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A few years ago, my friend Laura Altvater (of Mostly Medicinals) put together this great edible container handout for Portland Nursery.  It has some really imaginative themed combinations, as well as a container idea for a shady situation, and one for hot and dry.

I’ve had this lying around for a while, not wanting to toss it, but not knowing quite what to do with it either.  So yesterday I decided to scan it and put it out as an inspirational morsel for folks who are gearing up for Spring planting.  Click the images below, or download it as a .pdf (1.5 mb) here.  Check out another great post about mixed containers here.

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Wow! Jumping back into the saddle after months without a murmur here.  Life has been busy with some notable projects, a vision plan for the Pacific University Center for Sustainability Education and a community food garden at Nike’s international headquarters.

There are a few lose threads hanging around here, so I thought I’d immediately jump on one.  As promised back in May (eek!),  here are some resources for highly-aesthetic container gardens, when scrappy-looking ones using random materials just won’t do.  If you’re looking for introductory information, here is a post from a while back with great links.
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Live in an apartment or condo building with patch of under-utilized grass, ornamental landscape beds, or accessible roof-top? Why not pitch a community garden to the owner or property manager?

You could do what the folks at the MilePost 5 development here in Portland have done and make it a collaborative effort with a SPIN farmer, who installed and manages the garden, with residents volunteering their time in the garden and getting a share of the produce. It’s a win-win-win situation: residents get produce, dirt time, and gardening knowledge; SPIN farmer gets a plot and free labor; property managers/owners rest assured that the garden is professionally managed and won’t become an eyesore (a common objection).