Flowerpots' Last Hurrah

We had some good times this summer, these flowers and I.

 

[These pictures were taken about a month ago, before hard frost had set in.]

 

 The succulent boat in front sent up alien stems with strange little blooms on them.

 

The geraniums (middle) were awash with color at several different points, despite uneven watering.

The herb container didn't do much of anything, actually.

It smelled nice for a few months.

And would you look at that asparagus fern?

Incredible! It almost makes the dead bellflowers look picturesque (or so I tell myself.)

The round blue pot in front obviously gave up quite some time ago.

These were pretty awesome while they lasted.

Now in death, they too have taken on alien life forms.

 

I might have mentioned it [twenty times] before, but the decision to get our yard done pretty much sucked the gardening life out of me there at the end of the summer.

I didn't have access to water outside for a good month and a half while the yard was graded and the sprinkler system put in. This all coincided with a decent heat wave. By the time the thought occurred to me that I could actually water these containers with a pitcher of house water, it was too late for most of the flowers.

 

I did finally get them all winterized a few weeks ago (before hard frost killed off the succulents.)

Go me!

The succulents now live inside as houseplants, where the lack of water will probably not come as a shock to their systems at all. I couldn't willfully kill off the asparagus ferns, so in the end I planted them all in my vegetable garden, bottom terrace, front and center.

They are still green, even after 2+ weeks of below freezing temperatures!

 

All the flowerpots are now tucked safely away in the shed.

I have high hopes that next year will be better all around.

We'll have a lawn that we can walk on!

That makes a pretty good starting place, I'd say.

Containers Filled

As work on the garden expansion continues, I decided today would be a good day to get all my containers planted.

 

True to form, I did purples and pinks across the board.

Like last year, I put in a few perennials, which I plan to plant in my flowerbeds come fall. 

Here's what we've got:

 

#1: Tall & Skinny Blue Pot

This is all herbs this year.

I've got a pineapple sage (just for fun), plus one sweet basil and one purple basil 'Amethyst Improved.' I wanted rosemary, too, but have yet to find it for sale.

 

#2: Dark Blue Pot

Carpathian Bellflower (Campanula carpatica) in the middle, with 3 wave petunias spaced around it. Yes, it looks a little strange right now, but soon those petunias will start billowing, and I wanted something tall enough to still be seen over the petunias.

The bellflower will go in my front flowerbed this fall.

I already have the perfect spot picked out!

#3: Round blue pot

Loaded with pinks this time--literally!

Every year a dianthus practically leaps into my cart. This was the one!

Also in this one, 1 wave petunia in purple, light pink calibrachoa, and a few deep pink stems of stock.  I'm hoping once the dianthus is done with its main blooming, the rest will keep it going through the summer.

 

#4: Gray-Green Pot

These are "Regal" geraniums. They were each going to go in a separate container, but as the name might suggest, they did not play well with others. At least not the others I already had purchased. The pink has some deep red undertones that clashed with my other pink stuff, once I brought it home.

So they got their very own container, with only a few white lobelia on either side to share it with.

I hope Their Majesties are satisfied, and keep giving me those gorgeous blossoms all summer.

 

#5: Green Pot

 The tall plants sticking up are Snapdragons, 'Rocket Mix'. I have never tried snapdragons in a container before--or at all, actually. So I have no idea how this will go.

Also in there: white stock, deep pink & yellow calibrachoa, pink petunia.

I don't love it, but we'll see how it looks when things start to fill in a little more.

 

#6: Blue Boat

Last, but certainly not least, is the succulent boat.

No petunias this time to steal the show!

Clockwise from top left:

Blue Chalk Fingers 'Serpents' (Senecio vitalis). The tag says it produces white flower clusters and it's actually supposed to grow 12-18" high.

Jade 'Hobbit' (crassula ovate)

Zebra plant (Haworthia fasciata)  This one is my favorite!

Hens & chicks, which survived the winter in my back flowerbed.

Senecio 'Blazin' Glory' (Senecio cephalophorus) Supposed to have bright orange blooms

Aeonium 'Tip Top' (Aeonium arborescens)

 

I may move them a little closer together and put a couple others in there, as well.

And yes, I am planning to bring most of them inside this fall.

 

Do I really have SIX containers?

It's more than I thought, but still doesn't seem like enough!



