Container Gardening Complete

Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 258 5/24/17 12:29 PM
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 259 6/5/17 3:32 PM

258 chapter 6

PLANT FOUNTAINS

Plant fountains are among the most beautiful

additions to a container garden. They add vertical

flair and are an excellent way to showcase how

creative container gardens can be, without

requiring a lot of work to maintain them.

Plant fountains are made two different ways.

First, food, foliage, and flower fountains can

be made by converting an existing tiered water

fountain into a planter. This is a great way to

repurpose a fountain with a broken pump system,

one that was too difficult to maintain, or one that

is simply no longer wanted. Once the fountain is in

place, drill a few drainage holes into each tier (or

open the drain plug in the base of the tier, if one is

present), and fill the fountain with soil and plants.

Keep in mind that the tiers of some fountains are

deeper than others, so plant choices need to reflect

that. Opt to include a mixture of plants in your

fountain or stick with a single species, but be sure

there are plenty of “spillers” in your fountain to

mimic water cascading from tier to tier.

The top tier of your fountain typically needs

to be watered more frequently than the lower

tiers, which hold more soil. Also consider the

height of your fountain when choosing what

plants to add to it. Keep edible crops within easy

reach on lower tiers.

Surround the base of your plant fountain with more

containers of plants to maximize space.

Food fountains like this one are a great way to grow a

wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs in a small

space. Plus, they’re easy to build and harvest.

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More Container Concepts 259

To further maximize production and beauty,

surround the base of your fountain with more

potted plants. Not only will it mask a potentially

unattractive base, it’s also a great use of space.

Food, foliage, and flower fountains can also be

made by stacking graduated sizes of containers on

top of each other to create a fountain effect. The

containers can either have a matching style and

color, or they can be a mixture of complimentary

pots. Plant fountains made in this manner can

house a single species of plant, or they can

contain a mixture of plants.

Food fountains are a cool and clever way to

grow a lot of herbs, veggies, and small fruits in

a very compact area. Just select two or more

containers of varying sizes and stack them on

top of each other using an upturned clay pot

or a few bricks to hold each layer on top of the

one beneath. Once the pots are stacked, fill each

container with soil and plants. Keep in mind

that the north side of the fountain receives less

sunlight than the other sides, so stick with plants

that won’t mind the slightly lower light level. The

other alternative is to rotate the fountain every

few days, if it’s not too heavy to do so.

Plant fountains fashioned out of tiered garden fountains can be filled with edibles, flowers, or foliage plants such

as sedum.

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