Friday, June 19, 2009

It's An Annual Thing


I'm not the kind of gardener that starts out with a written plan or a color scheme in mind for either my annuals or my perennials. I do pay attention to a plants need for shade, sun and water. Other than that, I just wander through the nursery and choose plants because I love them. So sometimes I amaze even myself when a color combination just seems to come together like the lily's and the dragon wing begonias in the pot above.


I buy old basket at garage sales or thrift stores, fill them with moss, and plant with annuals which I tuck among the perennial flowers to provide color. This way if I have bare spots I can move the baskets.

Because I would rather spend my money on flowers than containers to put them in I look for creative things to use as containers. I found the box above when I was curb shopping ( you know when you stop and pick someone else's trash up at the curb and call it a treasure) painted it yellow and allowed it to weather. I always try to plant something yellow in it and although you may not be able to see them there are yellow coreopsis Moonbeam (which I will plant in the flower border in the fall) among the pink geranium along with a variegated filler plant .
Because annuals become pretty pricey when you are trying to fill many pots I decided to try something different this year. I had an over abundance of hostas that needed dividing so I decided to use them as a filler for some of my pots. Along with the hosta I tucked in some begonias and inpatients using about half as many as I normally would have needed. In the fall I will just transplant the hosta back into the garden or share with a friend.


I love how these bright red impatiens shine from between the Lily turf and make little miniature gardens for the birdhouses. Just a little bit of color can make your heart beat faster.


Thanks for strolling through the garden with me. I enjoyed your company.
Stella










4 comments:

Savannah said...

I loved your commentyou left me(: Also your flowers are beautiful!

donna said...

Stella, I have no written plan or color scheme either, but I can tell you that my flowers look NOTHING like yours. Your plantings are quite amazing. I have some impatiens in an old coal bucket and also some flowers in yard sales pots. Does that count? Thanks for the stroll through your garden.

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

Your combinations in the containers are very nice. Love the peachy colors.

Anonymous said...

Looks like you have an eye for pleasing color combos Stella. :) I love the curbfind, what a fun container. And the thriftiness of adding hosta divisions to bulk it up is quite clever! Budget friendly gardening is a necessity at times. :)