For GIY-ers (grow-it-yourselfers) keep in mind that we’ve got pots, orchid bark, a wide selection of orchid books, bamboo stakes, and orchid clips (to hold the bloom spike to the stake).*

* While green bamboo stakes work well for holding up a bloom spike, try using a curly willow or mossy twig for a change. These natural accents can add interest and a different form to your orchid display.

Saturday April 17th

Here’s your chance to get your container gardens going and save some money as well. Just bring in your containers (up to 16″ size), buy the plants here at Incahoots, and we’ll provide the potting mix FREE! You can leave the clean-up to us.

The Yamhill County Master Gardeners will also be here to answer your gardening questions. You might even be able to get them to help you with your container planting.

Time: 10:00a.m. – 1:00p.m.

winter container garden

We usually think of container gardens during the spring and summer months, but fall and winter plants also offer an abundant array of color and texture for focal points in containers as well.
To keep your containers looking fresh and eye-catching, it helps to change them seasonally so plants are at their best.
The first step in putting together your creation is selecting a container.  Just about anything that will hold soil and has provision for drainage will do.  Terra-cotta pots, stoneware, homemade wooden boxes, old shoes, use your imagination. If you are reusing a container it should first be thoroughly cleaned with soap and water.
When considering plant choices for fall and winter containers, keep in mind that flowers are sometimes at a minimum, so focus on foliage and berry color, architectural form and silhouette value. For instance, a dramatic combination with no actual flowers could be…

Red Twig Dogwood (tall red twigs)
Bergenia (large leaves turn red in winter)
Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’ (brightly colored stems of  yellow, orange, pink, crimson, or purple)
Gaultheria (evergreen foliage with bright red berries)
Ornamental Kale (ruffly texture in purple or white leaves)
Pieris Japonica (variegated foliage and small flower buds)

To really distinguish your planting, consider adding a bit of art or whimsy to the design.  Many garden accessories work equally well in containers and with the current popularity of gardening and nature, they’re not hard to find.  Gigantic metal dragonflies, insect theme votive candle holders, and inspirational garden plaques are all easy to poke in. For a more natural look, don’t overlook the impact of twigs. Just a few curly willow, dogwood or birch stems can dramatically change the look of your container.

Annual Color

Pansies and Violas
Ornamental Kale and Cabbage
Swiss Chard
Cyclamen
Chrysanthemums

Low / Trailing

Ajuga
Moss
Thyme
Rosemary
Wintergreen (evergreen foliage, red berries)
Rubus – Creeping Raspberry
Sedum
Lysimachia – Creeping Jenny

Medium Height / Mounding

Helleborus (winter flowers)
Heather
Evergreen Ferns
Bergenia
Armeria
Herbs
Dusty Miller
Sarcoccoca
Sage
Heuchera
Euphorbia
Grasses

Tall / Vertical

Red or Yellow Twig Dogwood
Conifers and evergreen shrubs
Camellias (late-winter flowers)
Yucca
New Zealand Flax
Beauty Berry
Daphne
Grasses (decorative seed heads)
Corylopsis
Dwarf Japanese Holly
Dwarf Rhododendron
Taxus – Yew
Pieris Japonica
Dwarf Nandina
Forsythia

Printable version

I love this All America Selections winner for it’s multiple uses. It’s not only very attractive it’s also nutritious. Bright Lights Swiss Chard’s nutritious, glossy green or burgundy leaves are supported by brightly colored stems of  yellow, gold, orange, pink, crimson, lavender, or purple. A relative of the beet, it can be used as baby greens or use the mature leaves as you would spinach. Chard is tasty steamed or sauteed.  Mmmm, I love to saute it with olive oil, garlic, and hazelnuts.

Plant it out now in a sunny area for crispy fall and winter greens.
Grows 20″ tall
Space plants 8″ – 10″ apart
Can handle temperatures down to 10 degrees.

Also try it ornamentally as a centerpiece in a mixed container of  “Fire “ pansies.

Here are a few more ideas from the web.

Forgo Flowers

Lots of fall landscapes rely on foliage for a big bang – so why shouldn’t your container gardens? Try plants with colorful leaves so you don’t have to worry about them going out of bloom.

A. Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris ‘Bright Lights’) –3

B. Flowering kale (Brassica) — 1

C. Coral bells (Heuchera) -1

Cheddar Orange Cauliflower

This unique cauliflower is orange in color with a full size cauliflower head and it’s loaded of beta carotene.

Grow these 12-18 inch tall plants in full sun and space them about 18 inches apart.

Ready to harvest  in about 68 days.

6/pack – $2.99 each

For more Fall and Winter Gardening information, click here for the OSU Extension publication…

Fall and Winter Gardening in the Pacific Northwest

Red Winter Kale is an improved version of Red Russian Kale. This strain of kale has very tender, sweet leaves compared to other kales. The reddish-purple stems and veins, wavy margins, and foliage that resembles oak leaves makes Red Winter Kale dramatic-looking in the garden!

Whether raw or cooked, kale is a low calorie, high nutrition leafy green. A cup of raw kale has 60 calories; cooked it is 48 calories. Even cooked, where it can lose one-third or more of its nutritive value, a cup of kale provides the minimum daily requirement of Vitamins A and C and 13 percent of the calcium requirement. A good source of glucosinolates, Vitamin E, and manganese, kale is used as a green vegetable, steamed and served with butter or vinegar, or in soups. It makes a nice garnish and can be used in any dish that calls for kale.

How to Grow

Kales prefer cool weather and can withstand frosts.  Mature plants survive to 10̊F or below. They grow best in full sun in rich, moist, slightly alkaline (pH 7.0) well-drained soil. To avoid any soil borne diseases, rotate crops.

Set the plants out at 18 – 24 inches apart.   Keep plants lightly moist. This is especially important for plants started in the summer for fall and winter harvest.

Remember to control snails and slugs in August and September, especially if you mulch your plants. By reducing the population in early fall before the breeding season, you’ll have less trouble during the winter (and next spring as well).