Auditioning Plants in Containers | Big Living in My Small Garden

If you have very little impulse control when it comes to plants — and Darcy will be the first to admit she does — containers are what make that sustainable. She has found that she can bring a plant home, grow it on, and think about it for as long as she wants without committing it to a spot in the garden proper. Some are planted out eventually. Others aren't. But having them there gives her options.

In this video Darcy walks through what's currently growing on in her containers: the plants she's genuinely testing, the ones she knows she wants but is waiting to place, and the ones that have already graduated to the neighbor's garden. It's a system, even when it doesn't look like one.

The container strategy here connects directly to two ideas that run through the eGardenGo site:

Assess, Adjust, Repeat — the ongoing cycle of evaluation and editing that keeps a small garden working. A container gives you time to assess before you commit. Read more: https://www.egardengo.com/post/assess-adjust-repeat-how-to-create-a-resilient-garden

Forever vs. For Now — some plants are permanent; others are fillers and placeholders while everything finds its place. Knowing which is which is what keeps a small garden from feeling frozen. Read more: https://www.egardengo.com/post/garden-making-tips-for-proper-plant-spacing

Plants featured in this video: Eucryphia moorei, Eucryphia glutinosa, Cercis canadensis 'Flamethrower', Woodwardia orientalis, Woodwardia unigemmata, Coniogramme intermedia 'Yoroi Musha' (bamboo fern), Sophora microphylla 'Sun King', Stewartia malacodendron, Daphniphyllum, Schefflera rhododendrifolia 'DJH', Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Akebono' red form, Thuja occidentalis Primo®, Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Springtime', Cornus sericea ssp. sericea 'Hessii', Ribes × gordonianum, Abutilon

This video is part of the Big Living in My Small Garden series. Also in the series:

▶ Turning Shrubs Into Trees: https://www.egardengo.com/video/big-living-small-garden-shrubs-as-trees-0526 

▶ Tall and Narrow: https://www.egardengo.com/video/big-living-tall-and-narrow-0526

Explore plants and find combination ideas at eGardenGo: https://www.egardengo.com/explore-plant-combinations