Ready for Some Gardening

I went to the garden center last night and bought some things to begin my container planting. Most of the things I bought had tags from the Weather Channel stating that they were "weather tough". Hopefully that means that if the temperature drops again they will survive. I went ahead and bought the pink Super Bells because I waited too late last year and couldn't find the pink ones. I plant these on my front porch, they should be pretty easy to shelter in the cooler evenings. I love these hardy flowers they always last through the summer even though I often neglect to water them.


A wagon full of goodies!


I would like to attract more butterflies to my garden this year. I added three butterfly bushes in the fall (although only one looks alive). When I lived in Alabama I had several lantanas they were perennials there and were huge shrubs by the time I moved. The birds and butterflies loved this plant. It is an annual here; I wonder if it will survive if I keep it in the garage over the winter.

I have so much to learn about gardening. I usually stick to my tried and true favorites, hostas, impatiens and petunias and don't venture too much from what is familiar to me.


I saw this Ranunculus and fell in love with it. I'm not sure why I never noticed it before.


I'm partial to pink and purple flowers for my garden and I just love this purple beauty.

First Blooms!

Yea! Spring is finally here! The 15 day forecast looks pretty good, with the exception of May 1, predicting lows back in the mid to low 30's. (Edited: I just checked accuweather's 15 day and they raised the low temps for the 1st.)

My Purple Wave petunias that I started from seed are beginning to bloom!

So Much to do, So Little Time...

Lilacs, moss phlox, Johnny jump-ups waiting to be planted.


I was able to get out in the yard last evening and got several things accomplished. I finally planted my three purple lilacs, two of the moss phlox and the aborvitae. When I plant I usually replace the clay with good soil, so we made two trips to hauling off clods of clay that had been laying around the yard. I'm glad to get that cleaned up and glad for a strong young man (my son) who can help me. I figured out a way to finish off the raised bed on the left side of the patio. I needed a path to the water spigot, and I got that done also. This morning I moved the raised bed on the right side of the patio so that it would extend to the end of the column.
This weekend should be nice and I hope to get many things done.

Goals for the weekend:

*purchase and plant tree for front yard-- (looked, but will wait for new shipment)
*purchase and plant more shrubs
*finish left side patio bed-- (done)
*get pathway pavers in place
*move 2 viburnum shrubs
*mulch
* lay newspaper on the right side of the house to kill grass and to prepare a bed for hostas.

My Style...

I'm still thinking about the planters and I think I have ruled out the smaller one. Everyone here agrees that it is just too small. I still love the style of the larger one and may just use it this year, thankfully it isn't a permanent structure and can easily be changed, well, not that easily, it's very heavy.

I was telling my friend/neighbor what Yolanda Elizabet from Bliss (http://blissyo-elgarden.blogspot.com/) said about the style of the container and the column being too different, one being more elegant than the other. My friend said, "Well, that is your style." And she is right, that is my style, I always mix elegance with ordinary or even a little bit of country. It works for me. I usually don't even think about style, I just go for things that I enjoy looking at and the things that make me happy.


This is in my family room. I love the elegance of tea pots and tea cups (I collect them) and crystal and glassware.


This is my living room, very Victorian and formal.


My china cabinet is filled with more tea cups and tea pots. I love Old Country Roses. (I opened the doors for a better picture.)

So, I really am not afraid to mix elegance with ordinary, but I do believe that Yolanda is right about the scale being off, that is my concern. Thank you for giving your opinions. I'll probably just keep looking for that perfect medium.

Which One

I wanted a nice pedestal container for my columns, but I'm not sure that either one of these look right.



I love this large one, but I think it is too tall, especially if I put a grass in it.



This one looks too small.

Anyone have an opinion on these or maybe another idea for me.