On-Line Seminar by Peter

Providing year round interest in the garden is a perennial challenge for seasoned and novice gardeners alike. While we attempt to create structure with evergreen trees and shrubs and choose deciduous plants for color and texture of their bark and the pattern of their leafless branches, we often overlook the use of containers as an easy and effective means of animating the winter landscape.

While containers are traditionally used to introduce seasonal color on a front porch or back terrace in spring or summer, the same areas, in plain view year round, provide little interest in fall or winter. The placement of containers, whether terra cotta, cast stone, wood, or polyethylene, new versions of which are virtually indistinguishable from more expensive terra cotta, can be an indispensable feature in the winter garden. Even unplanted ornamental containers can define space, frame views, enliven boring spaces, enhance special features of a facade or landscape, or provide a focal point for a vista year round. For example, urn shaped planters of simple design flanking a front entrance, garden path or terrace will provide architectural interest year round even after seasonal plants have been removed. Herb or perennial gardens that might otherwise appear desolate in winter can be enlivened by containers that remain in place year round as a permanent feature.

We use a terra cotta oil jar as a centerpiece for a small circular herb garden situated below our dining room window. The herbs do not look their best in winter and the beautifully weathered jar provides much needed color and interest. The area is surrounded by clipped yew and the strong silhouette of the jar against the dark green foliage has architectural appeal, especially when the garden is snow covered. In summer, we simply set a hanging basket of creeping rosemary into the jar. The effect of the jar amidst a luxuriant carpet of herbs, is delightfully Mediterranean and introduces a bit of the exotic to an otherwise traditional east coast garden.

Ornamental planters, which are difficult to move to a garage or sheltered spot anyway, provide the greatest impact in the winter landscape. Small pots left outdoors, especially when topped with withered summer foliage, tend to look messy and are better moved overwinter in a protected storage area. This reduces clutter and protects small pots from winter damage.

While care must be taken with the choice of pots, not only in terms of appropriate design or materials, there is no hard and fast rule to determine what type of container is best suited to a particular style of house or garden. Unless you wish to spend the time required to maintain terra cotta planters, many believe cast stone to be more durable than terra cotta in areas with harsh winters. However, our experience is that good quality terra cotta properly planted and raised in winter to allow drainage can be as durable as cast stone.

In sum, modern technology brings us rotationally molded polyethylene planters that mimic the patina of terra cotta. Even a gardening purist who cringes at the word plastic will be impressed with this new generation of planters. Lightweight and durable, these planters are a terrific alternative to more traditional planters for the winter.