This past Saturday I did a demonstration at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show on vertical gardening. One of the things I demonstrated was how to make a succulent photo frame. As promised, here are the step-by-step instructions for those of you who weren’t able to make it to the show…

What You’ll Need:

• Sempervivum cuttings (I used Whirligig, Alone, 735 Belgium, and Korump from Arrowhead Alpine’s named forms collection)
• A few scraps of chicken wire
• Shadowbox-style photo frame (I bought this small one at the dollar store)
• Cactus potting soil
• Sphagnum moss
• Staple gun
• Gloves

First things first. Don’t be an idiot (like me) and forget your gloves. That is, unless you enjoy scraping your precious little fingers on chicken wire.

Now down to the actual work. You start by stapling a piece of chicken wire that is a little larger than your frame to the inside of the frame. This will make a nice front face for your frame.

Next you make a little sandwich. Not one you’d want to eat, but your sempervivums will enjoy it. Layer sphagnum moss down on the inside of your frame, right on top of the chicken wire you just stapled. Then pack in as much of the cactus potting mix as you can. Layer another bit of sphagnum moss down. The moss is preventing the soil from falling out, but still allows water to drain away. Finally, staple a second pieve of chicken wire (this one should be slightly smaller than your frame) to the back.

Now you’re ready for the fun part. Collect your sempervivum cuttings. Since sempervivums make so many little offsets (the “chicks”), it is easy to just clip a few off (enough to fill your frame) without even taking the mother plant (the “hen”) out of the pot. Be sure to leave a little bit of the umbilical cord on the cutting, as this will help you stick your plant into the frame and keep it there until roots form.

As sempervivums grow, they often create a shaggy layer of dead leaves at their base. Gently pull those off so that you can get the plant flush with the chicken wire/photo frame. The photo on the left is the before and the right is the after.

Using a pen or some other similar shaped object, poke a little hole into the sphagnum moss and put the sempervivum’s umbilical cord into the hole. I found that gently twisting the plant back and forth helped it get situated.

Continue to fill in with more plants until you’ve completed your frame. Let it lay flat for two weeks so that the roots can develop before hanging it upright.

While emailing recently with my publisher (Timber Press), I discovered they had just published a new book called Concrete Garden Projects by Malin Nilsson and Camilla Arvidsson. The cover had such cute star-shaped containers planted with spring bulbs that I knew this was a book I wanted to read. Luckily Timber was willing to oblige my book lust and sent me a copy to review.

I’ve written about many ways to convert found objects into containers (flour sifters, wine boxes, portable BBQs…), but I don’t think I’ve ever tried making my own container “from scratch.” Enter Concrete Garden Projects. Though the book isn’t limited to containers, authors Malin and Camilla also have ideas for making your own built in BBQ tables, potting tables, water fountains, and more.

The majority of the book is filled with “inspiration,” lots of different ideas to get your creative juices flowing. The authors introduce the concrete object, give you a brief overview of how to make it, tips for customizing it, and ideas on how the piece will weather outdoors. Each idea is accompanied by at least one large, beautiful photo. Many of the author’s ideas have several photos or a two-page spread. They also share different techniques for adding texture, color, or embedding little treasures in your concrete creations.

The last quarter of the book shows you how to work with concrete to make the ideas in the first part of the book. The “how to” section has lots of step-by-step photos to help you understand how to complete each project.

I am definitely going to make the shoe scraper door mat. I’ve long needed something near the door from my balcony into the condo, but I could never find something the right size. Now I can make one that is to my own specifications. Of course, I also plan on making several of the different pot ideas, as well as some stepping stones for my work garden. It’s hard to keep the list of projects I want to try from the book realistic (unless I want to dedicate every weekend of 2012 to concrete casting–which is sounding better and better). I really like several of the bird bath ideas and the modernist bench. The tea lights are cute, as are the tic-tac-toe board and hanging garden ornament. Ugh. See why I’m already blocking out weekends in 2012?!

