Vintage Container Gardening

A few weeks ago I visited my favorite antique shop in downtown Rockwood. Outside the back of the shop is a courtyard filled with Vintage Container Gardening. I go there for inspiration and to find some really unique pieces.

I also visited William’s Greenhouse and came home with some real lovely’s.

I mean with all this cool stuff sitting around, I did a little vintage container gardening of my own this past weekend.

I knew exactly what I was going to do with these three pieces when I bought them. The cone shaped piece is a railroad water container. It has a hole in the bottom on the cone perfect for drainage! Old galvanized pieces that have sat out in the elements and have had frozen stuff in them are likely to have holes or leaks in the seams so they no longer hold water put are perfect for container gardening.

I put down some old clay bricks I had lying around so the container would not sit directly on the ground. I ended up having to add a couple of more when I was done to stabilized it.

This old galvanized tub already had drainage holes in the bottom. Drainage is very important with container gardening, especially if the display sits out in the elements. Also with a large container such as this tub, building it up in the center will make for prettier results. I had some old clay bricks laying around and made a pyramid in the center. You could use rocks or Styrofoam as well. This also saves on potting soil.

Next the soil is added and built up over the bricks in the center. I am using a custom potting soil from Williams Greenhouse that contains just the right mix of material for proper draining and retention of moisture. It is also the soil the plants I purchased were grown in.

Now that the soil has been added, it is finally time to plant! Yippee!

I am loving the colors and the old fashion look of snap dragons this year and the purple heart or Pallida adds just the right accent and will spill over the container.

I can’t wait to see how this looks with the plants grow and fill these containers up! Now to finish the planter box and vintage sink in the background. Stay tuned to see the finished area!