New Eyesores & One Eyesore Fixed

Because most tubers/corms refuse to grow in my garden soil, I add a lot of  containers to my gardens so I will have some late summer color. All of the containers have Tropicannas, calla lilies or dahlias that will bloom in August.

I really do not like to see ugly containers sticking out of perennial gardens.  But in order to get something interesting later, I must but up with the uglies for a while in late spring.

As you can see, right now they do not look very pretty.

I added them now so that the foliage can grow around them.  It won't be long before they are hidden.

This little container is pink calla lilies.

From the front view, you can barely see it.

This big square green container of Tropicanna is quite visible right now.
 

This is the same container, just a different angle.

and a third view of the same container to show that it is visible in all directions.

I find these round black plastic containers the easiest to hide.

Here is another big green square container. I think there will be enough foliage growth to hide it completely within the next week.

The only problem with containers nestled among the foliage is that I have to find them all to water them. Bring on the rain!

Remember the big area of grass that the grubs killed?  DH has been working hard on that area and it looks so much better!

In case you don't remember what it looked like a few weeks ago, here is a reminder:

I think he has done a darn good job of making this area presentable.

Calibrachoa and Coleus Planter, Work Containers & The Beaded Tote is Finally Mine!

My latest small container planting is Calibrachoa (trailing petunia) in front of coleus for a shady area in one of my gardens. I hope it is not too shady for the fast-growing little flower.



I have been watching the price on this bag since last year.I loved it since I first saw it, but it was way  more expensive than I wanted to pay.  Last week it finally was marked at a rock-bottom close-out price AND I also found a take-30%-more-off -PLUS-FREE shipping coupon.  I couldn't click fast enough to order this fun bag.  It's big, but no so big that I can't use it as my handbag.  I have been using it the past week and have gotten so many compliments. 

I only wish it had a zipper on the top. It has a nice sturdy magnetic clasp, but things can still fall out --as they did when I had to slam on my brakes when a semi pulled out right in front of me!  Unbelievable...the semi pulled out into a turn lane and then shot right out in front of me! The bag flew off the back seat when I hit the brakes, scattering lipstick all over the car floor.   I wanted to lay on the horn and flip the bird to that semi-truck driver as he glanced back in his huge rear view mirror.  But being the lady I am, I just mumbled to myself while waiting for my heart rate to return to normal.

I have been all over town for the past month trying to find some cannas to plant at work. No luck - there is not a canna to be found. So I had to come up with a different plan for the four containers I do at work. I decided to use hibiscus trees - two red and two yellow - as the thriller plants with various underplantings.

I will show more pics as they grow.
I am looking forward to a nice weekend. I think rain is predicted and I like that. I will just have to stay inside and get some much needed cleaning done. 

What are your weekend plans?

Last Year it was Black, this Year it's Hosta Leaf Green & Spring is Ending

I was planning to repaint it black, but when I went down to the basement, I saw this can of Hosta Leaf green paint.  I decided to give it try.  I think I like it.

 

Tuesday we had 95 degree weather and the promise of a big thunderstorm.  The rain missed us. Darn! I was looking forward to a good watering.  First it's a flood, then it's a drought.  I was out watering for over an hour after work today.  We had very high winds last night & today which dried everything out and blew most of the blossoms off the fruit trees and the tulips. My spring blooms are pretty much done.

Luckily I took a few pics yesterday of the apple blossoms.

(the last one is a poppy in the woodland area)

I also took a few pics of my front yard spring blooms, most of which are now gone.

It is amazing how fast all the flowers disappear when the wind kicks up.

In the back, I had to water the 4 dozen or so containers that are just beginning to sprout.

I will place a lot of these right in the main gardens to add late summer color.  I just need to wait for some foliage to appear, so I remember what is what.  I do remember that last fall I planted 3 or more containers with red and pink dahlias. I am excited to see how those turn out this year.

I recently was asked if I use the same soil in these containers from year to year.  The answer is yes.  I save these plants right in the soil-filled pots.  Every three to four years, I replace the soil.  Most years I add an inch or two of new potting soil to the top.  Good potting soil is pretty expensive and it would be cost prohibitive to dump 49 containers every year.    I do use Miracle grow every week, so the plants get enough nutrients even in the old soil.  This method has been working for me for the past 15+ years.

Canna buds & Garden Comparisons - 1 Year Apart

I don't really have any new bloomers for Jean's Blooming Tuesday, but I do have a two gorgeous canna buds to show you. They are both on the same plant and will open into big yellow/orange flowers.

