DIY: Women's Suffrage Container

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which protects women's constitutional right to vote, I created a container of annual flowers in the colors of the suffrage movement -- purple, white, and gold. I was inspired to do this project by this story in the Upstate Gardener's Journal. This past winter, I visited the exhibit on the faces behind the votes for women at the National Portait Gallery. It was both educational and emotional. We owe these women and their male allies, a great deal. 

Level: easy   Cost: minimal   Use: gardening 

Materials:

- large container with drainage holes

- potting mix

- annual plants that bloom in purple, white, and gold

- spray paint (optional)

Step 1: If you wish to color-coordinate your container, you can paint* it. For mine, I chose to spray paint it in a deep purple. Make sure it is  large container with drainage holes. I picked one that is 16-inches in diameter.

Step 2: Fill the container with a potting mix up to the lower-lip line. Use a mix that is light and specifically designed for container plantings -- e.g., not garden soil.

my plant selections

Step 3: Select your annual plants in the flower colors of the movement. I chose three that are for full-sun lovers. You could also do a part-shade or full-shade plant combination, just be sure that the plants you pick all like similar growing conditions.

Step 4: Take your annuals out of their pots and rough up/loosen the bottom roots a bit so they will spread out into the potting mix once planted. Then, plant them in a triangle pattern in the pot.

Step 5: Water them in well and place the plants in a spot where they will get their required hours of sunshine.

These plants will continue to grow and fill out the container over the coming weeks. I plan to share a few photos here of that progress. Bookmark this page to check back here in a month or so.

*Tip: Be sure to spray over and inside the container lip, so the interior color is covered as well.

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

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This is a monthly blog series on DIY projects for the beginning home gardener. Look for the other installments in this DIY blog series by putting "DIY" in the search box here at washingtongardener.blogspot.com.