Free Potted Gardening Classes just around the corner

Our 2012 Winter classes are coming up fast. Classes held at our Get Potted Design Studio are FREE! Register today by just replying to this email. Space is limited so we do ask you to register.

Upcoming Winter Classes  ~ Saturday, January 21   9-10:15am ~ A Flourishing Potted Garden  Special Tips for maintaining your Tucson winter flowers. Now that the holidays are over, your plants need some help and maybe  you do too! This class includes topics on frost protection, rose pruning  and a mid-season cutback of your winter annuals.  Join Marylee, aka The Contained Gardener for this demonstration class  and return home with the confidence you need to help your flowers  thrive through April. ~ Hold the Date: (or better yet - register today by emailing me!) Saturday, February 25, 2012   9-10:15 am ~ Designing Container Groupings Clusters of pots offer immediate impact and ultimate flexibility. Learn how to successfully group pots and combine plantings for a beautiful focal point and one that is easy care. Join me for this demonstration class and return home with a plan for your own patio. ~ A special class presented at the Tucson Botanical Gardens  Saturday, February 11; 9:30 -2  When planting in containers, there is a definite method for plant survival,  particularly in Tucson's challenging climate. Learn The Contained  Gardener's tried and true techniques to planting successful potted  gardens. In this class you will learn how to plant in pots and how  to take care of your potted gardens. After lunch, you will create  a potted floral garden to take home and enjoy on your shaded  patio table. This class is perfect for the new to Tucson or new  to potted gardens in the desert! Presented by Marylee Pangman, Master Gardener and Owner  of The Contained Gardener. You may brown bag a lunch to  enjoy in the gardens or eat at the Garden's Cafe.  Cost: Members $65 ; Non-members: $75 You must register with the Gardens.

December Potted Garden Tips

December Garden Tips

The Last of the Summer Plantings!

Around your own home, you will have extremes in temperatures in "mini" microclimates.  Elevations, nearby washes, hardscape, and orientation of your home all contribute to this phenomenon. If you pay close attention to the differences around your home and in your neighborhood, you will develop a sense of what plants do well for you and what you need to protect in the event of a freeze or frost alert.

Tips for preventing frost damage:

• Water the plants well the morning before possible frost/freeze.
• Cover with frost cloth. Do not use plastic covers.
• Tie or fasten the bottom so that the air does not get under it. Use clothespins!
• Bring potted plants that are very tender close to protected walls, under carports, in garages or inside if possible.
• Use Styrofoam cups on columnar cactus tips.
• Wait to cut back frost damaged branches until March!!

Cold Snap Here - Great local Tucson information

The average early frost for Tucson is November 15. Today is only the 7th but here we are with a forecast of 35 degrees tonight. So those living in the colder regions of Tucson and Southern Arizona - beware!

I suggest you bring in your tender tropicals and cover any plants in question. No - this is not a deep freeze but with the warm temperatures we have been having, we have new growth on our plants. Those that are rated as frost tender need to be protected.

For great information on proactive garden planning, check out this article from yesterday's AZ Daily Star.

In the meantime, this weekend will be a great time to plant your winter annuals!

Fall is in the air - but watch the return of 90 degrees

Getting Ready for a Party!
Planting and Picture by Martha of The Contained Gardener

The mornings are beautiful! It is certainly a joy to go outside. After our unseasonably cool weather last week, watch out for the temps creeping back up this weekend. I still want to wait another week before planting some of the young tender annual flowers like pansies and violas.

Our flowers are going to start arriving this week! What a glorious time it is to see them all in the yard as we prepare them to go out to our clients' homes and businesses! I will post some pictures so you can enjoy it right along with me!

Shoot me an email if you have any questions!

Fix your landscapes potted gardens now and save!

Have you been away all summer or stayed right here in the Hot Ole Pueblo? Either way, your patio landscape may be suffering and I want to help!

 Email me to take advantage of this offer or call today to make your appointment.

If your gardens don't look like this, you may be throwing your money in the compost heap. We can help by doing it for you or come to our free classes!

Click here for more information on this Saturday's classes. Be sure to scroll down the page for the complete class schedule.

Free Container Gardening Classes - beginning this Saturday!

Saturday, September 17 - Free Classes

8:30 AM  Enhance Your Outdoor Living Spaces 

Your patios, porches and courtyards are extensions of your home as outdoor “rooms” to enjoy, use for entertaining or just for a restful break. 

