Plants for Whiskey Barrells
Our block association is getting a bunch of barrel planters this year. Does anyone have suggestions for plants (and plant combinations) that work really well in the barrels? We need arrangements for hyper-sunny as well as shady areas… these will be placed on sidewalks along the street. Thanks!
Our block association is getting a bunch of barrel planters this year. Does anyone have suggestions for plants (and plant combinations) that work really well in the barrels? We need arrangements for hyper-sunny as well as shady areas… these will be placed on sidewalks along the street. Thanks!
Think about the overall design or look first, and then choose plants to give you the structure and scale in the different conditions you require. Generally speaking for design and to create interesting planters, you should have something tall to add height, some things that are somewhat bushy to fill in and some trailing plants to spill over the edge. That creates nice variation in form. Having just one thing is a little boring and that one thing tends to peak all at once where a mix will give you season long beauty. The other thing to consider is variation in texture and what colors you want to use. Different textures are more visually interesting.
How much you plan to water also will determine things that work best for you. Planters, even big ones, can dry out quickly in full sun. Without knowing how you intend to take care of things and what you want to spend, I hesitate to suggest specific plants. You’ll have to read the tags for either sun or shade. Some interesting textural items to try are ornamental grasses, the various colors of sweet potato vine, different kinds of coleus (there are many), Persian shield and maybe add a perennial like heuchera, hosta or a sedum. Or something exotic like elephant ears, canna or calla. Fill in with some flowering standbys such as million bells, bacopa, petunias, marigolds, begonia, impatiens and lobelia.
Diana
http://www.funcitydesign.com
Yeah – as a follow-up to my suggestion, herbs are a good choice too. Things like dill, chamomile, and rosemary are easy to grow and have interesting textures and flowers…
I’ve seen some pretty arrangements of a tall grass in the middle & then dripping greens over the sides. Herbs work well in them too – some like sun & some shade.
And my small tree, I mean a little dwarf tree… something that fits into the barrel. Not an evergreen bush that will just take over the barrel in a season or two. Unless you like green bushes in tubs. To each his/her own.
I would vote for something low maintenance like grasses and a small tree or something…. or those ground covers that “drip” over the sides. (Though a lot of the non-grass ground covers need less than full sun, so the choice of plantings would depend on placement)
Do you have an irrigation system? Cuz you may want to look at drought resistant plants if you’re depending on rain or hand watering. It’s a container, so it can dry out faster depending on the weather.
We’re getting them at Kings County Nursery, which is giving us a discount for our block association.
http://www.kingscountynurseries.com/
I know how to take care of the planters. My question is about the actual plants.
I know there are some serious drinkers on this site who no doubt have plenty of these empty barrels…
dibs is right & be sure you’ve got weep holes in the bottom. I’ve seen recommendations to add styrofoam peanuts to the soil towards the bottom to aid drainage & keep the dirt from getting compacted.
Go on the internet and look for advice as to how to preserve these. Maybe line them or someting because they rot VERY quickly. In a year or two the splats will be falling out of the iron rings. They should definitely be put on three or four bricks so that the base is not resting on the ground.