A lush window box full of fragrant rosemary. Hanging baskets with ivy tumbling over the sides. A pair of old leather boots with hens and chicks growing out of holes in the toe.

Getting excited? Well, contain yourself. Literally.

Get a grip – on a moss-grown terra cotta planter, a new galvanized bucket, an antique wire basket or anything else that strikes your fancy (and I mean anything) – and get growing. In the container garden, anything goes, and almost anything grows.

In “Containers” ($12.95, Ryland, Peters & Small), a pack of 40 inspirational how-to cards, author David Grist gives containers a creative twist. If the idea of red geraniums in a window box leaves you yawning, Grist’s elegant, simple box of rosemary may wake you right up. Or you could suspend galvanized buckets full of sunny marigolds, black-eyed Susans and mums from the side of your house.

Love fresh produce but hate weeding? Try Grist’s “potted kitchen garden,” an attractive collection of terra cotta vessels filled with onions, multicolored chard and baby carrots. Lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, summer squash, peppers, eggplants and pole beans will work just as well.

For Wendy Tasker, who owns The Petal Patch Greenhouse in Eddington, flowers are the thing. She specializes in container gardens, and over the past 10 years, she’s filled everything from urns to boots, clam baskets to baby shoes, with blossoms.

“I try to make up a lot of containers just so people get ideas,” Tasker said on a recent

windy day. “I enjoy doing the mixes. It’s just kind of fun to do.”

When you walk into The Petal Patch, one of the first containers that catches your eye is a folk art-style “U.S.A.” bucket filled with red geraniums and cascades of white and blue lobelia. Tasker also likes to mix foliage plants, such as vibrant coleus, chartreuse sweet potato vine and silvery, spiky “icicle” helichrysum, with vibrant flowers such as petunias and daisies.

“There are so many new varieties,” she said.

And the combinations are nearly endless. Foliage containers in varying textures can make a stylish statement without flowers. A balance of trailing plants and upright growers, especially in a hanging basket, adds to the visual intrigue. Tasker favors a bold color palette – she loves a mix of dark red geraniums, purple verbena and orange African daisy.

“I wouldn’t wear orange, purple and red together for clothing, but I like them in a mix,” she said. “Pastels are pretty, but given something like that, you’ll notice it from afar.”

No matter how pretty a container looks, it won’t matter if you don’t take care of it. That’s why Tasker takes her clients’ lifestyles into account when she designs a planter for them. For example, impatiens and begonias don’t need to be fertilized as often as other flowering plants; scaevola, with its fanlike purple and yellow flowers, can take a fair amount of abuse; and even if you forget to water your geraniums for a few days, they won’t show it.

“I design them with maintenance and time in mind,” she said.

If you design your own container, don’t be afraid to experiment – your imagination is the only limit. Choose a container, whether it’s an old bucket or a new window box, and fill it to the brim with colors, textures and flavors that appeal to you. Have fun – the season’s too short not to.

Just try to contain your enthusiasm.

Kristen Andresen can be reached at 990-8287 and kandresen@bangordailynews.net.

The Petal Patch Greenhouse is located on Chemo Pond Road in Eddington and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until Tasker sells out of plants. For information, call 843-7399. “Containers,” published by Ryland, Peters & Small, costs $12.95 and is available online at www.amazon.com.

Container garden tips

. You’re spending a small fortune on plants, so invest in a good soilless potting mix, such as Pro-Mix. For organic gardeners, Kinney Fish & Farm container mix is a good start.

. When you begin, consider mixing slow-release fertilizer and water-retaining crystals into the soil.

. Encourage blossoms by deadheading (removing spent blooms) frequently.

. Know your schedule. If you’re too busy, lazy or forgetful to devote a lot of time to your container garden, go for low-maintenance plants that don’t require deadheading.

. Fertilize once a week (Tasker recommends Miracle-Gro).

. Containers dry out much more quickly than the ground – especially those made of unglazed terra cotta or cocoa moss. Water thoroughly once a day.

. Pack containers tightly with annuals. The season is too short for them to spread, and if they’re sparsely planted, they’ll dry out more quickly.