Contemplating Containers of Summer '08

Last winter I posted about the containers I'd put together in June of 2007 and with spring fast approaching at long last, I'm happily anticipating this year's containers. Browsing through last summer's photos gives me a good idea of what worked well together, and which plants held their blooms throughout the summer and into fall.

I always seem to lean toward the pinks and purples, and that pink Diascia (right front) is one of my favorite container plants.

I loved this combination of Plum Madness Petunias and a calibrachoa that was almost the same shade. It spilled nicely over the side and continued the color. There's also an ivy geranium (barely visible in this photo) and a variegated Vinca in there. This photo was taken late in the day, unfortunately creating a shadowy foreground. (Click photos to enlarge for more detail)

Here you can see the true color of the Petunias.

There's the Ivy Geranium (Marimba).
I added a euphorbia to the mix for a contrasting deeper shade....

It starts out green and then changes to burgundy. There was no label so I don't know the name.

I love to use geraniums and Petunias in containers. They need deadheading but can't be beat for long bloom time and gorgeous colors.

Dusty miller (right) adds a touch of silvery foliage and blends well with pinks and purples.

Here's Amethyst Ivy Geranium with blue Lobelia. The Iresine in this container looks orangy red in the afternoon light...

....but it's actually a more pinkish red. It makes a lovely filler.

Osteospermums are bright and pretty in spring and early summer. Their blooms tend to peter out during the hottest weeks of summer, but come back nicely for a good late summer and fall show.

Diamond Frost Euporbia adds a whimsical touch of tiny white flowers. It's overwintering very nicely in the house and cuttings are easy to start.

The Osteos close when the sun isn't shining.

Nemesia is great in containers with its pretty little flowers. I like this rasberry one mixed with the lilac Osteos. Do you see the deeper purple 'Spoon' Osteo in there?

Here's a closer view, taken when it was blooming more profusely. You can see why they call it Osteo 'Spoon'.

Here's Willow sitting by one of my absolute favorites...the blue and white container.

I tried Scaevola (Fan Flower) for the first time and loved it for long blooming time and very easy care. The white flower is a delightfully sweet scented Nemesia. There's also a Spike and 2 Bacopas...one blue and one white.

The Ivy Geranium is Taj Mahal, a deep red. It didn't bloom until September which was disappointing. It was one I wintered over bare root and potted up in the spring. Only a few I tried that with did well, so I left them in pots this winter and they're looking very healthy.

The Bacopa still looked great in the fall so I brought it in to try overwintering. It did well for a while under lights, but sadly, it appears to be dead now.

This pretty pink Bacopa was in another container.

Here's another favorite....Sweet potatoe Vine, Taj Mahal Ivy Geranium, deep red Diascia and a spike.

I love these colors together.

Here's a coral Diascia, Abutilon Gold Dust (the variegated leaf, not yet blooming), Coleus, variegated Vinca and a Purple Knight Alternanthera just showing a little on the right.

The Diascia is also called Twinspur. It needs to be cut back a little now and then to keep it blooming nicely. I'm not always good at doing that.

The Abutilon is flowering it's head off in the house at the moment. It overwinters very well as a house plant.

Still another favorite! I love this 'Copper Purple' Osteo. The yellow flower is Bidens (Beggarticks...isn't that a cute name?), the burgundy on the left is Alternanthera. There's also Coleus and a rasberry Nemesia.

This combination lasted well into the fall, with the Osteo coming back into bloom in September and the Bidens blooming continually all summer. The Nemesia benefits from being nipped back a few times.

I loved this Coleus with the Alternanthera. Pinch back the Coleus to keep it compact.

Here's the 'Copper Purple' Osteo up close. Isn't it gorgeous?

I had a lot of favorites last year. Here's another. This one has Vancouver Centennial Geranium, Calibrachoa 'Colorburst Terracotta', and a burgundy Sweet Potato Vine (I think it's called 'Blackie').

I repeated this combination from the year before, and will do it again this year.

The Geranium is overwintering wonderfully well for the third winter.

I had this lilac calibrachoa in a basket. They bloom continuously with no deadheading - a great plant!

That's just one Cali in this windowbox and it spread beautifully. Also in the box were 'Apple Blossom' Petunias that I had cut back at the time this photo was taken. There's Alyssum tucked in there too. The Bidens in the container is still going strong!

