepts.
"With appropriate containers and proper handling, anything that can be grown in the ground can be grown in a container," said Stack.
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