All-in-all, this is a great book. I have only two tiny quibbles. The authors recommend making holes in containers meant for plants, but suggest that it’s possible to create a pot without a drainage hole and merely put some clay balls in the bottom to keep the plants in the pot from rotting. In my opinion, all pots must have drainage holes unless they are the self watering variety. My second gripe–and again, these are such minor issues–is that there is a photo with a hens-and-chick (Sempervivum) succulent cutting floating in a bird bath. It looked adorable, but why would anyone float a drought tolerant plant in water?

Anyway, don’t let these two little complaints from me prevent you from enjoying this book, I’m just trying to keep it real. I know my copy will be well used and probably covered in flecks of concrete.

* * * * *

I received Concrete Garden Projects for free to review from Timber Press. To read more about my review policy, click here.

Container Gardening in the Blogosphere

• Build a Container Water Garden to Cure Your Pond Cravings – Who says you need a yard to have fish in your garden?!
• Review of Earth Box – Kerry really loves her Earth Boxes!
• Zucchini Pickles – I love how adventurous people are with pickling. If you’ve ever grown zucchini before, you surely have a few extra that you can use in this recipe!
• Sweet Cherry Trees in Containers – I love growing fruit trees on my balcony. Here’s a video demonstration of planting bare root trees in a container.

Garden Q & A – Squash Flowers

A question I’ve gotten a couple of times in the past few weeks involve squash plants that seem to be producing a lot of flowers but no fruit. Rest assured that this is normal. Squash have both male and female flowers (as opposed to most flowers, that have both male and female parts in each flower). Squash produce male flowers first and then female flowers. It is not uncommon for the first few male flowers to show up before there are any female flowers to pollinate. Don’t worry if you see several flowers appear and then fall off, without any fruit. Eventually, female flowers will appear.

Container Gardening Ideas on Instructibles

• Bottle Herb Garden – A creative way to grow vertically, using upcycled materials. Also, check out this post on the LOTB Facebook page. Readers shared ideas for how to tweak the setup to make it more attractive.
• Bentwood Bird House – I love how modern this bird house looks, and while it seems like it would be pretty hard, the instructions don’t seem “out of reach.”
• Easy, Cheap Plant Tags – Don’t throw out your spoon the next time you get takeout. Upcycle it into a reusable plant tag!
• Planter from Pallets – I’m going to be trying this one. I’ve been rescuing pallets from my local grocery store’s trash bin. Stay tuned!
• Drip Aid – This gardener repurposed an back-of-the-door shoe organizer into a vertical planter.

Container Gardening Blog Posts

• This is a neat shot of Marie of 66 Square Feet’s terrace. Also, check out her roof farm.
• Almost everyone can use frugal gardening tips these days. Mike over at Urban Organic Gardener has got you covered.
• Adriana has a roundup of photos from her Anarchy in the Garden booth at the Patchwork Festival. There are some photos of yours truly teaching a demo on growing tomatoes in a container.
• Did you know you can freeze zucchini? That’s what Colleen at So Cal Gardening did.
• Oh, and Matt’s Redneck Garden is growing up fast!

Cheesy Gardening Joke

Why did the tomato turn red?

Because it saw the salad dressing.

Pineapple Sage Recipes

The other day on Twitter, I mentioned that I was going to cut back my pineapple sage a bit, and I needed a recipe to use up the cuttings. I ended up making a pineapple sage smoothie. For a very yummy breakfast drink, combine the following ingredients in blender a pulse until smooth:

• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 banana
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons packed pineapple sage, chopped

I also found recipes for Pineapple Sage Poundcake. And this recipe for Mango Pineapple Sage Salsa looks delicious, especially if served over their other recipe for corn fritters.

Container Gardening in the News

• This NY Times article about catios (i.e. patios for cats) seriously cracked me up.
• The Seattle Times reminds you to thin the fruit on your fruit tree to produce better results overall.
• I really enjoyed this article from The Tribune in Texas about water container gardens.

Being on a budget doesn’t have to mean using ugly containers. If you’re willing to put a little elbow grease into converting a cheap plastic pot into something unique and stylish, then you can have nice looking pots for less than $20. Hunt down garage sales and scour Craig’s List to find inexpensive pots. Then with $10 of paint and stenciling supplies, you’ll be well on your way.

