How to Include Edibles in Your Landscape Container Gardens

We previously wrote about a handful of popular edible flowers that are delicious in salads and desserts. Today, we are going to cover how to grow edible flowers in containers, different types of containers for your landscape and other delicious plants you can grow in your container garden.

How to Grow Edible Flowers in Containers

Edible flowers are fun and delicious, and can also be grown in a beautiful container in your garden. Here are some helpful tips from HGTV to grow your own:

1. Prep the Bag: First, prepare the container by lining it with garbage bags. Then, use scissors to cut holes in the base for water drainage. It’s important to remember to make a hole through both the bag and the lining.
   
   
2. Add Potting Soil: Combine potting soil with a slow-release fertilizer and use the mixture to fill the basket practically to the brim, ready to sow the seed; water the soil and let it drain through.
   
   
3. Plant the Seeds: Make plenty of 1/2-inch-deep holes around the soil in the container and in the center. Make sure they are 4 inches (10 cm) apart, place a seed into each hole and cover with soil.
   
   
4. Wait to Water: Before you water your seeds, wait for them to start growing a little. Green sprouts beginning to pop out of the dirt signal that it’s time to start giving them some water.
   
   
5. Harvest and Eat: When enough leaves have appeared and the beautiful flowers bloom, they are ready to eat and enjoy. If you leave some flowers on the stalks, they will form tiny wrinkled seeds, which are edible too. Add a few tasty leaves and flowers to a mixed leaf salad, or you can make floral ice cubes by putting a few blooms into an ice cube tray with water and freezing it.
   
   
6. Care for Your Plants: To adequately take care of your edible flowers they need to be in full sun and poor, dry soil. Depending on the variety you are growing, height will vary. Although these plants prefer the soil to be kept fairly dry, if you are using a hanging basket or bag the soil can dry out quickly, so water regularly – especially in our dry weather. If you leave the petals on the plant, collect the seeds when the flowers have died. They can be stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place; don’t forget to label them for next year’s crops.

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Landscape Container Gardening

Gardening with larger containers can also be a fun addition to your yard.

No matter the size of your garden, if you properly and strategically use different sizes, heights, shapes and colors of containers you can create a spectacular look, whether they are grouped together or spaced throughout the area. Containers can also be manipulated by using bricks or other raisers to make them appear taller if you’d like. 

Containers also offer the advantage of being able to move around if you want to change the way your garden looks or group them differently. As the University of Illinois suggests:

• Putting containers together as a grouping can also have its advantages especially when they are first planted. Newly planted containers often don't have that ‘full’ look right away. By grouping containers closer together, you can give the illusion of fullness. As the containers fill out, they can be spread further apart to present a totally different look. The same number of containers now takes up more square feet and looks like you actually added containers to the display.

The University of Illinois also suggesting using them in and around your garden. They explain:

• Large, bold containers worked into a flower or shrub border now becomes part of the planting bed. They are looked at as specimen or sculptural accents. The base of the pot is surrounded by annuals or perennials, the container is a piece of art, and it is topped off with a floral display. Landscaping with containers can be as simple as one well-chosen and planted pot to a group of several pots making a statement and colorizing an otherwise unplantable area.

Containers also look decorative in the front of a home, by the entrance to draw attention to the door as if it was a welcome sign. Especially if the space is large and open, gorgeous flowers in stunning containers can create an inviting, welcoming feel.

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Planting with Versatile Containers

Variety is the spice of life! As we mentioned just above, a full and stunning landscape container garden involves many different types flowers and versatile containers. HGTV shares a few materials that offer a wide range of options and will add value to your home and garden.

Concrete Containers

This type of container often features angular lines and traditional patterns. The weight and look of the material can make it seem like it has been in the garden for a very long time, even in new gardens. As the websites notes, “Concrete provides good insulation for soil, moderating soil temperature and moisture loss, but they are heavy. Place concrete planters where you want them and then plant.”

 

Terra-Cotta Pots

As described by HGTV, “Terra-cotta or clay pots come in many sizes, shapes and styles. Unglazed terra-cotta is porous and dries out quickly. It works well in a shady situation like this or for growing Mediterranean herbs, like lavender. Glazed terra-cotta is the go-to pot for sunny spots. Inquire about the source of terra-cotta.”

 

Of course, don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to concrete or terra-cotta containers. Let yourself find inspiration! For example, you could use vintage bathtubs or colorful rain boots; click here for even more fun options.

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