Getting Potted in the Desert Marylee Pangmans Monthly Garden Guide for Desert Pots

Being of the generation of striving for immediate gratification, the success of our potted gardens relies greatly on our ability to create gardens with instant beauty. Even though container gardens are living art that takes time to grow and evolve, I for one do not want to wait for the final result. With that in mind, I strive to help homeowners keep their money out of the compost heap and create the garden of their dreams from the very first planting. After working for 25 years in the nonprofit world, I knew I wanted to pursue a very different career. I had always dreamed of opening my own business and explored many options but could not find one that fit my goals and talents. Finally, my experience with my own potted gardens in our home inspired me to look at this as a possibility. Founding The Contained Gardener in 1998 was the niche business that tapped my creative energies as well as my long desire to open a business. I envisioned one so successful that the name The Contained Gardener would become the standard of exceptional potted landscape design, unparalleled creativity and quality in Tucson's desert community. The success of The Contained Gardener led to its eventual sale in 2012 to Sonoran Gardens Landscape Design, a local Tucson company. Since then, I have been compelled to share all that I learned from container gardening over 15 years of blistering summers and record breaking winters. With this, the Potted Desert was born. The number of gardeners starting container gardens continues to soar as consumer impatience with labor intensive projects rises. Containers are easy to create and can require minimal care. Gardeners, even retirees are busier, but they also prefer to see gardening as a relaxing pastime, not a chore. In our challenging desert climate, I see container gardening as a way to have our oasis gardens while conserving water as the demands on pots is far less than heavily planted beds.