Small Garden in a Big Pot

First, sorry that I've been AWOL.  Between the holiday and trying to get containers planted before the Heritage Hall Tour of Homes I had no time left, or energy, to write.  But, as you will see in this blog, I found a solution for some of the extra work.

For those that live in Madison, Georgia, you will be familiar with the four large containers that sit in front of the defunct gas station across from the fire station.  When I say large, even I was taken aback by their four foot diameter -- which is why I titled this post "Small Garden in a Big Pot".  There are garden beds smaller than these behemoths.  Wanting them to be showy, I knew I needed something with height, a middle layer and then the winter color at the edges.  So here is what I used -- and who I used.

Starting with the little guys at the edge of the pot I used a viola called Penny Primrose Picotee.  It only gets to about 6 inches tall but it packs a lot of punch with its bright cheery face.

Behind that I added one of my favorite pansies -- and I don't use many -- Delta Premium Pure Primrose, which has a soft yellow color with big flowers so it is really eye catching, and a good perfomer.  Its color is echoed in the yellow of the viola, while the purple in Primrose Picotee makes a nice contrast to the soft yellow of the pansy.

 



Delta Pure Primrose will get to about 6" also but the size of the flowers will stand out against the Picotee viola. 

Next in line was the linear material that I used to give a visual contrast between the flowers and the center piece -- Cupressus 'Golden Pyramid', an outstanding conifer that loves the sun and drier conditions -- a cominbation of Carex 'Ice Dance' and Liriope 'Evergreen Giant'.  Grasses always provide movement which draws the eye.

The final arrangement looked like this.......

And this is at first planting....imagine how great it will look when the plants mature.

So now to "who" I used.  My time and energy was running short so I enlisted the help of my grandson, Grant.  The energy of youth is a wonderful thing!!  He planted all the pansies while I followed behind with the mulch (Lowe's Premium Brown - the only one I use). 

 



These should make for a very colorful corner on Main Street -- along with Grant's very bright green shirt -- but he doesn't stay, so just look for the containers.

Next containers are the two giants on the corner of Washington and Second Street.  Big containers need brighter colors and bigger plants so I have a challenge ahead of me, but that should then finish all the winter color changeout.  Be sure to walk around town and check them out to find your favorite. 

As soon as I'm done with the plantings, I promise I will change the plant descriptions on the map so you will be able to identify each one.  The photographer in me must now apologize for the less than crisp photos -- it was a windy day and I couldn't get those gals to stand still, but, hopefully, you get the idea.