Front Landscaping: Bottom Terrace Shrubs & Plants

The Plan:

 

1. Complement but not compete with the blossoms in the middle terrace.

2. Add evergreens for winter/early spring interest.

3. Fill in & help soften all that rock, but not get taller than the next wall up!

(No pruning to see the flowers, please!)

 

So, here's what we've got:

 

Starting at the driveway.

 

Some of my gift plants!

hardy geranium, liriope, and purple bellflower 

 

Potentilla 'Primrose Beauty', moved from the back flowerbed. Why the move?

 

Its gray foliage against the strong blue of the house made it practically invisible back there.

Plus, it was fighting with tulips for space in the spring, and probably would be too close to the flowering almond when they both grew to full-size.

 

But mostly, it was invisible!

You could hardly see it from 5 feet away.

 

So, anyway, I'm liking it up front here much better.

I can actually see it, for one.

Also, it should be just the right size for this spot.

As a bonus, its wiry stems don't mind getting snow thrown on them in the winter, so it's perfect for right next to the driveway.

 

Moving down front more:

English Laurel 'Otto Luyken'

Prunus laurocerasus

3' tall, 6' wide

Cold hardy to -10 (zone 6)

Dwarf form, with showy white flower spikes and small black fruit.

 

1-2 more each of the bellflower, liriope, and hardy geranium.

Surrounding the water meter are purple bearded irises, transplanted from the back flowerbed.

I plan to tuck some bulbs in here as well.

I'm thinking mini-daffodils and crocuses would be charming.

Another 'Otto Luyken' Laurel

 

As these laurels grow to fill in the space, the irises will be easy to transplant elsewhere. In the meantime, I'm really hoping the foliage of the irises will cover most of that lovely water meter, while still providing access when needed.

Nothing like a big slab of cement in the middle of a flowerbed to improve aesthetics.

Moving left:

blue Siberian Iris (from VWGarden)

purple bearded iris (transplanted from back flowerbed)

pink daylily (in front--also from VWGarden)

 

There's at least 2-3 or each type here.

I hope they play nicely and look good together!

It will be interesting to see how bloom times coincide...or not.

After that they're supposed to provide some height, leaf shape contrast, and greenery the rest of the summer.

At least, that's the idea.

2 Boxwoods 'Green Velvet', 3-4' tall & wide

'Rosy Glow' Red Barberry (Berberis t atro), 3-4' tall, 2-3' wide

 

I'm hoping the barberry will echo the purple coneflowers planted above it, without competing.

 

This little section is very similar to the first one.

Siberian iris, bearded iris, and pink daylily.

 

I can't remember what kind of hydrangea this was and I've lost the tag.

If I find it, I'll come back and add the info.

I know it was not Endless Summer or Incredi-Ball.

Hmmm... ? ? ?

  

 2 'Green Gem' Boxwoods, 2-3' tall and wide

'Golden Ruby' Barberry, 2' tall and wide 

Closeup of the 'Golden Ruby' Barberry

 

The wall gets shorter on this end, hence the smaller shrub varieties.

 

 

Oregon Grape, or Grape Holly

Mahonia aquifolium

3-6' tall and wide

Evergreen.

Bright yellow flowers in spring, followed by edible blue-black berries.

This corner of the terrace gets a bit more shade, which should be fine for this shrub.

 

The only problem is it's small size (this was the only one the nursery had left!) Right now it's got a whole lot of empty space around it, but I figure I can always put some annuals to fill in until it grows up a little.

All this rain we've gotten the last 2 weeks has been great for all my new transplants.
I hope they get all settled in just in time for frost.

One Last Container

I've had these plant tags on my desk for 3 weeks now--time to get them recorded!

Yes, I planted a container in August.

Maybe not so savvy.

Quite possibly a waste of money.

But I have to admit, I love it!

 

Here's what's in it:

Coleus 'Plum Good' (trailing)

Oxalis 'Plum Crazy' --purple shamrocks, so cool!

Geranium 'Elegance Royalty White'

Calibrachoa 'Double Magenta'

For being mostly foliage, it has turned out to be one of my favorite arrangements. So maybe it was worth the end-of-the-season splurge after all. Next year I'll know just what to look for!

Pots, revisited

Doing fairly well.

I don't love it, but looks good enough for now. I think it needs something else to tie it together--not sure what though.

 

The 'raspberry twizzle' geranium is finally starting to bloom, which pulls these colors together a bit more. The bright calibrocha here is a bit overpowering.

