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Thrillers, Fillers and Spillers

13 years ago

I was looking for some ideas how to stage or elevate some plants and Pirl on DG found a wonderful article on this subject in a previous issue of Fine Gardening magazine or on their website. I would need to do this on a smaller scale but would like to hear from other gardeners how they may have staged outside patio or deck areas with a mass of plants. The article was from Fine Gardening#97 pages 44-47 writen by Steve Silk. Wonderful article!

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Comments (3)

pippi21
Original Author
13 years ago
The website is www.finegardening.com/design/articles/staging-contain
pippi21
Original Author
13 years ago
Folks..I ordered some back issues of Fine Gardening magazine on Monday, and they were delivered today..they were issues that were published in 2003 and 2004..and still only what I'd pay on the newstand, at my grocery store, or my drug store. Either they have them left over in a warehouse or they quickly reprinted them, the magazines look right off the press. Of Course, there was a shipping charge but only $3.50 for all 3 magazines. Back in 2003 and 2004, the issues seem to be more pages..So if you feel the need or want any back issues, look on their website. There is a category "Back Issues" on left side of your monitor page. Scan down each issue and it will give the index of the articles in each issues. I'm impressed! Sometimes the public library will save about a year's worth of back issues but they don't have room for more than that, but you can only borrow the library's copies..I bought these.
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I'll chime in as well......dumb restrictions - pay no attention!! For one thing, many plants sold in 4" pots are the very same plant as those sold in packs, only larger and more well-developed. An extremely arbitrary and unfounded "rule". And personally, I wouldn't be without the effect of sweet potato vine for a lush, cascading effect as well as striking seasonal color. One of my recent seasonal containers included Ipomoea batatus 'Sweet Caroline', a gorgeous rich, coppery bronze color with lime highlights. About the only advice I'd support is item "c", but like username, some single item containers look just as stunning as those with mixed combinations. I like to group mixed containers together with those featuring a single, stunning plant for a great effect. Just as in landscape design as a whole, there are no hard and fast rules governing anything, rather an understanding of context and what appeals to YOU visually.
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That's it!! Thank you very much, Caroline and Nell. That was driving me nuts. I still have a few empty pots and I would hate to get halfway through the summer and forget to fill them up. That has happened. Thanks for the link, Nell. It was perfect. Caroline, I'll be waiting for those pictures... :-) ThinMan
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Wise planning! It took me years to figure out that what I saw in books might not be blooming together where I garden. Regroup your plants from the categories you showed (flowers, herbs, fruit) into bloom time categories: Early Spring, Mid Spring, Early Summer, High Summer and Fall. Pineapple Sage and Saliva Leucantha are Fall bloomers, despite a few blossoms in spring, so is Tea Camellia. Crape Myrtle starts in July, goes to frost if deadheaded. Many of the herbs are grown more for foliage than for blossoms, and can be counted on for green all spring and summer. Others, like parsley are biennial, making nice green clumps this year and going to seed next summer. The bloom of gladiolus may hinge on when they're planted, so you can make successive plantings to prolong the bloom time. Abyssinian glads bloom in fall, Byzantine glads in late spring. Different dianthus bloom at different times. Some can be coaxed into rebloom by deadheading. Tomatoes take a while to set fruit, you can count on Tomatoes after July 1. Lettuces and green peas are cool season crops. Be careful to double check with someone locally on dates for specific plants. A lily that's blooming for me in May be be blooming for Memo in July. Nell
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i have jasmine climbing up my railroad ties quite happily! haven't tried anything else
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Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
13 years ago
Anything you can set a pot on will serve as a starting point. I've used milk crates, old chairs, numerous tables, baker's rack, overturned pots (not too sturdy in high winds), sawhorse, stumps, logs, bricks, edging pavers, cinderblocks, and of course actual plant stands. Enough plants can cover whatever you're using if it is unattractive. Maybe some spray paint.

The fact that you posted this in the foliage forum hopefully makes this comment somewhat redundant, but I would use variegated plants almost exclusively with of lots of otherwise interesting trailing fillers - sweet potato vine, nasturtiums, calibrachoa, tahitian bridal (Gibasis geniculata), any zebrinas.

Have fun with your magazines. Last move I decided 2 boxes of old garden magazines weren't worth the effort & man I miss them now!

Here is a link that might be useful: your link

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