TIPS For Your Winter Container Gardens!

Tips For Winter Container Gardens You don't have to give up container gardening just because the temperatures are starting to get colder! Now is a great time to experiment with texture and color in your container gardens. You want to make sure you assemble your designs soon so that they have time to acclimate to their new pots before a hard freeze.  Understanding What Freezing Is Light freeze (between 29-32 degrees Fahrenheit): tender plants are killed but other vegetation isn't dramatically effected Moderate Freeze (between 25-28 degrees Fahrenheit): heavy damage happens to tender and semi-hardy plants Severe Freeze (below 25 degrees Fahrenheit): only the hardy survive! Creating Your Container Try hardy perennials that will stand up to the cold in your container gardens. Experiment with color and textures that you didn't use in the summer time like purples and oranges, mixed with bright greens and deep reds. Ornamental grasses and fuzzy lambs ears are perfect for adding a gorgeous texture to your containers as well. Try some of these cold-hardy perennials Coral Bells Sedum Ornamental Grasses Smokebush Lamb's ear Ivy Try some of these cold-loving annuals Flowering cabbages and kales Annual grasses Sages Pansies Shake things up! Try adding these for something unique Berries Branches Pinecones Choosing your Container Make sure that you use a container made of material that will withstand freezing and thawing. Ceramics, terra cottas and thing plastics probably wont survive. You should also make sure that drainage holes are clear and you use pot feet to elevate the containers.  Although most arrangements if done right will last, to be safe, insert plastic liner pots that are about one inch smaller than your container to prevent the chances of it cracking if temperatures fluctuate.   Try containers that are made with the following materials: Fiberglass Metal Thick plastic Stone Concrete Try a Beautiful Wall or Window Container Above is a window container that Bountiful Gardens designed and installed for a customer last year! It is a unique way to welcome company into your home and looks gorgeous. You can mix both live and dried materials for an arrangement that's both fragrant and tactile! For example, use branches of holly and wooden picks wired with pinecones. Add some winter pansies for an extra burst of unique color if you wanted to do something different than the traditional greens and reds! Red and green are traditional Christmas colors, and they look great together! We make our own, fresh container gardens like this one above in a variety of different sizes and styles here at Bountiful Gardens!  Too Busy To Do It Yourself? Let us do the work for you! Whether you're schedule is just too busy or you would just like a helping hand, we can decorate for you! Just email landscaping@bountifulgardensnj.com with a picture of the areas you want decorated, and we will tell you what would look best and give you a price quote! Check out some of the decorating that we've done below! VISIT OUR WEBSITE! Locations: 54 Main Street Chester, NJ 07930 908-879-9993 & 135 Route 206 Hillsborough, NJ 08844 908-526-5500 & 1536 Lower Ferry Rd Ewing, NJ 08618 609-583-5167 STAY CONNECTED: FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: @bountifulgardensnj !!!