And now that this verbena is blooming, I'm realizing that it's ORANGE, not pink!

I may have to start over with this one.

Find a spot for the orange verbena and perhaps even for the other two and just try again.

So they are all doing fine, I'm not completely happy with the colors and combinations I've got going on.

I may buy some other petunias at Shopko's clearance sale (if I didn't already miss it) and give it another try.

A Few Flowers

Front of house

 This bush out front is starting to bloom.

Not sure what it is at the moment.

This was before pruning. You can see quite a few dead branches in there.

Once I got up close and started pruning, I cut it back quite a bit.

It opened up the middle and unfortunately, cut off many of the branches with flowering tips (that were dead or very scraggly until further down.) 

Slope

 Lupines and daisies

 Wood hyacinth behind the shed

 Some violas came back after all!

These are in front of the apple tree behind the shed.

transplanted geraniums blooming, but almost covered up by weeds 

East side of house

In case you missed it earlier: a whole side of the house filled with wild daisies!

I love these! They are so cheerful. They also spread quite well.

I may transplant some more up onto the slope to compete with the grass.

Flower Pots

This year I'm trying a pink and yellow color scheme for the pots.

This one has 2 geraniums: the light pink you can see blooming, plus one "Raspberry Twizzle"

Also, 2 'Madness Yellow' petunias.

I may still add one more something between the pink geranium and those petunias. 

This smaller pot has 1 'Raspberry Twizzle' geranium, 2 'Madness Yellow' petunias, and 1 'Royal Iced Cherry' Verbena, which is supposed to be about the same shade of bright pink as the geranium.

This one out front has the 1 pink geranium, and one 'Twister Pink' Verbena (white edges and pink middles). I bought a yellow Calibrachoa (looks like small yellow petunias) to add to this pot.

Then at Walmart yesterday, I got 2 Martha Washington geraniums, with oak-like leaves and the huge blooms. They are so pretty! But I'm all out of pots. So I may either put them in the back flowerbed or buy another pot...hee hee.

Flowerbed and slope tour

Let's start with the back flowerbed.

After about 2.5 hours of weeding yesterday, I got about half of it done. I even started on the neglected half, digging up some positively huge dandelions.

 As you can see, even with a decent-sized portion hacked off this spring for transplanting, the geraniums have grown bigger and bushier than ever. New plans are to put in an A/C condenser unit right about there, so I probably need to find a new home for all of that bushiness. Looks healthy.

Incidentally, the transplanted ones on the slope are getting a bit of competition from dandelions, but seem to be holding their own ok.

 Some of the pansies and violas I planted right before baby came.

They are right next to the hoses. I need to be watering the back ones more, since they don't get any of the rain that comes along.

 These beauties are back.

 Irises growing tall. Also, please note, nicely weeded. (At leat this end!)

Slope

Crocuses just blooming behind the shed, so they're almost 2 weeks behind.

 Still not sure which ones these are--maybe the wood hyacinths?

Also behind the shed.

 More of the same (as above).

 Asiatic daylilies coming up.

Daffodils just blooming next to the garden/aspens.

 Alliums, lupine, blueberry bush in front with no leaves yet.

 Looking at shed through aspen.

I just liked the way these lacy leaves framed the view.

Apple tree leaves coming out.

Our new birdfeeder.

Slope work

I noticed a few more bulbs making progress with today's warm weather.

These were on the slope, behind the shed.

Looking back at last year's posts, I think they are both tulips.

They look so striking with the multi-colored leaves.

Geraniums

I finally got started on moving these geraniums out of the back flowerbed, and onto the slope.

As I started digging them up, I realized they must have really needed dividing anyway. Several of the tufts of leaves were connected to a big, mostly rotten stem/root about a foot long. I broke off all but about 4-5 inches on each one and replanted them in the little groups you can see, above.

I dug up a bunch of dead grass to put them in. Not sorry about that at all! I like the contrasting shape of their leaves back there. Their rounder shape echoes the heuchera up higher.

There is still a good-sized patch to dig up in the flowerbed. Besides the fact that I just ran out of time, I also want to wait a bit and see where the bulbs come up that I planted last fall, since I didn't really mark the locations at all. I wouldn't want to dig up any of those in my zeal to replace ugly dead grass with fresh green geraniums.

I'm not sure that they will thrive back there, but if they don't, they'll be easy to pull out and replace. And for now, they already make it look tons better!