The 'Apple Blossoms' put on a wonderful late fall show. Oh yes, there's a 'Lambada' Ivy Geranium in there too, and some variegated Vinca.

I like to add English Ivy to containers too. It looks pretty with these red Ivy Geraniums, Dusty Miller and purple Nemesia.

Here's dear Hubby relaxing on a warm afternoon. I can't wait to see containers on the patio again!

We had a wonderfull taste of spring this past weekend and I actually got some cleaning up done in the garden. It felt so good to breathe the warm air and get a little exercise. Saturday and Sunday night we had heavy rains and today was wet and dreary, but the snow is almost gone and spring is in the air!

Window Boxes and Hanging Baskets

Have you noticed that over at Gardening Gone Wild they're talking about container plantings this month? It all started on March 1st with Nan Ondra's post, "Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop - Container Plantings"
We're invited to do a post about containers (archives count) and submit it by leaving a comment on Nan's post before the end of this month.

I did 2 posts earlier this year about containers which you'll find here and here, if you'd like to have a look.

Last summer I went a little crazy over containers, which was a direct result of helping out at my favorite nursery during the spring. There were so many plants I couldn't resist bringing home to try! You know how that is.
But my window boxes are a standard of my summer planting. I've been using many of the same plants for years, because they work so well. I use different varieties and color combinations each year, and sometimes add a different plant, but I basically stick to the same old faithfuls.

I'm thinking I may try a few different things this year though, after seeing so many wonderful ideas in this series of container posts....and that's just so far. I haven't read them all yet, and there may be more to come before the end of the month!

I love to use a combination of ivy geraniums, petunias, alyssum and vinca major. There are some pretty variegated cultivars of vinca available, which add interest. This is my favorite ivy geranium, Marimba, mainly because it grows so prolifically, but I also love the color.

I buy regular potting soil from our local hardware store and add peat moss to it, mixing it up in a wheelbarrow.

In this box are 2 ivy geraniums, 3 petunias, one vinca, with 3 alyssum planted along the front edge. They bloom well all summer. The petunias and geraniums need deadheading, and it's good to cut the petunias back a little when they begin to get a bit leggy. That way they'll bush out and continue to bloom nicely. I don't always get this done, but I should!

This is a white calibrachoa (Million bells), just one plant, which trailed down later in the season and looked great. The petunias are Merlin Blue.

Two of these ivy geraniums were in the same box (they weren't blooming in the first picture) but I can't remember their name.

Here's the whole box

This is the same as the first box, but just around the corner from it. You can see how profusely the Marimba geranium blooms. There are 2 of them planted in here.

I tried a few different things in this box. It's on the north side of the house and gets shaded in the afternoons, so I used begonias and coleus which do well with less sun. There's vinca and alyssum in there as well, as you can see. The begonias overwinter well if you have room for a few in the house, and cuttings can be made for the new season. At the end of the season I plant my vincas in our veggie garden, or a flower garden if I can find room, and they overwinter in the ground just fine. When I'm ready to plant my window boxes later in the spring I'll dig them up, tidy them and use them in the boxes again.

This 'Amethyst' ivy geranium hangs in a basket outside our back door.

You may have guessed I'm partial to pink :)

Here's what it looks like in the early morning sunshine.

I overwintered this one from the year before and can't remember the name of it. There's just one plant in that basket.

I feed them with liquid fertilizer..the 'bloom booster' variety..... about once a week.

In this basket is a mixture of 'Rasberry blast' petunias, and I think the other might be 'Royal Magenta'. I bought this one already planted, and the blooms lasted amazingly well all summer. Sometimes we get lucky!

Fuchsias are another favorite of mine. This one is Southgate. I tried overwintering it, but unfortunately it didn't make it.

Marinka has overwintered 2 years in a row for me. I've had it in an upstairs bedroom and it's even bloomed a little. I'll bring it down and put it on the covered porch as soon as the days begin to warm up. I've begun giving it a little plant food and it's looking surprisingly healthy.

What are you planning to put in containers this year?

Soon it'll be time to start planting them, but meanwhile we'll enjoy the snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils and tulips.....if Old Man Winter ever loosens his grip!