Sprucing Up the Doorsteps

Ok, I finally got to the planters on our doorstep. And boy did they need some love! Take a look yourself,

Those were gorgeous orange mums from fall that I winterized by leaving them out. This winter we had frequent showers so didn’t really have to water it the entire season. No idea why I couldn’t have moved them out back to the deck, at least would have spared some nasty looks from all those folks passing by. Anyway, after ignoring them for the whole of winter I was surprised and glad that there was life under all that brush.

That is 2 yrs in a row! Thanks to my cousin Vani’s (she has an ultra green thumb, we’ll tour her garden one day) suggestion in 2010 to leave them in their planters through winter making sure that they don’t dry out. But wait, I managed to kill one of the small ones. I think I know why, we had forgotten to drill drainage holes on the small pots. After a hair cut things were looking much better.

Still nowhere near their glory days;

That was in summer ’10, summer ’11, and fall ’11. See the middle pic? That’s how the mums looked all spring and summer last year….very green.

This time however, I wanted more color sooner. So decided to move the planters out to the back, flanking our basement walk up and got new planters for $16 each from BigLots and some dianthus (was $2.49 for 6 pack at Walmart). Enter a quick potting session in our messy garage where a spring cleanup is long overdue (seriously, that’s a boogie board behind me)…..the usual; gently separate each plant out, loosen the roots, plant in potting soil, and give  a good drink of water. I generally give it a day or two before I fertilize (just want it to recover from any transplant shock).

Notice the bare hands? When I get excited I forget the gardening gloves! Have to spend the next 15min scrubbing the dirt out of my nails, still never learn. 🙂

So, this is where we are now;

It is in no way complete. Need some kinda grass for the height and a creeper, may be a sweet potato vine. Still waiting for those to arrive at the local stores. Actually, Lowes did have a lot of summer plants, wasn’t really sure if I should buy them so early. We could still have an unexpected frost.

In other garden news, my bleeding hearts, day lilies, and salvia are rearing to go. Can’t wait for bloom time. Happy Spring! By the way, we are planning to see the DC cherry blossoms this weekend. Hoping for some great pics and gardening inspiration.

Love gardening? Here is a post on tropical plants from my mom’s garden.