Indoor Flower Container Gardening
A container garden of flowers turns simple décor into decoration. No matter how much available space you have, a flower container garden adds vitality and allure to bland design.
Add impact with bold-colored large blooms or whimsy with small flowers in pastels. Grow container garden flowers in your home that your outdoors won't support. Cacti in mid-town Manhattan, crocus in Arizona. The choices are limitless!
If you're an outdoor gardener, a container garden of flowers keeps your green thumb active over winter. Usher in spring with forced bulbs of paper-whites, tulips, or daffodils. Their bright blossoms and vibrant colors are sure to take away your winter blues!
Nearly every flower adapts well to container gardening provided you provide it with sufficient light, soil, water, nutrients and care. For instance, flowers needing full sun may need the added support of a grow light, but flowers that thrive in indirect light need only a space near a window.
Use prepared potting soil or soil-less potting mixture to plant your container garden of flowers. Some varieties, particularly orchids, African violets, and cactus have special needs that require special potting mixes. A quality prepared potting soil is weed free, provides good drainage for container gardening, and is usually pre-packed with the nutrients your flowers will need to become established.
Just about any type of pot will work for a container flower garden. However, do check your variety for irrigation needs as well as drainage requirements. Some plants need to absorb water through the soil while others can be watered from the top. All container garden flowers need adequate drainage. Add drainage capability to a ceramic or metal pot by elevating the growing area. Line the bottom of the pot with a substratum of pebbles or broken terra cotter. Place fine wire mesh on top of the substrata and fill the pot to the desired depth with potting soil or other medium your flowers require.
When you choose your flowers, check their fertilization needs. Often you can plant more than one type of flowers in a container, but before your do, make certain that they are compatible with each other and have similar needs.
Finally, consider the amount of time you have to spend on caring for your container garden of flowers. Succulents and cactus need minimal care to thrive but may need special care to bloom. African violets grow easily and actually don't like to be moved or bothered too much. Some exotic plants, like the bird of paradise, are high-maintenance but reward you with striking colorful blooms.