Gingerbread Farm Perennials in Wayne, Maine, is taking the small-side philosophy to the extreme. Inside its 8,200 square feet of heated and 2,400 square feet of unheated greenhouses, the grower/retailer produces annuals and perennials in containers that are best described as outrageous.

On a single bench Gingerbread customers might see impatiens growing in antique teapots, geraniums planted in hand-painted, terra-cotta containers and colorful ceramic bowls filled with a mix of annuals and perennials.

Trying the unusual

Owners Anna and Charlie Cushman and their son-in-law/manager Gregory Black know that unusual products are a way for their company to excel. While the company produces annuals in cell packs and 4-inch pots, it's the oddities that stand out in customers' minds.

"We started noticing more sales of the specialty pots about two summers ago," Black said. "Anything will work as long as it has some crevice to hold soil and it's planted with the proper-sized plant for the amount of soil it will hold."

Many of the unusual items used as containers are found at rummage sales, but some are found right on the property. Anna has been known to bring abandoned birdhouses from the woods surrounding the property to the greenhouses, fill them with growing media and plant them.

Gingerbread Farm Perennials has a working business relationship with a local gift boutique. An artist at the boutique hand-paints plants and landscape scenes on terra-cotta containers that are planted at the greenhouses. The items are then sold at both the greenhouse and boutique.

Tricky to grow

Plants produced in many of the specialty containers, particularly those that hold a small amount of growing medium, are difficult to grow. Plants are hand-watered and some need to be watered several times a day, particularly during summer.

For smaller-sized containers, SuperSorb from Aquatrols, a water-absorbing gel, is incorporated into the growing medium to help retain water longer. The gel doesn't reduce the number of waterings, but it does help prevent some plant wilting due to lack of water.

"We tell our customers that the smaller a container is, the harder it is to keep going. In addition to telling them to water them often we tell them that the plants have to be cut back often," Black said. "When the root space is that small, the plants can't sustain very much top growth."

Mixing it up

Mixed bowls and hanging baskets also have an eclectic flair at Gingerbread Farm. Wicker containers designed for wall hanging are filled with fuchsias, ivies and other trailing plants. Preplanted window boxes are popular items, Black said, and they are often planted with helichrysum and petunias, particularly the Wave series.

Anna and Black both plant mixed containers -- and their styles vary. She prefers the cottage garden look so her bowls have more flowers and a variety of colors. Black works harder to blend complementary colors and textures. The pair's differing styles give customers more to choose from.

"I'll put together some mixed containers that have no flowers at all," Black said. "I'll mix things like hostas and other plants with interesting leaf shapes and colors."

The first thing Black looks at when mixing a container is its shape. For bowls and other shorter items, plants that will grow high and trailing plants are not that important.

For taller containers though, he likes using upright plants in the center and plants that will trail around the side to accent the shape of the pot.

Colors are important, too. With blue containers, Black tries to use plants with complementary blue (or close to blue) colors. With green containers, he prefers plants with yellow or chartreuse shades. White containers look sharp with red and yellow plants.

Plants with blue foliage, Black said, will go with just about anything.

For more: Gingerbread Farm Perennials, Old Winthrop Road, R.R.1 Box 3590, Wayne, ME 04284; phone/fax (207) 685-4050.

. © 2000 Branch-Smith Publishing