Flower power

Something not baby related. (Yes there is a life beyond baby). 

I finished all the outside flowers 3 days before she arrived. Nothing like last minute here

The potato vine is facing in towards our deck, so the deer can't eat them. 

There is lemon balm to help with mosquitos control. The outside facing flowers aren't attractive to the deer. 

I like this small pot, if we have people over it is small enough to put on our patio table

The deer love this pot!!!

The deer love my host as

The greeter at our front door

Needing a home 

And the blooms in these popped while we were having Lizzie 

The munchers the baby fawn is small, so I give mama a break for eating my geraniums 

Spring Flowers

Crazy me is not giving up on planting this year. These are going to customer sites over the next week.

I will work on stuff at the house after that ( likely Memorial Day weekend )

For those that saw them on Instagram and wondered what plants were what..

I like to have a couple of bigger plants that are "thrillers"  and then "spillers" which will trail over the sides.

King tut grass that is the "Center" tall item of the pots. The tag below is hard to see, so extra picture of them in the pot.

I'm not normally a geranium girl, but hubs convinced me they looked pretty.

Also known in some parts as million bells

Another new plant for me. They are mostly green now, and waiting for them to pop with color.

I've used this before. Looks a lot like Perennial Sedum, with pretty little flowers

this will grow and add a nice silvery color to the pots.

as long as no deer around, these will flourish in the pots.

the final product.


I always top off my pots with a fresh 2-3" of a moisture control -soil. It helps keep them fresh, if they don't get watered every day. I like to take it to the top of the pots so the trailing stuff doesn't  have to "jump" over a big lip.


These pots are about 2 1/2 feet wide.


Next week I'll show you some much larger pots that I do..

Gardening on: a budget

Spring has Sprung!!

Daffodils are the first sign of spring in my yard. We have a bunch that come up in the woods. Best part about them, they come back year after year, with little to no effort on my part. They are an awesome pop of color after the long dull brown winter.

So many people know the business my husband is in, so they ask for lots of tips this time of year. Everyone is so over the winter blah's and is ready to spruce up their piece of the Earth.

What are the biggest constraints homeowners have in making their place what they want.
A) TIME
B) MONEY

I'm going to offer some suggestions for Spring on how to achieve some of your outdoor goals without breaking the bank. 

For the record, my experience is in the Midwest with hardiness zones 5-6. If you don't know what zone you are, you can look Here to find out.

Without breaking the bank tips:
Attend a Plant Swap -- They are generally held in the spring..when it is perfect time to divide up your perennials

Start from Seed- annuals  & veggies - ( not for everyone -- will take a while for color ) the Pro to this is seed packets are inexpensive.

Farmers Market finds  --I often find awesome deals at farmers markets.

Out of Season Perennials -- Once nursery stock is past it's prime, they usually discount the plants, because who wants to buy a shriveled up looking plant..  Yes I DO !  because it will be 75% off & come back next year looking perfect.   A nursery by me has what they call a "hospital area". I love looking to see what I can get a bargain on.

Craigslist or bartering sites- in our area, many people post things for free; including plants, rocks, and landscape materials, they are looking to get rid of, all you have to do is pick it up.

Help a neighbor in their yard; in exchange for some divided plants. ( hostas, daylilies, sedum, herbs, all divide up well ) I have a neighbor who I often help and she repays in plants that have overgrown their spot; or divides them up & gives me some.

Purchase bare root plants - less expensive than fully bloomed varities; the downfall, is you may not see the full potential of your labors, for another year.   Great tips on Planting bulbs  Packaged bulbs are less expensive than their expensive potted versions..

Construction site finds. I am always on the lookout for plants in the way of construction. **disclaimer** please be sure to ask before you dig, as you can be considered trespassing if you don't have permission. I've saved lilacs, daylilies, and hostas from the bulldozer.

Join a garden club. Gets you in touch with other gardeners, most gardeners like to share their plant species with other people.

Perennials  I try to use as many perennial plants as possible. Reserve annual plants for pops of instant color or places you can't plant flowers, like pots on a deck. Perennials come in many colors, and they come back year to year.

