Creating a potted topiary

I have a couple of formally clipped myrtle standards in terra-cotta pots Iโ€™ve had for a few years. They started as small plants, and have been pruned and repotted as needed; they spend winters indoors in a sunny window. Currently, Iโ€™m in the process of hardening them off so they can summer outdoors.

My garden isnโ€™t formal, nor are the containers I plant every summer. Most of the pots contain a revolving collection of plants and colour combinations Iโ€™m fond of or want to experiment with. The exceptions are a couple of formally clipped myrtle standards in terra-cotta pots Iโ€™ve had for a few years. It’s my modest topiary collection โ€“ plants formed into symmetrical shapes by clipping their foliage and twigs. Started as small plants, they have been repotted as needed, and are brought indoors to spend the winter in a sunny window. Currently, Iโ€™m in the process of hardening them off so they can spend summer outdoors.

If youโ€™ve wanted to try creating a potted topiary, “How to make an elegant topiary” will get you started. Itโ€™s easy and addictive. 

container topiary
A single-stem Greek myrtle topiary is one of the easiest to maintain.

Planning for a succession of bloom

Itโ€™s heartening to hear from readers who find an item on the Garden Making website that helps them with a new gardening project. Mary in Nova Scotia wrote to say she found โ€œGardening design ideas for all-season bloomsโ€ about planning a garden to be visually appealing through all seasons useful.

โ€œWe moved a couple of years ago from a Toronto house with a teeny, tiny yard to a place in Nova Scotia with a huge yard,โ€ she writes. โ€œItโ€™s mostly grass at the moment, which I want to gradually replace, but itโ€™s a daunting task and we havenโ€™t done much yet because itโ€™s so hard to know where to start. This article and plan are great inspiration.โ€

The in-depth article by Judith Adam provides practical suggestions and a downloadable planting plan on how to create a garden bed that will reward you with interest from early spring to late fall. Called โ€œsuccession of bloom,โ€ the process involves choosing plants โ€” perennials, shrubs, trees, groundcovers โ€” that will bloom at different times of the year to provide something of interest throughout the growing season.

To soak or not to soak?

The triggers that prompt a seed to germinate vary, depending on the type of seed. Some need a cold period (stratification) to wake up, while others require light to germinate or perhaps complete darkness. Large seed, such as morning glory, sweet pea, pumpkin, squash, sunflowers and other large seeds, often benefit from a 12- to 24-hour soak in water to kickstart germination. Skipping this step before sowing does no damage; the soaking merely shortens the time it takes for the seeds to sprout. โ€œSoak seeds before planting: Is it necessary?โ€ by Epic Gardening gives a fuller picture on this procedure and explains why not all seeds benefit from a dunking. 

How’s your soil?

If gardeners arenโ€™t complaining about the weather, weโ€™re often heard bemoaning our poor soil.  Itโ€™s too heavy, itโ€™s too sandy, itโ€™s too wet, itโ€™s too whatever. Supposedly, the ideal soil is called โ€œrich, sandy loam,โ€ but I have yet to meet a gardener who is blessed with this. โ€œMy soil is crapโ€ from the Garden Professors explains what are the characteristics of soil that really matter to plant growth, and why determining whether your garden is on โ€œnativeโ€ soil or fill is also important.

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