Yesterday I bought a new Elephant Ears. I put it behind the pot I already had by the arbor. It looks like it's all one big arrangement.
This one has black stems.

In the gardens, all of my flowers bloomed a week to two weeks early this year. Here is a pic from last year in early August. The lilies that finished last week were still in bloom last year in early August.

2009 - 1st week of August: I had just bought, stained and installed this arbor. The lavender was in its prime...this year it is finished already.

I had a lot less Asiatic lilies in '09. I must have moved a ton of them to this area last fall.

The front of this border had about 15 feet of creeping phlox. It was beautiful for 2 weeks in the spring, but then just looked blah for the remainder of the year.


This year I was getting really tired of weeding out the grass in the heavy mat of creeping phlox. I did not get to it until late this spring, which killed off some areas and made the display less than it usually is. The blooms went all around this garden to the same spot on the other side.
I decided that this was prime real estate in my garden and it needed to do more than look pretty for two weeks. So my big project this year was to remove almost all of it.

I finished the removal on Sunday, July 25, 2010. This year all of the Asiatic lilies are finished, but I still have quite a bit of color since I added those big canna leaves and moved a lot of daylilies to this area.

In this pic, I have also removed all of the creeping phlox around the border, but not yet planted it all.

Sunday, July 25, 2010 -- I finished replanting this area with a number of different perennials.
Here is more of the border that was once all creeping phlox.


I am sure I will miss all of that creeping phlox next spring, but I really think this planting will serve me better throughout the gardening season.

The more I look at this area, the more I think I need a red daylily right behind that lavender.....maybe I am not done moving plants.

Don't forget to visit Jean to see what everyone has blooming. I will be doing that after work today.

Added More Tropicannas to this Garden

I think I am done moving things for at least a few weeks. On Sunday morning I moved some more cannas in containers to this area:

I really like the dark leaves with the red daylilies. All of these cannas should shoot up another 3 feet with big orange flowers. They usually bloom around mid August. By that time all the daylilies will be finished and, without the cannas, I would have nothing to look forward to since I removed all of the fall asters (did not like the ugly aster foliage) from this area.

I also cut down the spent lilies and much to my dismay, the ligularia, which left the area in front of the smaller arbor pretty blah. In this photo I have not yet cut down the ligularia. It's the tall thing with a teeny bit of yellow on the top--pretty well spent--so it was time to give it the big snip. I decided to move a big container of Elephant Ears and Cannas to the side of the arbor. There was a lot of daylily foliage in that area, which helped to hide the container.

The ligularia foliage is in the way from this angle. Here is another angle:


I am tempted to add more, but I also want some left for the deck. It does takes a lot more time to run around watering all of these containers since my water faucet is quite a distance away.

Update: Yesterday I bought a new Elephant Ears. I put it behind the pot I already had by the arbor. It looks like it's all one big arrangement.
This one has black stems.

What's Blooming Tuesday? Easter Lilies,Drumstick Allium, & Marguerite Daisies

Looking at the same plant from the opposite direction, you can see the drumstick allium beginning to turn pink.
You can also see some big spotted calla leaves. Soon some bright yellow calla trumpet-shaped lilies should appear. They will look very nice with the yellow throats of the white liles. You can also see some pink lily buds on the right side. . . This should end up to be a nice little floral vignette, which was a total accident. I didn't plan it all. Earlier in the season, I just stuck a big container in this spot to fill up space. As I look at this picture as I am writing this, I think that this pot is loaded with pink starburst dahlias! I hope they all bloom before the white lilies die out.

Last year I moved some Marguerite daisies in this area. They just started blooming this week.

I am disappointed as I thought the clumps would be much wider. You can see the top of the cage I placed around them because I expected a huge mass that would cover the cage completely. Maybe next year.
Here are the Margeurites looking toward the milk can:


In back of the Margeurite's I have tons of the old orange ditch lilies. I know a lot of people hate these, but I like mine. They came from my Mom's yard and she got them from my Aunt Mary's yard in Sault Ste. Marie, MI (probably 30 years ago). You can't toss out family history!
The creeping Jenny is really taking off in the old milk can container.


Same container - opposite direction.


I have finally remembered to link to Jean's What's Blooming Tuesday? meme. Take a trip over to Jean's to see her gorgeous bloomers as well as the other participants. I have to get to work, so I won't be able to check them all out until later this afternoon. But you all go and have fun while I am working! :)