Every town has an inexpensive plant nursery. We drive about 45 minutes to a resonably priced plant nursery, that is well worth the drive. Prices are around 1/2 off the regular prices in my area. I never buy from the big box stores ( the orange place or the blue store ).. .. stuff is usually over priced; and generally not help in picking out selections there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So how have I put all these into action around my house.. My house, is like the shoemakers children, often neglected, bare-footed if you will. We really have not purchased a lot of plants around our house; partly because I hate to send good plants to the landfill.

So we have 3 foot egg rock borders on the rear of our house foundation; courtesy of rock that was going to go to the landfill. We purchased black diamond edging to finish it off.   rock is $$$ a ton.

On the shade side of our house, we have a border of Hostas, courtesy of a construction project where they were going to be tore out and disposed of.

On the sunny side of our house we have a border of daylilies courtesy of a church building project and they were not a part of the new design.

I have an herb garden, of plants from a plant swap.  Chives, Marjoram, Thyme, and Mint. I supplement it with annual herbs each year.

I have another garden started from bare root plants, raspberries, strawberries, hostas, roses, daylilies.

I have some various plants from my neighbor, when she divides or thinks I need some of her roots.

I keep room in my veggie garden area, for donations, until I find the perfect spot in my yard. I never refuse "free" plants. I always am willing to dig something up & share with a friend if needed too.




Next I will write about :
Most common thing people ask for: C O L O R    How do I add Color to my landscape.

Planter for full sun.

So I've got one last container up my sleeve. I went into more detail here, about how to plant & prepare yourcontainer for planting.

 

These are some big pots also, like before. These things last for a long time.. We've had this one for about 6 years. I'm kinda getting sick of it..So I planted these & have them at the end of our driveway trying to sell them.

 

So in the big pots are : Bluebird (blue flowering plant) , Gloria-Euphorbia ( little white flowers),  Petite licorice plant, pretty much picasso supertunia( purple & green ),  varigated potato vine, and Corkscrew rush twister (juncus effusus) in the middle.

 

 

supertunia's look better  in this pot.

 

Again, water, water, water!!

Might get one more planter out of me, if I ever get to making something for my house. I still haven't planted flats of flowers at my front porch either.  Such is life.. put others first.

Planters for (sm)all spaces

 I realize not everyone has room for large containers, or wants large containers.

So here are some planters that are designed for smaller spaces.

 

This one the pot is about 10" high..  and 6X6" and somewhat of a contemporary design. It's metal too. I wish I would have got a couple more when I purchased it originally.

It's got one fountain grass in it. & 3 rainbow coleus in it.

I keep it on my front porch  or if we are having people over on the deck, I'll move it out there. This is so small& versatile I can move it effortlessly.  As with the other big potters. 1/2 of it is filled with packing peanuts for drainage & the rest with the magic soil, that helps if I don't water it everyday.

 

This is what it starts out looking like before plants go in.

 

Now for those who might have a balcony / deck as their only source of plant area.

 

We start out with these. They fit on 2 different size deck/balcony railings.

Packing peanuts in the bottom and magic soil on top of it.

 

First one is for someone wanting color. We have Blue Lobelia , Pink moss roses.  Purple Potato vine, corkscrew rush twister( Juncus effusus) , some green sweet potato vine, and Gloria (euphorbia) -the plant with the small tiny white flowers and some more pink moss roses.  Water it & it's good to go on the deck.

want an herb garden, but don't have the space.   So this is a mix of herbs & salsa garden.

 

We have Thyme, rosemary, cilantro, cilantro, Roma tomato plant, and basil. Want to keep it all herbs.. ditch the tomato.. & spread out the basil a little more.. I picked that pot, cuz it had like 7 basil shoots in it.

 

 

 

Voila, what it looks like on the deck.

2 of Them on the deck rails.. notice where it's sitting, it can go to a smaller rail also.

I keep certain plants facing inwards ( inside of the deck) like the potato vine, because the deer love to eat them & it's perfect height for munching.. and so far, they've never made it up onto the deck.

