A garden bench planter makes for a convenient and colorful seat in any garden setting. Plus, you have the control and versatility of using a planter box, so you can plant what you want where you want. The spring and summer are the two main growing seasons (though not necessarily the only planting seasons). Here are some warm weather tips and ideas for first half of the year gardening.
What to plant in your spring garden bench planter:
Springtime is obviously the time when most people set about planting their flowers and vegetables. As far as perennial and annual flowers, if you're growing from seeds or bulbs, you will need to do so much earlier in the season so that they have a chance to bloom.
As a rule of thumb, this should be done about 6 weeks before the last frost, but it can vary slightly by the type of plant. With vegetables you can also grow plants from seeds, although many people tend to opt for already sprouted plants that they can easily transplant into their own gardens.
Another thing that looks especially nice in a garden bench planter are shrubs, and there are not only a wide variety of shrubs available, but many of which burst into spectacularly colored blooms during the springtime.
Don't forget that such flowering shrubs need to be pruned immediately following blooming. Not pruning will cause the plant to tangle, get weighted down and look out of control, and waiting too long to prune will oftentimes lead to cutting off the next year's buds. Some popular shrubs include the following: forsythia, azalea, holly, lilac, mountain laurel, rhododendron, weigela, butterfly bush, cranberry bush, barberry, and Japanese dwarf maple.
To get the best possible results from your garden bench planter, use a potting mix specially formulated for the type of plant you are growing, and add fertilizer if it's not already included. For example, some plants thrive in a sandier environment than others, and there are different potting mixes for seeds and
for transplants. If you had something planted from the last season, make sure to clean away any remnants, including winter mulch and dead plant stalks and leaves.
Some flowers to grow in spring from seeds include the following: zinnias, marigolds, gladiolus, dahlias, lilies, roses, astrenia, bat flowers and anemones.
As far as bulbs, if you didn't get to planting them the autumn before, you can bulb plants that have been grown indoors for long enough so that when you plant them in your own garden they are designed to bloom in a timely fashion. Some popular bulb flowers include the following: tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, crocus and scilla.
What to plant in your summer garden bench planter:
A summer plant is one that thrives under the warm, hot summer sun and from the longer days. They usually wither or at best suffer from lesser amounts of sunlight, shorter days and colder temperatures. That's not to say, however, that you can plant your garden at the end of August and expect to get any sort of results.
The best time to plant summer flowers and vegetables is immediately following the last frost in your area. Also, by using a garden bench planter you have better control over the soil, which sometimes is still too cold and hard to plant in otherwise.
Keeping in the mind the last frost date, you should also know the approximate first frost for the following autumn to determine if you have a long enough growing season to grow your plants to maturity. Different species will vary, so check before buying seeds or plants.
Some of the different summer plants include the following: autumn and winter squash (including acorn, butternut, pumpkin, etc., corn, bush beans, cucumber, okra, eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, peppers and of course, tomatoes.
Be advised too that with a limited amount of space in something like a garden bench planter you may not be able to plant everything on your wish list, like corn, which requires a sizeable amount of space.
Author Resource:-
Todd Arend is a freelance writing professional whose expertise covers a variety of areas, including patio and backyard furniture, landscaping and design. He regularly writes about Garden Bench Planter and Planter Boxes.
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