Daily Inspiration: Re-purposed Planter Update

We put together some re-purposed planters for our Container Design Seminar in April. I wanted to show you a couple pictures of how they are doing!

Here is mom's wicker dresser! We have been harvesting strawberries, chives, lettuce, and herbs from this! It's really doing great!

Here are my pallet planters! I am thrilled that they have done so well. I think they key was keeping the pallet flat for a couple weeks before setting it upright. It's important to let your plants root in a bit, otherwise you would be dealing with soil and plants falling out!

We hope that the Container Design seminar inspired you to try a few out-of-the-norm planter ideas!

I was inspired to experiment with different pot combinations at my own house this year. Although the fountain grass, spikes, etc., are gorgeous in pots, I weary of doing the same things! We'll see how they do!

Have a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend!

~L

Daily Inspiration: Shade Combinations

Shade pots can be a bit tricky. We all love our pots to be full of color and texture, and it can be difficult to create both of those elements in the shade. I put together a couple shade pots for a friend and thought I would share a few of the options you can put in your shade planters for both texture AND color!

Before you begin, take into consideration what color your pot is. For example, if it's red (like this one), stay away from pinks. If it's blue, try to incorporate brighter colors (yellow, orange, bright pink, etc.).

Here's a shade planter recipe!

For foliage:

1- 'Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Purple' Potato Vine

1- Plectranthus Variegated (white/light green)

1- 'Colorblaze Sedona' Coleus

For Bloom:

1- Apricot Upright Impatien

1- 'Berries & Cream' Nemesia (small purple/white blooms)

3- 4 pack 'Trailing Dark Blue' Lobelia (not in bloom yet, but it is in the pot!)

1- 'Abunda Colossal White' Bacopa

Front View

Back View

Side View

Another note: We love to use shade-loving perennials in pots as well. We use lots of ferns, hostas, heuchera, helleborus, boxwood, holly, hakonechloa (bright yellow, shade grass), etc. You can either leave these perennials in the pots from year to year (remembering to water them throughout the winter), or you can take them out of their pots and use them in your landscape! Double duty!

Most importantly, have fun and don't be afraid to experiment! 

~L

Save the Date!

Daily Inspiration: Pumpkins!

Has it really been almost a month since my last blog post??? Wow...that's kind of embarrassing! Thank you to our faithful blog readers for putting up with such a long absence! We have been very busy (not a great excuse, but one, nonetheless). :) I hope you have all enjoyed your spring- we sure have! We love to see everyone getting busy in their gardens, to hear about what new things you are trying, and we just plain love to see you in the nursery! This is my latest...

I am gearing up for a growing experiment this year. I want to try to grow a massive pumpkin! I have heard of people growing these and have seen pictures, but have never tried it! So here goes!

I started with 5 'Dill's Atlantic Giant' Pumpkin seeds...

I direct-seeded on May 12, 2012. (For cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkins, gourds, etc., we prefer the direct-seed method.) The guys built a raised bed in the back of the nursery for the project- we filled it with a mix of top soil, compost, and peat moss.

On May 18th seedlings appeared! Happy and healthy!

On May 24th, I gave them a weak solution of Fox Farm's Grow Big (my favorite organic fertilizer).

So, we will see how the project goes! I have read about people injecting the vines with a milk mixture (not sure I will go THAT far), but I know I will have to eventually provide a piece of carpet (or something soft) for the pumpkin to lay on and I will have to built a shelter/shade for it when it gets really hot!

I will keep you all updated!

~Laura