We have a very small house and I like it that way. My potting shed is larger than my kitchen, which gives you a clue as to where my priorities lie. So, when I get in the mood to rearrange things, since I can’t rearrange furniture in the house (things will only fit one way), I look to the gardens where I have lots of space to make changes.
I was therefore very pleased when, through no effort of my own, I became the owner of a strawberry pot. You know, the tall terra cotta pots that have little pouches along the sides and were traditionally planted with strawberries. I have always wanted a strawberry pot, but there never seemed to be the right time to get one. Since I have had one donated to me, I started planning my strawberry recipes. And then I realized I don’t really like to bake or cook and I got practical.
“So what else can one do with a strawberry pot,” I asked myself. And I started thinking outside the pot.
Hmmm. Herbs would work and be easy to harvest if the pot was close to the kitchen. One could put a variety of basils in the top and thyme in a couple of pouches. Marjoram and sages would work, too. How about an oregano or a curly leaf parsley? We could also do a cilantro or chives. But it would be best if I only chose the herbs I would normally use in my cooking. When placed in a sunny location, this herb pot would not only be beautiful but handy. Since most herbs are Mediterranean in origin, I would only need to water when they dry out.
But I thought that another possibility is a succulent pot. I could find smaller succulents for the pouches and maybe add a couple of “crawling” types. They would be pretty cascading down the sides. Hen and chicks would be fun and there are so many variations of these succulents available now that I can have a different one in each pouch. I would try to find a nice, large one for the top, too. One that is a bit showy - like an Echeveria ‘Afterglow’- would make this a stunning display. The ‘Afterglow’ can grow to 12” across and has a lavender leaf tinged with pink. Not sure where to find one locally, but there are other large ones just as stunning. A tad tender (USDA Zones 9 or higher), I would have to put this strawberry pot on wheels so I can wheel it into the garage or greenhouse where it can winter over. Or I could choose other succulents that are hardier. They don’t like moist, rich soil, so a well-drained, sandy mix would be best. Sunny spots for this pot, too. But succulents don't like a lot of water, so that is another reason to move it inside during the rainy season.
If I wanted to change it out every season, I could also plant annuals in it. Maybe a big clump of pansies in the top and smaller violas in the side pouches. Or petunias in the top and calibrachoa (looks like smaller petunias but don’t need deadheading. And they cascade, too.) in the pouches would work. I could go with a monochromatic color scheme or go hog wild and plant a wide color palette of a different color in each pouch. So many choices!
But as small as my garden is, there is very little full sun that herbs, succulents and annuals prefer. So I need to find a combination of shade plants. After much debate, I have settled on a nice medium-sized Hosta for the top, and clumps of black mondo grass for the pouches. I think that will look nice and be happy in the shade. The Hosta goes into a shallow pot that fits nicely into the top of the pot. That way I can change it out if I need to. The mondo grass is planted in soil in the pouches.
My new pot has a nice sized hole for drainage, but I will cover it with a coffee filter to hold in the soil but allow for drainage. Then I will fill the pot with potting soil up to the bottom of the first pouch. I have a paper towel tube that I will place a little off center into the pot. This will allow me to plant the hosta in the middle of the top. Into the tube, I will put some crushed gravel. Then I will plant the pouches on the bottom level with my mondo grass. In goes more potting soil up to the bottom of the second row of pouches. More mondo grass and more soil and then I can very carefully remove the paper towel tube, leaving a column of crushed gravel that will allow me to water the pot all the way to the bottom. That way the water will trickle down through the gravel and get to even the bottom pouches.
I could instead insert a 1” PVC pipe with holes drilled in a staggered pattern of ¼ inch holes. The bottom of the PVC pipe should be blocked with a cork or duct tape to allow the water to escape to the sides instead of running out the bottom. I would put the pipe into the pot in the same manner as the gravel tube, filling in soil as I plant. But this time, I won’t remove the pipe; it will become the watering conduit.
As nice as my new strawberry pot looks, I may have to shop around and see if I can find more to “adopt.” It’s a great way to put a lot of plants in a very little space and give a more vertical feel to the garden.
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