Learn how to think about and plan these areas with potted gardens to define these rooms, add some dramatic impact with structural plants or maximize a small space.

9:30 AM  Successful Planting in Pots

When planting in containers, there is a definite method for plant survival, particularly in Tucson’s challenging climate. Learn our tried and true techniques to planting successful potted gardens in and for all seasons.

Classes are 45 minutes in length and are held back-to-back in our air-conditioned studio.

Register on our website, email me or by call 733-3359

The Contained Gardener 

2522 E Ft Lowell Rd, Tucson 85716

Just east of Tucson Blvd. Park in the gravel parking lot, studio in the rear of the building.

Potted Gardens - without abundant monsoons

Our monsoon flow has been pretty minimal over the last 10 days. This means our plants are showing signs of a struggle in the heat again. Be sure to give them some TLC and water aplenty during our continued high heat.

Do not fall into a sense of complacency though - be prepared for a monsoon storm. Batten down the hatches as I expect that we will see one this week. NO - I am not a meteorologist so don't go running off to the bank on that comment. :) It just seems that we are due for a storm and in tracking our local meteorologists, the systems are setting themselves up for one.

Have a great day and take time to enjoy the early mornings before the heat hits.

How Large is Large?

In the world of pots that is! With Tucson’s desert climate, the smallest suggested size for a potted garden in the sun begins at 18 inches. I add to this recommendation that the measurement is the interior diameter of the pot.  To give your plants a fair chance at survival, they need enough soil to hold moisture and insulate them from the heat.

Too often I speak with people looking for help with what to plant in their pots and when I ask what size they are, they say they are very large. I ask them to define that and the answer is 16 or 18”. In my world of potted designs, this is a small to medium pot.

How large is large? Try this on for size:

16-18” Medium

20-23” Large

24-28” Extra Large and so on.

The biggest pot you can put in the space is the one you want!! The bigger the better in the desert!

Become a Fan of The Contained Gardener on Facebook!
Have a question? Just email Marylee!

2011 Arctic Freeze - Further information

What happened to our plants in our February, 2011 “Arctic Freeze’

   In our desert climate, we do not have cooling temperatures during the winter that put our woody plants (trees and shrubs) into a true state of dormancy. When a plant does go into full dormancy, it develops freeze tolerance. Just as we are not very tolerant of freezing temperatures, nor can our plants be tolerant!

   As our temperatures drop well below freezing and stay low for a period of time as they did in February, ice crystals form inside the cells. These intracellular ice crystals rupture cell membranes, resulting in leakage of the cell contents. Thus, tissues injured by low temperatures often appear water-soaked and are flaccid.

The Relationship between a Full Moon and a Frost – not science-based proof!

1.      If a warm air mass is on top of us, it holds the heat in and we typically will not get a frost.

2.      The heat of the sun is reflected by the moon.

3.      Frosts are more likely the closer we are to a full moon, because the heat reflected by a full or nearly full moon is enough to evaporate the water in the upper atmosphere that otherwise would have reflected the sun’s heat back to earth. When the water evaporates, heat escapes and the air gets colder.

   However, many of those on the Internet that have looked at this issue are known to say, when it's clear you're more likely to see them.

And now that you are getting around to reading this, I expect the danger of any substantial frost or freezing in the Tucson area is over. Before you know it, we will be talking about how hot it is!!!

Summer is truly coming!

We have been fooled by the weather during the last few weeks but I think it is safe to say that the possibility of the temperatures in Tucson hitting 90 today means we are on the road to summer. What a beautiful spring we have had! The winter rains sure did help!

I hope you have made your plans on how you are going to enjoy this summer, both here in Tucson and on trips escaping the heat! One of our commitments is that when we dine out that we go locally! Between the Tucson Originals and all the summer specials being offered by our local masters, we have no problem holding to that commitment (although I still have to go to our client Mimi's Cafe - as I love their food and service and think of them as local!)

If you are staying in town, there is no reason not to have a summer garden - flowers, veggies and herbs - it can all be done! Don't be scared of the heat! If this is your first summer in Tucson, let us know as we can help!

Be sure to sign up for our Potted E-News where you will receive tips on your summer garden care.

Have a great day!
Marylee
The Contained Gardener