How many of us sit on our decks or patios, stare at a bare fence and think, “there must be something I can do with that.”
There certainly is!
“Plant” your fence with flower pouches. Not just for fences, these flower pouches efficiently provide color and/or small veggies for tiny balconies or other small areas. Better yet, they’re inexpensive, colorful, and easy to plant. Does this give you some ideas?
You may be asking, “What is a flower pouch?” Available in different sizes, shapes and colors, they’re heavy plastic bags with small planting holes. After planting, they hang from hooks on fences, walls, deck sides, trees…almost anywhere. The future size of the plants determines the number of plants in a pouch.
What types of flowers or veggies can you plant in the pouch? Smaller annuals, strawberries or vegetables are perfect for pouches. Petunias, marigolds, alyssum, lettuce, and cucumbers grow famously.
It’s easy to plant a flower pouch, especially when inserting smaller plants or “starts.” Use a lightweight soil-less potting mixture. You may either completely fill the bag with the soil and then “poke” the roots of the plant into the holes or you can fill to the first set of holes, plant the starts, fill to the next level, and so on. Unless you are planting very small starts, most people find the “fill to the next level and plant” system works the best. Many gardeners skip planting the lowest slots to provide more root space. Others skip the top slots in order to plant on top of the pouch, but you may experiment, of course.
After filling and planting to the top, use a larger dowel or piece of hosing to create a channel in the back of the pouch. This will make it easier for water to get to the lower plants when watering. Plant another start at the top of the pouch. Water gently but thoroughly.
Give the plants 7-10 days to root, then tie the handle as instructed on the pouch. Hang to enjoy! Depending upon the weather, you may need to water daily. Remember the fertilizing adage, “weekly, water weakly.” By the way, if you tend to forget about watering, it’s easy to set up a drip watering system for these containers.
Now, don’t you feel better about that fence?
