Think container gardening is just for urban dwellers? Those folks who frame their entry ways with plants in big pots and grow vegetables on their apartment balcony? Well, think again.

Gardening in a container makes for stress-free gardening. Who couldn’t use a little less stress? Container gardening saves you precious time and energy. The container is easier to reach, even if it’s just a raised bed in your yard. Since the container is simpler to get your hands into, you spend less time preparing the soil and getting your plants in. There’s far less space for weeds. Add in ease of watering and plant care and you begin to understand why container gardeners are happy gardeners.

Containers aren’t just for flowers and houseplants. These days, more people are growing their own vegetables. Many varieties of vegetables are available in bush form, so gardeners no longer need space for sprawling vines. You can find bush tomatoes, cucumber and even zucchini at local nurseries. Beans, peppers and eggplant do well in containers. Herbs are a favorite for indoor containers.

Visit a big box garden center and you’ll find containers of all sorts. Big containers, small containers, containers of plastic and metal and clay. You’ll also find prices you may not want to pay. It’s time to get creative with your containers. It’s time to visit the Penn State Extension Master Gardener exhibit at the Butler Farm Show, running through Saturday.

The theme for this year’s Master Gardener exhibit is Creative Containers. In addition to jeans and work boots planted with flowers, you’ll find a variety of used and unusual items that have been transformed into planters and gardens that save money and make gardening easier.

Eileen Stroup, in her 10th year as chair of the exhibit, has outdone herself in creating a display that demonstrates how recycling common household items can make plants more accessible. “Using hanging soda pop bottles for plants brings the garden to a level that is easy to reach,” Stroup says. She continues, “In addition, using containers for gardening means a lot less weeding.”

The exhibit demonstrates a variety of ways to use containers for herbs and vegetables. You’ll find container ideas that will interest children and containers that are just plain pretty. The bottom line is that recycling used items like pop bottles and old pallets can make your gardening easier by making your plants more accessible. At the same time, you nourish your inner artist and add charm and visual interest to your surroundings. Top it off with saving money and keeping these items out of the landfill.

Don’t miss the Master Gardener exhibit at the Farm Show. Not only will you come away with useful ideas about container gardening techniques, you’ll find information on plant diseases, with pictures, to help identify problems in your garden. In discussing what people like to talk about at the Farm Show exhibit, Stroup says, “One thing is consistent, by the second week of August, 80 percent of our questions are about tomatoes—tomato bugs and blights and varieties and old wives’ tales about planting tomatoes.”

Another reason for stopping by the Master Gardener exhibit is the opportunity to get a look at Stroup’s artistic talents because the Master Gardeners always have the most visually exciting exhibit at the show.

You might decide to become a Penn State Extension Master Gardener yourself. Talk with the Master Gardeners at the booth to learn what the program’s all about. The next Master Gardener classes will begin in fall of 2013.

Susan Struthers is a Butler County Penn State Master Gardener.