Featured Article in SouthWest Metro Magazine
Victoria’s Meg Adams Plants Gardens for All Seasons
A local container-gardening expert keeps gardens looking fresh year-round.
Meg Adams of Divine Containers in Victoria creates gardens for all seasons.
NOVEMBER 2016
By the time November arrives to the seasonal party, many gardeners have put their gardens to bed, but Meg Adams, owner of Divine Containers, says the festivities are still in full swing. As owner of an all-season container-gardening business, Adams’ creations transform right along with the calendar, and she says outdoor arrangements are not just about curb appeal. “I think it adds beauty that draws you into the space,” Adams says. “It can be like interior design. It can be an extension of your personality.”
Divine Containers offers residential and retail/commercial clients quality service.
“Meg does amazing work, and she’s very detail oriented,” Kelly Gavin says. Over the last few years, Gavin and Adams have developed a creative rapport, often emailing floral design ideas back and forth. Gavin appreciates the way Adams incorporates her ideas or unique finds into the Gavins’ window boxes and front and deck planters. “At this point, I just trust her and say, ‘Go ahead, and surprise me,’” she says.
Adams employs a staff of six seasonal part-time workers including her sister, Molly Johnson. The sisters grew up in Michigan, and Adams recalls enjoying gardening with her family. About 10 years ago, Adams felt it was time to transition out of her career as an aerobics instructor into another space she loved—gardening. Adams began creating outdoor floral arrangements for friends, and her business blossomed about five years ago. She coined the moniker Divine Containers for her business because of the influence her faith plays in her life. “For me, it’s always a central reminder of His divinity I get to work with,” Adams says. “He’s grown it; I plant it.”
She also finds inspiration by visiting area garden shops to see what’s new and interesting. “I’m a visual learner,” she says, spotlighting Minneapolis’ Tangletown Gardens, Tonkadale Greenhouse in Minnetonka and Bachman’s as favorites.
Adams continues to look for new ways to spruce up fall and winter garden containers. After the first hard frost, blooming plants bid adieu, but container gardening can continue to take on fresh, seasonal hues and textures. While the classic additions of berries, sugar pine and red dogwood branches are favored by clients leaning to more classic design, others are pining for new elements. Gavin is partial to the contrasting colors of magnolia leaves that Adams has featured. “People are enjoying more color contrast,” Adams says, adding “Birch [tree elements] are a really a hot one.” Rather than sticking to the branches, she says using birch balls or bark can add fresh interest. “People are getting interested in seeing different things,” she says.
Photo by Emily Davis
Growing A Container Garden
Container gardening is growing in popularity, and Meg Adams, owner of Divine Containers, says there are some pitfalls to avoid, including placing the wrong flowers in the wrong space.
Gardeners should pay keen attention to plants’ sunlight and shade needs. She also cautions against reusing soil from previous years. “It’s just nutritionally void,” she says, adding it’s not enough to add fertilizers to used soil and recommends using new soil for at least part of the container. Watering too little or too much can be problematic, and Adams says planting containers should feature drainage holes to guard against root rot or over watering.
