Gardening
4. Mountain Frost Pink PomPom Cheddar Pinks (Dianthus x hybrida) With sweet-smelling flowers on a small mounding plant, Mountain Frost Pink PomPom makes a charming addition to rock gardens and sunny borders. The rose-colored flowers open in early spring, bloom until autumn and require almost no maintenance for the season (cutting back spent stems encourages more blooms). Mix with other low-water, sun-loving garden plants like myrtle spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites, zones 5 to 9), lantana, sea thrift (Armeria maritima, zones 4 to 8) and mixed succulents. It needs quick-draining soil, and its flowers attract butterflies. Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 9) Water requirement: Moderate; low once established Light requirement: Full sun Mature size: 6 to 8 inches tall and 10 to 12 inches wide
Plant alternative: If you’re looking for white blooms in summer, fall phlox (Phlox paniculata) is a more allergy-friendly choice. Its fragrant flowers bloom throughout the summer in shades from white to pink, rose, red and lavender. The perennial phlox is hardy to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius (zones 3 to 8). Once you’ve set out the plants, pinch back the tips to encourage them to branch. Provide good air circulation since fall phlox is prone to mildew.
Design tips: “These plants work well next to patios and in courtyards because of their compact form. Redbuds are typically the first tree to bloom in early spring, which makes tulips and other bulbs a great companion plant or understory,” Steinhauer says. Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (zones 4 to 9) Water requirement: Prefers moist, well-drained soils but can survive in drier conditions Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade Mature size: 20 to 30 feet tall and up to 35 feet wide, but it can be kept smaller with pruning
From top to bottom, we see speckled pink-and-green elephant ears (Caladium sp.), purple-leaved tradescantia (Tradescantia sp.) and lime-green sweet potato vine (Ipomea batatas, zones 9 to 11). There’s so much interest and contrast among the foliage plants that one hardly notices the more subtle red flowers of a trailing begonia and pink impatiens at the back left. Water requirement: Regular (keep soil moist) Light requirement: Partial shade or bright, indirect light
Optional Steps Install wheels. Once filled with damp soil, large stock tanks can easily weigh 300 pounds. To make moving a filled tank possible, you may want to add wheels when you’re drilling the drainage holes. Given that the wheels will be exposed to water, choose a pack of four that are either stainless steel or galvanized. Add extra insulation. If you live in a hot summer climate and intend to place the stock tank in full sun, you can add a layer of insulation, such as an old carpet or cardboard, along the interior walls of the stock tank before filling it with soil to keep roots from touching the metal sides. Lighten the load. Depending on what you’d like to plant, you may not need the entire planting depth of the stock tank or want to use that much potting soil. Instead, use a filler material, like empty soda bottles or upside-down nursery containers, at the bottom of the trough and layer potting soil on top.
3. Fill it with soil. If you did not cover the drainage holes with wire mesh, arrange some pottery shards over the holes to help prevent clogging. Next, fill the container with a mix of fresh potting soil, decomposed compost and any other organic soil amendments you’d like. Mix well to distribute the nutrients. 4. Plant. Plant seedlings or directly sow seeds in the soil of the trough. Arrange plants by mature size and height to keep taller plants from shading the smaller ones as they grow in. 5. Water. Whether you set up irrigation or make a schedule for hand watering, plan on keeping the soil consistently moist in the trough while plants are young and then watering according to plant needs. As with raised beds, plants in stock tanks dry out more quickly than those in the ground, so setting up a drip irrigation system or a soaker hose can help plants get adequate moisture.
1. Drill drainage holes. Flip over the stock tank and, using a quarter- or half-inch metal drill bit, drill plenty of drainage holes in the bottom. Plan to drill about two holes for every square foot of the bottom of the container. Spray the holes with a galvanizing compound to protect them from rust. You may also want to cover the holes with a fine wire mesh to keep soil from leaking out and clogging the holes. 2. Position the stock tank. Move the tank into place and then boost it up on bricks, cinder blocks or four-by-fours to facilitate drainage. If you’re boosting the stock tank, make sure you have enough support under the trough so that it doesn’t buckle from the
Stock tanks range from $30 for a small, shallow one that could be used to grow herbs, succulents or strawberries to $300 and up for a large model where you could grow anything from tomatoes to dwarf fruit trees. They will all need drainage holes drilled at the bottom and enough potting soil to fill them to the brim before planting.
Love the colours and flowers but what do you do when the tulips die
Q