Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Container Mania!

The weather wasn't perfect this weekend, by any stretch...but it wasn't stormy and the rain wasn't torrential. There were a few little downpours and a few sprinkly bouts. Otherwise, it was lovely.

After the Lowes debacle, in which they tried to charge us $16 and change for 2 little coleus and a caladium, we went to our local nursery, Neumeier's. They've been there for 40 years, and they do a lot of their things from seed. It's such a great place-- people are great, the plants are great, and they know anything you need to know. And I had a gift card.

We got hearty oregano and chives; a small patio tomato; 4 small jalapenos; 12 tall coleus; 2 small caladiums; and a persian shield all for the grand total of $18. I love them.

So we transplanted our currently suffering large patio tomato, the new small one, and a couple of peppers into a large container with a good helping of compost, and we potted the chives and oregano separately:

We also have some basil and a few strawberries; the basil has been pretty well stripped for pesto Thursday night...

I dug up a bunch of the cannas, so the containers get good sun, and saved them for Adam's grandmother who wants some red lilies to mix in with her yellow ones:


For the pretty stuff, we put together two planters of a mix of coleus and caladiums for the porch, as well as a solo planter of persian shield:




Our hostas continue to grow, and the one plant that I didn't split is blooming:


The four o'clock seeds I planted are coming up, as are the cuttings I stuck in the ground...

I'd say everything's coming up roses.

4 comments:

Peter said...

I have the same container as your first pic shows, except mine was painted green. I found it on the side of the road one day, but I love it. I sure wish I had another one.

Iris said...

Looks great! I love those pots holding the coleus. I just bought my first Persian Shields last week--so striking, especially for shade.

Amalie said...

Peter-- At some point we had two, but I think one rotted out. Who knows. Guess I'll have to do more tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets.

Thanks, Iris! Those pots have been hanging around as ash trays and catchalls for years and years-- I'm just so happy they're finally being put to use. And this is also my first Persian Shield; I chose all of these plants for their bright shade tolerant foliage since flowers often have a hard time without enough, not to mention they won't bloom continuously. After we bought the Persian Shield, we found out that they can grow to 5 feet in some of the more tropical zones and in some places will be "ever purple"! Unfortunately, we are a zone or two too cold for them to act as a perennial, so we'll bring it in come winter.

I think they can come back in spring in Texas, though...

Sandy said...

Everything looks so pretty! A friend of mine has me hooked on Hostas. I have 4 that I planted last fall and 1 that I planted this spring (they're small ones) that were gifts from her.