Supplies Needed

• Plastic pot
• Spray paint (for background color)
• Outdoor house paint (for pattern color)
• Smooth paint roller
• Stencil
• Stencil paint

Instructions

Lay out plenty of newspaper in a well ventilated area. Place the pot upside down and spray paint on in short, even strokes. When entire exterior is covered, flip the pot right side up and paint top of pot edge and the top two inches inside the pot. Allow to dry completely before proceeding to the next step.

Use your stencil to mark out the placement around the pot with light pencil marks (so that you can space it out evenly). Apply the stencil glue to the back side of the stencil according to the package instructions. Place the stencil in the first spot and smooth it down so that the stencil glue is holding it in place. Use the paint roller to apply an even coat of paint all over the stencil. Skip a spot and reapply the stencil to the pot and roll another coat of paint on. Repeat all the way around the pot until your pattern is complete.

Allow the paint to completely dry overnight before planting.

Voila!

UPDATE: Adriana of Anarchy in the Garden has posted tons of photos from the Patchwork Festival where I used this pot in a tomato growing demonstration.

• Mike has a pretty neat idea to make about how to make a self-watering pot out of a soda bottle and t-shirt.
• Interested in vermicomposting (composting with worms)? Genevieve has got you covered.
• Take out your iPod and load it up with the latest Nest in Style podcast with hosts Jayme and Theresa chatting it up about lettuce and living walls. You’ll also enjoy the interview with succulent goddess Debra Lee Baldwin.
• Kerry is not a fan of upside down tomato planters. Find out why.
• I especially like the first of Jenny’s flower photos of a planter she created for a client’s deck railing.
• If you like succulents, check out Megan’s photos of her backyard. So many great ideas to take in!

Winner of the Botanical Interests Basil and Poppyseed Soap

There were a lot of great photos submitted to win a bar of Botanical Interests wonderful-smelling new soap, but only one person could win. I used Random.org to select a number, and it corresponded with Erin Neu’s photo. Erin, I will be sending you an email shortly to find out where the send your bar of soap and seed packets. Congrats!

If you’d like to look through the entries, you’ll find some pretty creating photo ideas:

Container Gardening In The News

• Lots of great container gardening ideas in this Chicago Sun Times article.
• Tomatoes, potatoes and rhubarb in the Pittsburgh Sun Times, oh my!
• According to the Edmonton Journal, you should view your containers as pots of gold. Sounds good to me.

This being tax season in the midst of a recession, I know that finding extra money for containers can be a bit like trying to squeeze blood out of a rock. I feel ya, believe me. But there are some pretty fun containers just waiting for your plants, and the good news is that they aren’t prohibitively expensive.

1. Red Wagons – Look for used wagons at the second hand shop or at yard sales. Or maybe your kids have one they haven’t used in years. Use a hammer and nail or awl to punch a hole every six inches for drainage and pot that bad boy up. I also recently saw a rusty old wheelbarrow planted with edibles. Same idea, and it looked great!
2. Soda Cans – I saw this at Maureen Gilmore’s talk on frugal gardening at the San Francisco Garden Show. In Mexico, she found a street vendor who was selling a succulent called String of Pearls growing in soda and beer cans. Trust me, it looked really cool and retro-ish. The trick is to find interesting cans. Coffee tins could also look pretty neat, and would provide a bigger “pot.” Or you could always paint them a bright color.
3. Short Lengths of Sewer Pipe – Don’t knock this idea until you check out this post at Sunset’s Fresh Dirt blog. See? Now all you need to do is stalk road construction sites.
4. Trash Cans – When I was in the hardware store the other day, I saw really cool looking metal trash cans that were half the size of the kind you put out on the curb.
5. Bird Baths – These people are selling a bird bath for $10 on Craigslist. They look really awesome planted with succulents. All the cool kids are doing it.

Bonus Idea: What about a colander? There are some really cool looking retro ones in interesting colors. Or you could always spray paint one to suit your color scheme.

