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BACKYARD LIVING
Petite Plantings
Make a big statement in a small container garden. By Lauren Payne
We get it. Not everyone has a sprawling yard to plant, nor the time—let alone the desire—to maintain it. Others may
simply want to make a statement near the front door or in a corner of the patio. That’s why container gardening—
elaborate plantings of flowers and plants in oversize urns and pots—has become increasingly popular. “Working in a garden
can be a long commitment for the whole growing season,” says Rich Cording, a landscape designer based in Ringwood.
“If you plant a container, you can still hit all the seasons without all the labor.” The key to success, he explains, is picking
the right plant material. Here are his top choices:
Hellebore Hellebore,
also known as Lenten
rose, should be planted
in early April; it’s hearty
enough to handle a
spring frost. Its pretty
flowers, in a variety of
colors—including white,
pink and dark burgundy/
purple—bloom for many
weeks. A bonus: Deer
spurn it. Other deer-resistant plants? Cording
suggests calamint, iris
and lemongrass.
Angelina Sedum
This succulent has
spiky-looking but soft-
to-the-touch yellow
foliage perfect for edging
a container. Requiring
minimal maintenance in
full sun, it contrasts nicely
with almost any other
plant or flower.
Golden Hakone
Grass Providing beautiful gold foliage from April
through October, this perennial will return to your
container year after year.
It’s ideal for shady areas.
Golden Creep-
ing Jenny Another
perennial, this eye-
catching gold-toned
plant drapes beautifully,
cascading over the sides
of a container. It’s easy to
grow but needs to be wa-
tered frequently during
hot summer months.
Calamint A member of
the mint family, calamint’s tiny white flowers
are often mistaken for
baby’s breath. The big
difference? The smell of
mint. “Simply walking
by this plant, one gets a
waft of a pleasant, minty
scent,” says Cording.
Bees love calamint, he
warns, so plant it in a
container away from any
sitting area.
Rozanne Geranium
“This perennial is a
champion in containers,”
Cording says. Its pretty
blue-purple flowers start
blooming in late May and
continue nonstop until
early August. “The plant
will mound up in a container as well as cascade
over the sides,” he says.
“It’s a real knockout.”
Southern Comfort
Coral Bells: This attractive blend of peach,
amber and purple foliage
lasts literally year-round,
even surviving frost.
During summer months,
pretty white flowers
bloom above the leaves.
Lemongrass
A genus of some 45
species of tall grasses,
lemongrass is used to
make citronella oil. Plant
it generously anywhere,
because it wards off
mosquitoes.
RESOURCE: Rich Cording, landscape designer with CLC Landscape
Design, Ringwood. 973-839-6026.
CLCdesign.com
CREATIVE CONTAINERS:
An enormous pot, left,
stuffed with variegated
coleus and blooming
bacopa, lantana, begonia
and petunia. Middle: A
collection of pots filled
with seasonal flowers and
plants. Above: Daylilies
and autumn bride coral
bells fill an antique pot.