Container Garden Soil Toppers

Looking for an easy way to make your container garden more interesting? Consider adding some soil toppers around the base of your plant. This is especially effective for plants where the soil is exposed, like with my amaryllis bulbs shown below. These soil toppers will also help keep your soil moist longer, and can prevent curious house pets from digging around in your dirt.

I used small pebbles and shells collected from local beaches in my pots, but there are plenty of options. Just remember to pile the toppers no more than half an inch to an inch thick, so you can still stick your finger down into the soil to check to see if it needs to be watered. Also make sure that the toppers you choose won’t leach any damaging chemicals into your soil, and give anything you choose a good rinse in a colander before adding them to your container garden. Here are some other soil toppers to try:

• Spanish moss
• Aquarium gravel
• Glass or plastic gems
• Sand
• Marble chips
• River rocks
• Beads
• Corks
• Crushed shells
• Wood chips

Need help choosing a container for your plants? Try this handy chart!