What’s your best frugal container gardening idea?

Last week’s grab bag was well received, so I decided to make it an ongoing series. This week’s post includes everything from bad garden humor to succulent container garden photos to one of the hottest topics in gardening this week: window farming.

Great Blog Reading

• Urban Window Farms – Studio G covered a hot topic this week, urbanites who are growing edible plants in hanging hydroponics pots in front of their windows.
• GROW Project – Garden Bloggers provided a roundup of all the GROW Project posts about ‘Spitfire’ Nasturtiums.
• Certifying Your Garden as a Wildlife Habitat - Carri challenges people to create a wildlife-friendly garden in honor of Earth Day (April 22).
• Got Milkweed? – Carole discusses the importance of Milkweed in the Monarch Butterfly lifecycle and shares tips for how to attract the butterflies to your garden with Milkweed plants.
• Succulent Container Garden Photos – The ladies at Far Out Flora shared photos from their recent trip to Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA.
• Grow Cook Eat – Katie announced a new series of weekly posts on growing edible plants. Look for my contribution on growing edibles in containers next Friday.
• Gardening Supplies at Big Lots – Mary found some great pots and plant stands at discount prices. A good reminder to check dollar shops for gardening stuff this time of year.

Bad Gardening Joke

Why do melons have fancy weddings? Because they cantaloupe.

On Going Experiments Update

I have updates in both the seed scarification experiment, and my comparison study of the Smart Pots. With regard to the nasturtiums, one of the seeds from both the clipped group and the filed group sprouted on April 6, which was 5 days after sowing. The second clipped group seed popped up on the 7th, as did the first hot water seed. So to recap the progress thus far:

• Clipped – 5 days/6 days
• Filed – 5 days/7
• Hot Water for 24 Hours – 6 days/7
• Hot Water for 3 Hours – ?/?
• Cold Water for 24 Hours – ?/?
• No Scarification – ?/?

On to the Smart Pots. I planted the two lavender plants on March 20. Since then, the Smart Pot plant has grown 6 inches in diameter (increasing its size by 25%), put out out 36 new flowers, and 8 new flower buds. In comparison, the plastic pot plant has grown 3.5 inches in diameter (increasing its size by 10%) and has put out 49 flowers and 8 buds. So it seems that so far, the Smart Pot plant is increasing in size more than it is putting out flowers. I’ll continue to update you throughout the growing season. In a month or so I should have some tomato plant data to add as well.

Random Gardening Trivia

Did you know that when you plant a chard or beet seed, you’re actually sowing many seeds at once? They both produce a compound seed cluster that has many seeds inside. That is why, even though you swear you only sowing one chard seed per pot, you will get multiple plants sprouting. This is also way it doesn’t pay to put two seeds in one “hole.” If you are using fresh seeds, you will almost always get more than one plant sprouting from each cluster, and planting two seed clusters in one hole only increases the amount of plants you need to thin later (i.e. you just wasted a seed).

Something to Look Forward to

Photo by MrClean1982

Hummingbirds will be flying northwards soon, if they haven’t gotten to your area already.

News

• Window Farming – I told you this was a hot topic this week!
• The New York Times tells us what we already know: lots of people are banking on growing their own edibles this year.
• A school opens a native California garden in my old neighborhood.
• The Chicago Tribune discusses helping birds create a love nest.

I am so excited to publish the very first Life on the Balcony Blog Carnival! Thank a million times over to all of the people who participated. Without further ado, I give you a plethora of great posts on edible container gardening for your reading pleasure…

Grow Stuff You Can Eat Indoors

• Indoor Edible Container Gardening with an AeroGarden – Check out Viggie’s Veggies’ update on her AeroGardens. She’s growing herbs and even cucumbers (!!!) indoors.
• Growing Rosemary Indoors – Melanie shares her secret for keeping her rosemary plant from getting woody stems.