Making of a container garden

Day in the life of the landscapers wife...

Sometimes I get to do the fun tasks. At least I think this is stress relieving & fun.

 

So we start with some containers. The dark colored containers are about 2  ft wide. and stand about 2 ft tall.  I have used them over the past couple of years.

 

If first starting out with a new planter. Make sure to drill drainage holes in the bottom. We are not making floating water gardens.  The smaller tan planter fits on a deck rail..

 

It is not recommended to fill the entire container with "dirt" Both need stones or something to allow drainage.. To make these lighter &  manageable, I use packing peanuts, it allows me to pick these up with somewhat ease. I fill the large ones about 2/3 full of peanuts & the small ones about 1/4 full.

Since I have used these containers before I scraped off about 2 inches from the top, to give it fresh soil. I a special "moisture" control mix.. It makes it easier if they don't get watered every day. It also has fertilizer in it. It is only good for the year.. So I refresh with some fresh soil each year. I fill the big pot within 1 1/2" of the top. 

This is my set up when I get ready to dig in.. My little seat is on wheels, so I can move from plants in the corner to the containers, easily. I prefer this to standing.. helps the feet.

All the choices going into the container gardens.

 

I don't specifically plan everything going into them ahead of time, for this client I am doing 2 containers, so I want them both  to be the same, so I buy in multiples of 2. I pretty much have free reign on what colors go in. I take into consideration their company colors, and what compliments their building, sun / shade requirements. These are going at an entrance which one side gets 100% south sun & the other gets only partial sun. I try to rotate them every couple of weeks, so they grow evenly.

 

Okay the meat & potatoes. The tall red leaf canna was put in first. It can grow up to 3' tall.

the small dark green leaft with little white flowers, is called starblast.  The grass that looks crazy is called Baby Tut Graceful Grass. I also put some Rosemary in there for the senses. (it's kinda hidden in the baby tut grass, you can see it a little better in the next picture)   These are all the taller items in the container.

 

To the right ( in the picture ) are some Wizard Jade Coleus . They will get tall 1' tall so they are kinda in the back of the container.

 

 

So for the front, I try to have several things that will trail over the sides.

Starting on the left silverish color, silver falls Dichondra, then Coralberry Punch Superbells, some kaleidoscope coleus that will get tall behind these, and then to the right is some Marguerite Sweet Potato Vine.

 

 

I didn't get a good picture of the tri-color sweet potato vine.. it's a pink/green leaf.

 

I put a little more dirt to clean it up and WATER.

 

No I didn't use everything in my plant stash on these 2 containers. More containers to come.

 

I'll take pictures in a month or so, to show the growing progress.

7 in 7 **Spring picture Edition **

Since I'm tired & it's late. Picture dump post.

I figure if I post some warm pictures, it will warm up outside.

 

 

daylilies

 

Hostas

 

beautiful roses

flowering trees. can't wait for Spring !

 

Love hate relationship with the animals in our yard.

I planted 2 packets of sunflower seeds.. I should have had cut flowers for about a month. Instead the only 2 sunflowers that survived the Deer & Groundhogs of my yard were these 2.  None of the mammoth seeds I planted made it. ( the heads on a mammoth, can be 12"-18" across )

The groundhog, bunnies  made a mess of my veggie garden, that I'm so embarrassed to even take a picture of it.

I have to put netting across the whole thing, to keep the deer /birds /bunnies out. Someone made it over the 2 foot fence & had a field day w/ the netting & trampled all the tomatoes/ green beans/pumpkins  that were growing. then the groundhog got in.. & it's all history now.

Since they have ate their way thru the gardens, now they are starting on my container planters. (that are on the deck) Today I discovered the groundhog demolished the purple potato vine, but apparently doesn't like Coleus, because he has not touched that . 

 

This groundhog has been caught once already, that I know of, but someone let him go, while I was at work. I suspect he has been let out of the trap more than once.. I just want to relocate this guy to some nice woods away from our neighborhood when he's caught ( this weeks challenge)