When others tilled their summer gardens, Tina Fiorito packed pots with mulch, plastic foam peanuts and potting soil.
“I’m a lazy gardener. That’s why I like container gardening. There are no weeds to pull,” said Ms. Fiorito, a retired Weight Watchers district manager who lives in Ooltewah.
At the home of Ms. Fiorito and her partner, city of Chattanooga park ranger Paul Mount, containers ring the house front to back.
Flanking the front door, for example, are large containers with 3- to 4-foot plumeria, Hawaii’s lei flower.
“I grew them from one stick (beginning two years ago),” Ms. Fiorito said. “They are my pride and joy.”
Miniature roses also are planted under rose of Sharon at the garage entrance. In the backyard, an entire vegetable garden sprouts from containers: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and more.
Along the back deck, a fiesta of Boston ferns, begonias, desert rose, coffee plant, a lime tree, butterfly bush, geraniums, petunias and kalanchoe decorate the landscape.
Ms. Fiorito grew up in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Three years ago, she wearied from 15 years in Florida and moved to Spencer, Tenn. Last year, she and Mr. Mount relocated to Ooltewah.
“I tired of the high cost of living and wanted a better way of life. We love it here. It has four seasons, and manners are alive and well in the South,” Ms. Fiorito said.
East Tennessee’s climate is also good for gardening, she said.
“Gardening has always been a passion for me, but I didn’t do a lot in Florida because it was too hot,” she said. “Here, the weather is similar to New York, yet New York gets is a much colder winter, so this the best of both worlds.”
Q&A with tina fiorito
Q: How do you care for your plants?
A: In winter, I keep many of the hardier plants in my garage, where they drop leaves and go dormant. I bring all my houseplants outdoors when the weather is above 40 degrees. Then, I repot if they need it but only after it warms up.
Q: What are your favorites?
A: My biggest love is the tree roses. I didn’t realize I have a knack for them. Also, I snip the stems and put them in a vase or turn them upside down and hang in the garage to dry. That’ll be a little bit of summer for me in the wintertime.
Q: What are a couple of good tricks for growing in containers?
A: In my (Hamilton County) Master Gardener class this spring I learned something from Ooltewah Nursery and Landscaping Co. that works very well. I pack a pot with one-third styrofoam peanuts at the bottom, then one-third pine bark or mulch, then one-third potting soil. If you do all dirt it would be much too heavy. And I’ve noticed the drainage is great, even on little plants. Also, I’m not a fan of clay pots, They’re too heavy.”
Q: How do you save money?
A: I try to recycle things. For example, an industrial company down the street threw away a large wooden box. I thought it would make a good container. I reuse my soil every year, and I start my seeds in a Coke bottle cut in half.
Q: Do you water often?
A: I water pretty much every night. On vacation, I taped upside-down soda bottles into Aqua Spikes. The water dripped into the pots slowly while I was gone.
Staff Photos by Angela Lewis
A planter of begonias hangs from the deck of Tina Fiorito’s Ooltewah home.
Staff Photos by Angela Lewis
Tina Fiorito does all of her gardening in containers at her Ooltewah home. She grows flowers, vegetables and herbs.
Staff Photos by Angela Lewis
Tina Fiorito said proper drainage helps her container plants thrive.