Frugal Ideas for Growing Your Own Food

• Container Gardening Ideas for Rednecks (and Other People on a Budget) – Check out Matt’s self-proclaimed Redneck NASCAR edible container garden. You can also see how is doing one month into his gardening adventure, and how Matt’s garden looks now.
• Redneck Frost Protection for Container Gardens – Matt share’s his inexpensive method for protecting his container garden from frost.
• 5 Healthy Recipes from the Victory Container Garden – Matt (a different Matt than above) shares recipes that he made with what he grew in his container garden. Additional ingredients cost less than $1!
• 10 Easy Vegetables & Herbs You Can Grow to Save Money – A list of plants that are easy to grow yet can be expensive at the grocery store.

How To _____

• How to Create a Hydroponic Vegetable Garden on Your Balcony – Lorraine provides solid info about building a vegetable garden on a patio or balcony that will water itself without access to a power outlet. Ingenius!
• How to Grow Any Kind of Tomato on a Balcony – Prue shares her tried-and-true (yet whimsical) advice for growing all sorts of kinds of tomatoes in pots on a balcony.
• Kumquats Make Excellent Container Plants – Angela talks about growing Meiwa Kumquats in pots.
• 7 Herbs You Can’t Live Without – Liz shares 7 herbs she grows in her container garden that she can’t imagine living without.

Dispatches from the Container Garden

• First Time Sowing Seeds - Barbara shares photos of her success starting seeds and her experience using a self-watering pot.
• Argula in Tucson, A Success Story – Les shares his experience growing edibles in a difficult climate with pack rats for neighbors.

Finding Beauty in Fruits & Vegetables

• Create Beautiful Citrus Container Gardens – Jenny shares fun tips that she’s learned from her landscape design practice for creating citrus container gardens that are as beautiful as they are tasty.
• Prolonging a Vacation to the Italian Coast with a Beautiful Lemon Tree – Todd and Diane planted a beautiful lemon tree in a rustic urn after being inspired by their travels to Italy.

This is the time of year when everyone goes crazy with seed and plant catalogs. Who can resist gorgeous photos of vegetables and flowers with equally tantalizing descriptions? It doesn’t help that the catalog deluge hits mid-winter when people are feeling a little cabin fever. But if you want to have a happy, healthy container garden that doesn’t leave you penniless, consider these questions.

1. What type of sunlight does your balcony or patio get? Full sun (6-8 hours)? Filtered light? Partial-shade (Some direct sunlight, but less than 6 hours of it)? Full shade (no direct sunlight)? Choose plants accordingly. Matching plants to light conditions and watering correctly will solve the majority of problems container gardeners face (including pest problems).
2. What do you like to eat? It’s great to try growing fruits and vegetables you’ve never eaten before, but be sure to hedge your bet with things you know you and your family like to eat.
3. Do you have a long growing season or a short one? Choose plants appropriate to your zone (i.e. tomatoes that don’t need a lot of heat for colder climates) Sometimes, even though you live in a certain zone, specific conditions on your balcony can be warmer or colder than the area as a whole. You can learn about micro-zones by locating your local weather station.
4. Do you get lots of snow? What about rain? Snow can be really hard on the containers themselves (freezing and thawing can crack pottery) if you plan on growing perennials. And rain is hard on plants living in containers. It’s good to choose plants with these two things in mind.
5. What plants do you see at the garden center and on your neighbors’ balconies? These are clues as to what grows well in your area.
6. Would you like to attract birds? Butterflies? Are you concerned about the plight of honey bees? Choose plants with birds, bees, and butterflies in mind. Remember not to spray with pesticides if you’re trying to attract wildlife!
7. Do you like to can, pickle or make jams/jellies? Want to learn? Consider berry plants and fruit trees or vegetables that are suitable for pickling.
8. Do you like caring for animals? Chickens are all the rage these days, but they’re not exactly apartment/condo friendly. But rabbits are, and their manure is just as good for your garden.
9. Do you enjoy bouquets of flowers? Consider planting a container cutting garden.
10. Are you into DIY or crafts? You can grow birdhouse gourds or plants commonly used in crafts, like lavender.

So, now that you’ve given things some thought, what do you plan to grow this year?

Photo Credit: Sweetbeetandgreenban