How To Plant a Container Garden

Container gardens are my favorite because they can be so many different things. It can be a group of pots gathered together with beautiful flowers spilling out, a garden box you’ve built on the ground to hold vegetables or a cut flower garden, a series of boxes lining a patio and so much more! We recently decided to build a container garden on top of our trash can storage unit and it as the best decision.

Not only is it visually appealing but it also attracts so many butterflies throughout the day. It’s so nice to walk to this side of our yard or peek out from our living room window and see the abundance of bees and butterflies this container garden has attracted. Now, here’s where we started the first day I planted everything:

And here’s where we are now about 2 months later:

There’s so much growth with the flowers and it makes me one proud plant mama. I can’t take all the credit for it! Earlier this summer I had the amazing opportunity to spend a few days with Jobe’s Company as I learned about their gardening products. I walked away with a better understanding of how to have a successful garden that I’d love to share with you. So if you’ve been wanting to try some sort of container garden, this post is for you!

Here’s What You’ll Need 

• Jobe’s Potting Mix + topsoil (if needed)
• Jobe’s All-Purpose Granular Organic Fertilizer 
• Jobe’s Container and Bedding Organic Fertilizer Spikes

Flowers Used

• Yellow Lantana 
• Blue My Mind
• Zinnias
• Purple and White Salvia
• Foxtail Fern
• Creeping Jenny
• Mondo Grass

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With any container garden, you want to make sure you have proper drainage before adding a single speck of dirt. Since this is a custom container box acting as the top to our trash can storage unit, we didn’t have the option to drill holes in the bottom of the box. Instead, we built the box at a downward slope and placed a pipe with several holes in it along the back of the box.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, you’ll want to wrap the pipe with WeedBlock® Natural™ to keep the oil out of the pipes. Otherwise, you will be dealing with a clogged pipe. It’s been an amazing weed fabric to try since it’s made of renewable resources and it allows for plenty of water flow. Which is perfect for this situation. If you’re still a little nervous about dirt seeping through, you can add a layer of rocks as an extra barrier.

Now, let’s chat about the foundation of your container garden: the soil. Since this box is essentially like a large pot (or you may be planting your flowers in pots), you want to use potting soil. Jobe’s has an all-natural, organic potting soil that contains Biozome®. A component you’ll only find in products by Jobe’s. Just hang with me for a minute. Because I already know what you’re thinking! Is it you have no idea what Biozome® even is?

Let me tell you exactly what it is first. It’s a combination of healthy bacteria, mycorrhizal fungi, and archaea. Basically, microorganisms. But that’s not the cool part. Archaea, for example, comes from some of the most extreme environments on the planet, including hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. The combination of these ingredients cleanses the soil of toxins, returning it to a healthier, more natural state.  The survival rate of your plants, including growth, just increased with this alone. You can find out more about it here and geek out as I did!

Once you have your container full of potting soil, place your plants where you’d like them. Using my thriller, filler and spiller method, I was easily able to place my plants where I wanted them. I did add a few spiller plants along the side as well.

As you go to plant the flowers, you’ll want to break up the root ball first in order to help promote root growth. You can refer to the tag in the pot of the plant for additional planting information (spacing, watering, etc.). I ended up spacing mine closer together than what was recommended because I wanted my flower container to grow in really full.

Next up: fertilizer. After taking a poll over on Instagram, I discovered that over half of those interested in gardening didn’t realize they needed to use fertilizer or just didn’t add it. I’m here to tell you: don’t skip this step! Fertilizer is the lifeline to growing healthy, beautiful flowers! This is because your soil doesn’t contain the essential nutrients that plants need for optimal growth.

You can either add all-purpose fertilizer granulars to your soil or the fertilizer spikes. Jobe’s has figured out a way to make both varieties organic depending on your needs. I personally prefer the spikes because it takes the guess work out. You simply determine the size of your plant base, refer to the back of the fertilizer bag, and place the number of spikes around the plant that is recommended. The spikes are long-lasting and only need to be reapplied twice a year. Jobe’s has a fertilizer spike for just about any type of plant you can think of. I used the container garden spikes.

Alright, so you have your flowers planted. Now what? Water those babies as much as they need them! During the summer months, this might look like every morning or evening. Avoid watering mid-day or afternoon because it will burn the leaves and evaporate quickly. I don’t think any of us have time for that!

You’ll also want to prune away the dead flowers as you see them. This will help promote new growth and allow the flowers to flourish even more. No matter how big or small your container garden is, these are simple steps that you can follow to give yourself the container flower garden you’ve been dreaming of. I know my container garden is on top of a trash can storage unit, but remember, this pertains to pots. Which means it doesn’t matter if you rent or own, grab yourself some pots and start planting!

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