As the fall foliage surrounds us, we are so ready to pull out our gardening gloves and take to creating a perfect garden this season. Gardening, for us, is one of those activites where the stress just melts away as you plant tiny seeds that bloom into beautiful flowers. Today, we had the true pleasure of chatting with Peggy Brule, Category Expert for Garden, Home and Kitchen at Lee Valley Tools and are blown away as to how a simple container garden can change the landscape of your outdoor (or indoor!) spaces.
Share a little bit about yourself and your gardening journey.
I graduated from Algonquin College’s three-year Horticulture program and began my career with Lee Valley in 1993 at the Ottawa store. In 1995, I transitioned into gardening and have proudly served as the company’s “Garden Expert” ever since, now approaching 32 years.
I grew up on a farm with a large vegetable garden and have always loved the simple joy of picking a fresh tomato or carrot and enjoying it straight from the soil. Today, my own home is surrounded by both vegetable and flower gardens, with a deck decorated by an assortment of unique containers—including an old rubber boot—overflowing with flowers and vegetables of every shape and size.
Lee Valley Tools was founded in 1978 and has become a trusted source of innovative, high-quality tools for customers across North America and around the world. The Canadian company began with a single product, a barrel stove kit, and quickly grew to offer an extensive range of tools for woodworking, gardening, kitchen, and home.
For all the gardening newbies out there, what exactly is container gardening?
Container gardening is growing what you love in a container – that could be a hanging basket full of flowers, a planter of lasagna plants (tomato, peppers, basil), or a pot of chives or cilantro on your kitchen counter. Even if you only have a balcony, you can grow plants in containers to create an inviting space. Look for patio varieties like “Patio Choice” tomatoes or Million Bells (Calibrachoa) for non-stop colour. I like to mix edible flowers like Marigolds (Calendula officinalis as well as Tagetes spp.), Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) and Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) with traditional vegetable plants. They bring colour, but also pollinators!
Container gardening offers an accessible way to enjoy plants, especially for those with mobility challenges or limited space.
Photo provided by Duet PR c/o Lee Valley
Share some cool-season flowers, herbs, or vegetables that thrive best in containers during fall.
Cool-season plants grow best outside of the extreme summer heat. For a quick vegetable hit, try spinach, leaf lettuce, and radish. Ones to start at the end of summer for a continued fall harvest would include beets, peas, and beans. Pansies, snapdragons, marigolds, and Alyssum will see a second flush of blooms in the cooler weather. Of course, you can’t forget Chrysanthemums! Cooler temps are also best for chives, parsley, and mints. A late-summer cut-back of these plants will rejuvenate them for a second, smaller growth.
What’s the secret to keeping soil healthy and preventing it from compacting as the weather cools?
Container plants need lots of nutrients all season. An early fall “top up” of organic material, such as compost or bone meal, will give that late-season boost, but be sure also to top up the microbes in your potting soil, as it naturally has very little. These microbes will turn the amendments you add into usable food for the plants. Mix all of this into the top couple of inches, then water to move the nutrients to the root zone.
Overwatering can decrease the amount of air in the soil, leading to compaction, especially at the end of the year, when the container may be filled with roots. Allow the top inch to dry before water, and ensure the water you add soaks in slowly, rather than pooling at the top (forcing air out as it gets absorbed), or running down the sides.
Photo provided by Duet PR c/o Lee Valley
What are some of your favourite Lee Valley products for container gardening that you just can’t live without?
Hanging Basket Pulley: I am short, and my baskets on the front porch are high. Each of my baskets hangs from one of these, and I can lower them to water, check the soil, and deadhead flowers. It also allows the basket to rotate so that the plants get sun on all sides.
Watering Bulbs: I place these in my larger planters to ensure water gets to the roots of the plants in the centre of the container. They are inconspicuous and easy to fill with a watering can or hose
Window Sill Planter: This is a neat way to keep four “pots” of herbs that I use regularly at hand in the kitchen. Simply fill the reservoir with water, and it supplies it to the plants on an as-needed basis. And it looks sleek and tidy on the counter!
Garden Snips: These are just the right size for caring for almost all my container plants, from deadheading flowers to ensure continued blooming, to harvesting basil, oregano or peppers.
