Trying hard to contain myself

I began container gardening out of necessity. As a renter, I could not just dig up and put anything into a yard where I wanted.

The lesson was valuable; I figured out there are a lot of other advantages to container gardening. You do not need to space plants apart to allow for future growth; you adjust and arrange the plants for the way they look now. When one plant is blooming, it can be moved into a focal point of the garden or put in the front yard where passers-bye can see. Plants that have finished their displays can be moved to be used as a green backdrop. Plants can be pulled into the garage to extend the season and avoid a frost. It's also easier to manage plants that have varying soil pH requirements, or if some plants prefer a heavy watering while others are left dry; they can evey sit right next to each other, which is virtually impossible in the ground.

The drawback is, of course, that containers dry out faster than those in the ground. During the high heat of the season they need to be watered on a daily basis. For me, though, the trade off between added work and the flexibility to really work the display is completely worth it.