Garden Detective

Two authorities on the art of container gardening -- master gardeners Claire Reisert and Ellen Rush -- instructed the class last Tuesday, sharing tips and techniques and an educational journey through plant, soil and container selection.

Full disclosure: I've never been a fan of container gardening because, frankly, most of my potted plants meet an early demise. An untimely death, if you will, caused by, well, neglect.

It's no secret that plants in containers need more care than their in-the-ground counterparts. If they're outdoors, they dry out way more quickly than plants that have a seemingly endless supply of soil from which to soak up water. And they need more soil additives. While my garden plants get by with nary a squirt of Miracle-Gro, thanks to the nutrients that naturally exist in the soil, contained plants can't take up nutrients if they aren't incorporated by human intervention.

With two kids, a husband and a dog to feed, I try to go low-maintenance when it come to feeding plants. That being said, there certainly are situations when even I will resort to planting in pots. Window boxes on my porch, for example, add color and interest to an otherwise drab house front. Oftentimes that color ends up brown, but it's still color.

Reisert and Rush made a convincing case for containers, I must admit, and during their presentations I found myself pledging to give them another try.

Here are 4 take-home points they emphasized:

1. Drainage is imperative.

2. Those saucers that come with outdoor containers are not only useless, they're counter-productive. Throw them out.

3. Don't re-use potting "soil".

4. "Soil," above in quotes, should never be used in containers. Use a soil-less potting mix.

Want to learn more? The Cornell Plantations site has all the details you need to get started.