Contemplating Containers

After our January thaw two weeks ago, when we enjoyed temperatures above 60ºF (15ºC), and even warm breezes, we're back to the more normal frigid mid-winter temperatures, and arctic winds. Ross and I have been getting plenty of wear out of our mad bomber hats!

In the spirit of the 'embarrassing happy hats' theme, a couple of my dear, supportive blog friends have posted pictures of themselves wearing their winter head attire. You can see Giddy's knitted version of the MB hat here, and Apple's fashion statement, complete with earmuffs here. Thanks girls for joining in the embarrassment fun :)

As pretty as the snowy landscape can be, I'm feeling rather color-deprived, but I've found that poring over last summer's garden photos is a good antidote for this. During the gardening season I didn't find much time to work on posts, and many of the thoughts and photos I wanted to share were "piled on the shelf". Now, with the cold temperatures confining me to indoor activities, I'm finally sifting through them.

I got a little carried away with containers last summer, but I had fun trying out some different combinations. Helping out last spring at my favorite nursery had its advantages, and I was able to try several plants that I hadn't grown before. I do try planning a few containers ahead of time to a certain extent, but I tend to buy the plants that catch my eye and then I have to experiment to come up with a combination that works. Some do, some don't......it's all part of the learning process, and part of the fun.

The Abutilon combined nicely with the white wax begonia.....

......and the pretty variegated Vinca, but the Coleus is a bit too red I think,

.......even though it's a really lovely one.

Overall though, I was pleased with this container.

I loved the yellow Marguerite daisy (Argyranthemum) with this Coleus, the Dusty Miller, purple Verbena (not showing much here) and purple Calibrachoa ("Superbells Blue"), AKA Million Bells.

A closer look at the pretty Coleus with the yellow daisy.

The brown glazed pot behind Jasmine (what's a post without a kitty picture?) was one of my favorites with that pretty yellow Calibrachoa, a Vancouver Centennial geranium (variegated leaves and red flowers) that I over-wintered from the previous year, the lovely dark-leaved Purple Knight (Alternathera), and Nemesia 'Sunsatia Mango'.

Unfortunately the calibrochoa died in July, probably due to wet feet. They don't like that! Happily, the other calibrochoas I grew all did very well.

I fell in love with this Nemesia 'Sunsatia Mango' when I spied it at the nursery last spring. Just look at those pretty little 'faces'! :) And it blooms all summer!

I tried Monkey Flower (Mimulus) for the first time this past year....

......combined with a smaller cultivar of licorice plant (Helichrysum Silver Mist)....hoping the small licorice wouldn't take over like the big one,..........

.....Iresine, another pretty dark-leaved filler, and a lovely pink Nemesia ('Sunsatia Rasberry').

As you can see, the licorice did take over, hogging the container, and crowding the other plants. I really like the silvery foliage, but I wish I could keep it in check better. I was disappointed that the Iresine didn't do as well as I hoped it would.....probably because it was too crowded.

Here's a different cultivar of Iresine (AKA Chicken Gizzard...isn't that a delightful name? I'm being facetious, of course) that I grew in 2006. I liked it much better, but sadly, I couldn't find this one last year. It grew very fast and I had to cut it back a few times.

The pretty pinkish red, dainty flowered plant in this container is Diascia 'Flying Colors Red'. This is another plant that blooms all summer. I also tried it in the garden and it did wonderfully well, continuing to bloom after several light frosts. I liked it with the white wax begonias and red coleus.

These double impatiens look like tiny roses. I love them, but I've had the worst luck with impatiens...both double and single, for the past 2 summers. The year before (and as long as I've been gardening here...that's 24 years) they grew beautifully in containers, window boxes and garden, but recently something has caused their leaves to yellow and fall off, and some of the plants to die. The rest just languish and look sick, while producing very few flowers. My Master Gardener friend, Marie, thinks it could be spider mites, and suggested I try dusting them with Sevin, which I did, but it was too late to save them at that point. So I'm still unsure of the cause. Has anyone else had similar problems with Impatiens?

Here are the singles shortly after planting. They never grew any bigger than this. You can see just a few leaves beginning to turn yellow. I like to combine them with English Ivy (or Vinca) and Dusty Miller. When they grow well this makes a pretty container.

This is the same container after the impatiens had died. I replaced them with some cuttings I'd started in the late winter from the 'Marimba' Ivy geranium that I over-wintered.

I always grow a few tuberous begonias in hanging baskets. Their blooms are so perfectly formed.....

........and remind me of the camelias my mother used to grow in Australia, which I can't plant in the garden here in our zone 5 NY climate.

Here's the 'Marimba' Ivy geranium and 'Marinka' Fuchsia...both over-wintered plants from the summer of 2006. I've also successfully rooted cuttings from the fuchsia and planted them in the garden.....taking them up in fall, and potting them to over-winter in the house.

'Marimba' up close.

And 'Marinka'.

It's funny that the names and colors of these two favorites are so similar. Both have been wonderful plants, and the hummingbirds love them!

Here's another calibrachoa, also a great plant for attracting the hummers.

This is one of the plants that's over-wintering in an upstairs bedroom. I showed a picture of it with a single bloom in the previous post.

And just a couple more shots to finish up.

Ross attached that tray to the railing to bring the birds a little closer for me to photograph. It works well.

Here's what I'm dreaming of......a warm, summer rain on a morning in July. Birds singing, flowers blooming.....

Sweet dreams!