Week 22, Year 2: New Faces, New Pages

The starting line up for 2011 is basically complete. So, I've created a new page for 2011 showcasing all of the flowers for 2011. Hopefully, I'll be able to focus on the more interesting participants in individual posts as the summer goes on.

Week 20, Year 2: Dahlia Woes

I'm killing a dahlia. Last week, on the first 80 degree day of the year, we purchased this hybrid dahlia with cheery yellow flowers. It seemed to be a great addition to the garden and I was hopeful that it would provide us with sunny cheer every time we stepped outside.

9 days later, and there are no vestiges of its former cheeriness (well, it really only took it 2 days to kill it). Honestly, it just never seemed happy in the pot, it leaned and never perked back up. We just haven't had enough warm weather to keep it happy. It has drooped over and basically given up.

It came with a 1 year guarantee, so I have to believe it could come back with warm weather and sun, but how long do I wait? It seems to get worse by the day and I'm afraid it will start to depress the other flowers.

In an act of frustration, I also decided to plant the struggling verbena with the dahlia, figuring they deserve each other. That way, if they both give up on me, I can just wash my hands of them at the same time.

Week 19, Year 2: Hope Springs

It has been a slow spring. The trees are two weeks behind. The weather is cold with below average temperatures, dropping into the 30s during the evening. It's also been a hard spring personally. The cold, gray weather seems to have been in line with my mood as of late. Although this is a gardening blog, I would be remiss to ignore the fact that this has been the hardest two weeks of my admittedly short life. We had to say goodbye to our beloved cat, Wooly, last Saturday. Someone so special cannot be reduced to a blog entry, and I won't attempt that here. It's been a cold, gray time, and it's been hard to find a lot of bright spots. However, in the week since her passing, she is finding ways to show us that hope truly does spring eternal.

This Humming Bird was the truest sign of spring - my husband and I couldn't help but hope that he was a small present from Wooly.

Week 18, Year 2: New Beginnings

Well, it's time to start again. Having survived my rookie year, I'm heading into Year Two with the hopes of cultivating another beautiful container garden, having fun and learning a lot more along the way. Unfortunately, I had to give up on last year's perennials. Life intervened, and I was too busy to nurse them along, so I've decided to start fresh. The lone survivor was snoke poke, our blue spruce tree. So, on this beautiful Mother's Day, my faithful assistant (pictured above) and I spent the morning on the deck planting the first group for 2011.

My sister also contributed a wonderful addition to the garden - a basket for my supplies! Last year, I got really sick of looking at all of these items strewn about inside the deck door. So, I'm really enjoying this new addition.

Although none of my flowers survived from 2010, I did pick up some repeaters of varieties that I really enjoyed. My main goal, however, is to keep learning and trying to grow new kinds of flowers in my containers. My first batch comes from Johansen's Greenhouse in Madison. Like last year, I went for a mix of annuals and perennials. I planted all of them with an outdoor potting soil. I'm not sure if all of these are going to make it in containers, but that's part of the adventure! Now, without further ado, it's time to welcome the initial members of the Class of 2011:

Papavera Poppy - This is probably the riskiest plant to try to grow in a container. I just love poppies, so I thought I would give it a shot, but I'm not sure how successful this will be.

Snowpoke was the lone survivor from year 1. He doesn't have a lot of room to grow, but he continues to plod along.

Oceana Blue Salvia - This member of the sage family produces bright blue, stalky flowers.

Lisianthus - I'm not sure if I will like this one or not, but I was curious enough to give it a go. It produces tall flowers that have a more old fashioned look to them. I'm not sure what color I will get, the tag claimed "blue" but the picture had a mix of pinks.

Black-Eyed Susan Vine - Last year's favorite is back, but this time, we are trying it in orange!

Rieger Begonia - this is another repeat from last year. Its shade loving nature makes it a great option for my deck and it was so successful last year, that I had to go for it again.

Window Box #1: Hungarian Speedwell, Portucala, Plumbago

Plumbago - this plant is supposedly a pretty good climber, and produces light purple blooms. I'm hoping it will climb down like the petunias.

Portulaca - this plant, also known as moss rose, produces bright yellow flowers with red centers. The cactusy like leaves give it a little edge, and I think it should be a good contrast to its purple box mates.

Hungarian Speedwell - not to be confused with the feisty Hungarian Horntail dragon that Harry

Potter defeated in the Triwizard Tournamnet, this plant is a variety of Veronica that produces purple flowers (a.k.a. "Crater Blue").

Window Box #2: Verbena, Mexican Heather & Lisianthus

Verbena - This was a great success last year, and loves the partial shade, so I picked it up for a second turn at bat.

"Allyson" Mexican Heather - a tough sprawler with fuschia buds.


Finally, I had extra lisianthus, so I stuck them in this box. I don't think they will stay here, but until I decide what to do with them, they'll be hanging out in here.

Window Box #3: Petunias

I just loved the way these trailed down the balcony last year. The deep blue purple and silvery purple flowers also made for a lovely contrast, so I've decided not to mess with success. They are back and in the same spot.

Hanging Basket #1: "Bonfire" Begonias

This hanger houses a unique variety of begonia with fire red blooms. Although red is not in my usual color palette, I couldn't resist the bright, cheerfulness of this hanger.