Planting a Strawberry Pot

Vietnamese potters are casting large strawberry pots which are finding their way to nurseries and garden centers. This one, which is four feet high, is very heavy, but the large size helps it make a presence in the garden. I am using it as a centerpiece in one of my raised beds.

Strawberry pots, once a folly of the Victorian gardener, are making a comeback, but rarely do they see strawberry plants, more often than not, they are planted with succulents, or herbs. Today, the once novel strawberry pot can be a useful garden ornament. Truth be told, the strawberry is still more ornamental than functional, but why not celebrate it’s brief history by potting one up with real strawberries, as the Victorian loved to do with the pocketed clay containers.
My choice this summer will be a pink flowered wild strawberry, as well as a white flowered French hybrid of the wild strawberry. I sort-of like the idea of not planting beautiful colors or even sempervivums and succulents, as I normally do, opting for simplicity – just strawberry plants.

My strawberry plants, hardened off after spending a few weeks in the cold greenhouse, are ready to be planted into the strawberry pot.

Since the puppies will be tearing up the garden for a good part of their first year, ( note the wire!), I am trying to be creative with what I can grow. Artichokes, and container plants may rule the summer garden.