A Space-Saving Garden

The secret to landscaping a small space like a deck, patio or terrace, says Egger, is to use containers. It's important to not clutter an area, so don't cram pots into every bit of available space. Instead, choose a few interesting containers and place them in an area where they'll draw attention and have the most impact.

Egger estimates that a professional would charge about $2,300 for the design, materials, and installation of this container garden. Do-it-yourselfers can cut that cost to $900 for all the materials. This project is rated a 1 on a difficulty scale of 1 (easy) to 5 (difficult) and can be completed in one easy weekend.

Step One: Preparing the Site

The crew prepares the site by removing an overgrown tree that has started to damage the foundation of the deck. Because there are two different styles of fences around the deck, Egger chose reed fencing to cover them. Reed looks like bamboo and reinforces the Asian style that Carlson wants. A 15-foot roll of reed fencing costs only $20 at garden supply stores.

Step Two: Determining the Layout

Containers are made of a variety of materials: metal, ceramic, plastic, terra cotta, and wood. Clay is very porous, so it allows plant roots to breathe, but you must water the plants more frequently. Plants in glazed ceramic pots, on the other hand, don't have to be watered as frequently.

Determine the placement of containers before planting because after they're filled, they're heavier and harder to move around. Place larger pots in the back and smaller ones up front.

Step Three: Assembling the Fountain

Tim Rice, the contractor for this project, explains that the fountain includes three containers: the largest bowl-shaped container serves as a reservoir, a smaller bowl contains the fountain head, and an upside-down pot in the middle supports the fountain head. The pots are filled with multi-colored glazed rocks, available for $5 for a 10-pound bag. When the water is turned off, the rocks still have a glazed, wet look.

Even though the containers are glazed, line the reservoir bowl with a 900-millimeter pond liner ($12 for a 1- by 15-foot section) to ensure that it won't leak. Tuck the liner so that it conforms to the shape of the container and trim the excess around the rim. Place a 75-gallon-per-hour pump ($25 at pond stores) into the reservoir. Place the upside-down pot over it, with the tubing coming up through a hole in the bottom.

Move the fountain to its final position. Assemble the fountain head according to its instructions and attach it to the tubing. Fill up the reservoir with water, plug in the pump, and test-run the fountain to make sure everything is working properly.

Planting: A Container Garden

Egger creates an aquatic garden by placing pots of water plants--brushes, calla lilies, irises--into a couple of pots. She adds some rocks to weigh down the containers, and fills them with water. With the rest of the pots, in keeping with the Asian theme, she plants a Japanese maple and a backdrop of tall, leafy vines in the rectangular boxes around the perimeter. The planting plan includes:

• Pink jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum), Zones 9-10
  
• Japanese maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku'), Zones 5-6(7)
  
• Calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica), Zones 8-10

When planting a container garden, use potting soil that is specifically designed for containers, because it provides more aeration than garden soil. You can reduce watering by adding polymers to the soil at a 1:6 ratio; polymers are small crystals that expand into jelly-like cubes when soaked in water. Plant roots draw water out of them.