Container Gardening with Native Plants

Yes! Just because your plants are in containers, doesn’t mean wildlife will avoid them. Pollinators can easily visit their blooms, and you may even find some caterpillars eating the leaves of their host plants.

For any wildlife garden, it will likely take some time for wildlife to find and use the habitat you created. This may be especially true if your container garden is in a place that is unexpected for wildlife or otherwise hard to find or reach. A balcony tucked away may be less visible to pollinators foraging or may be higher up than many surrounding blooms making it an unexpected location. Once wildlife does find your habitat though, you will likely see them returning multiple times to enjoy the benefits of your garden!

If you’re planning to overwinter your perennial native plants in containers, they will need some small amount of water through the winter. In winter, your plants are dormant, but not dead. The soil does not need to be wet, but you can sparingly water them to ensure the soil does not dry out completely over the season. A layer of leaves or wood chips on the top of the soil will also help both to insulate the pots and keep any existing moisture in the soil.

Some other tips for overwintering your container garden includes:

• Use large containers which will better retain heat and moisture.
• Use a frost blanket (a thin material used for covering plants) on and around your containers to buffer your plants against rapid temperature changes.
• Move your containers into a cool garage or other partially indoor space. Plants native to your region will be well adapted to a cold season so will likely need some amount of cold this time of year, so avoid fully heated areas or grow lights.
• Remember to choose native plants that can withstand a hardiness zone of two below your actual hardiness zone.

Container gardens can certainly qualify to become certified if they provide all of the required habitat essentials! Read below to understand the requirements to certify and some easy ways that container gardens can meet these requirements:

Food (3 Sources Needed): If you include native plants they can serve as many kinds of food sources including: their blooms are nectar and pollen sources, their seed heads can be a source of seeds, and their leaves may also be food for caterpillars if you select host plant species! When native plants provide these three kinds of food, they can count as all of your 3 required food sources! Plus, you can supplement them by adding a bird feeder or nectar feeder if you wish.

Water (1 source needed): In a small container garden, this can be as simple as a butterfly puddler, mud dish, fountain, or bird bath!

Cover (2 Sources Needed): There are many ways you can provide cover for wildlife in a container garden, but for small space and balcony gardens we also allow you to count an existing cover source like a mature tree that is visible from and adjacent to your property for this requirement. When it comes to cover sources you can provide in containers, adding grasses or a small shrub in a large pot can work well, or you can add a roosting box!

Places to Raise Young (2 sources needed): This source should be easy to provide in containers so long as you are selecting native plants! Native host plants for caterpillars, a bird house, a native bee house, and even hollow stems on your plants can all count!

Sustainable Practices (2 categories needed): Using sustainable methods in your container garden can be as simple as opting for organic potting soil, using mulch on the soil of your containers, recycling/reusing pots, avoiding chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and even borrowing and repairing garden tools!

To learn more about how to get your small space garden ready to certify, check out our resource here! Plus, take the 5-minute quiz to see if your garden is ready!