For the last couple of weeks I have been trying to decide what kind of strawberries I want to grow in my garden this spring.  After studying various types and varieties I have decided to put some June-bearing plants in my front beds and grow an everbearing variety in an extra large strawberry jar.  Why an extra large jar?  Because I want more than a handful of berries at a time.

My survey of strawberry jars got me thinking about other plants that might work well in the pocketed containers.  Two summers ago I had wonderful results growing a mixture of coleus varieties in a big blue strawberry jar.  The display looked great from all four sides and the coleus were extremely happy.  Last year one of the nearby garden centers featured a jar filled with an array of herbs.  I can also imagine a jar planted with one genus of herb--say basil or thyme--and a different variety in each pocket.  There are so many nasturtium cultivars available these days that you could find more than enough to plant a different one in each pocket of even the largest size strawberry jar.  Other compact annuals would work equally well.

Of course I have already committed to buying an extra large strawberry jar and filling it with actual strawberries.  Right now I am on the lookout for "two for one" sales, so I can get a second jar to fill with something else.