More "Children" and they are getting bigger

In my last blog I told you that I would be doing the "giants" on the corner of Washington and Second Street.  Well, they are done!!  And so we now have 42 middle sized children, 4 baby sized children (urns inside the Park) and 6 "giant" sized children....for a total of 52 containers!  Madison is just getting prettier by the day.  Now that I'm done planting I can finally update that map.

But I wanted to share with you what I put in those gentle giants.  Took a lot of stuff to fill them -- they look good now so I can't wait to see them when they are fully grown out.  Of course, there are pansies, violas and kale, but to add some height in the middle I used a conifer.  Juniper communis 'Gold Cone' is in the shorter container.  It can tolerate the heat and drier conditions we are going to throw at it; and this variety won't get but about 18-24" wide so it won't overwhelm the pot.  New growth is yellow while fall color turns a slight shade of blue. 

 

The grass in the back container is a panicum -- a wonderful perennial grass.  Its winter look goes well with the juniper so I left it.  In the spring we'll cut it back and let the pretty blue blades stand proud.

 

Since yellow is one of the traffic stopping colors I used it as my main theme, adding purple as the accent.  Here is what I planted:

 

 



Delta Premium Pure Yellow -- a bright yellow face that will companion with just about any other color. 

 

 

The viola I used with it is Sorbet Sunny Royale (above).  There is enough purple to give contrast but also enough yellow to stand out.  I didn't get a close up of the kale that I used in both containers but it is Winterbor -- its ruffled leaf edges gives the container some movement.  These are all in the shorter container.  In the tall on in the background I used ---

 

 



 

Dynamite Blue Jeans....it practically glows (forgive the picture -- it was another windy day).  It is paired with the Delta Pure Yellow and, one of my favorite violas, Sorbet Yellow Chiffon, a non-stop bloomer -- pictured below. 

 

 

Violas are tough and bloom heavily, so if the pansies need to take a break there will still be lots of color.  Now that there are flowers in these pots maybe folks will stop using them as giant trash cans -- we can only hope. 

 

 





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. 

Low Maintenance Four Season Container

Here is an opportunity for me to share some of that "more" I told you about.  Just had to show you this container that is in front of the Madison Cafe on Washington Street.  I put this arrangement together for Sherry Clark last year to spruce up the front of her restaurant and gift shop (btw...great food and great gifts).  I'm not sure what she is feeding those containers but they sure are happy in their environment....which is mostly shade except for some morning sun. 

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The plant on the right is one of my favorite shade plants -- which will take a lot of sun though -- Illicium 'Florida Sunshine'.  It is a bright spot in any situation.  Growing to about 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide it is a manageable size yet easily pruned to whatever you need.

 

 

Of course.....the fern in the picture is Autumn Fern....a standard for any of my containers.  It can withstand total shade and even full sun.  Tucked in amongst all that are a Carex 'Evergold' (the lighter one) and a Carex testecea.  The far left plant is a Heuchera, one of the lime colored ones, which tends to go to a bland green without enough sun...still the texture contrast is there. 

 

If you need an easy care container for a shady spot, consider any of these. 



The Pansies Are Coming

Well, to be exact, it is not pansies that are coming, it is mostly violas that are coming to the containers.  But I did want to share a couple pictures to get you enticed.  Still not done planting all the pots but getting close, then I'll redo the map and show you pictures of the finished products.  Have to explain why I do more violas than pansies.  The violas produce more flowers, need less deadheading and handle the hard cold temperatures better.  Besides that, I think that they are cuter. 

 

 

This viola Primrose Picotee jumps right out at you and asks to be taken home.  I've paired it with Liberty Yellow Snapdragon to echo the yellow on its face.

 

 

 

Doesn't that bright yellow color make you feel good....and think how it would pair up with reds, purples, blues....just about anything.

 

And then there is sweet Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow....yep that's its name.  Each flower is slightly different....sweet is the best way to describe this one.

 

Be back next time with more pictures and finished containers.  Gotta get those containers planted....folks seem to think they are giant trash bins and are putting their cigarette butts, lollipop sticks, and more, into the fresh dirt I had prepared.  

 

 



The Lovely Lantanas

I love lantanas.  They are tough, the deer don't like them, handle drought conditions and yet they give you a wide variety of colors for your garden or containers.  But this year, my little friends did not do so well.  Lots of green stuff....not so much color.  Someone in the industry told me that if they get into stressful conditions they go to seed.  Well, I got a lot of seeds so those poor things must have been very stressed.

For sure the ones that were paired with the aggressive grasses did the worst.  Won't do that again....for two reasons.  The "buddies" never got the water or food they needed but worse than that when I had to put the plants those grass roots were everywhere.  After digging forever to get those deep roots out I found I had lost most of the soil in the container.  But I digress...back to those lovely lantanas.

Early in the season when all was well with their world, they were impressive.  Check them out....

 

Lantana Confetti

 

Yellow, pink, purple

Full sun

Spreads to 36"

Height to 24"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a perfect companion for Confetti is Homestead Purple Verbena.  This particular container also had Purple Persian Shield as the centerpiece....a nice arrangement that did well together.

 



 

 

While I loved Confetti for its color, I will always be a major fan of Lantana Chapel Hill Yellow.  It shines in every department -- vigor, bright yellow flowers, tough and it's perennial. 

 

 

A lantana that I came with the containers this season was Lantana Spreading Sunset...a bright orange number that has a mounding habit and gets to 24".  I liked the bright zing of color but can't say I was overwhelmed with its behavior.

 

 

 

Although this bumblebee seems pretty darn happy with it.

 

 

Another favorite lantana that unfortunately I didn't get a picture of is Samantha.  While the light yellow flower is pretty, it really is the variegated leaves that makes this one a winner.  It got big, even in a container, so you can count on it becoming a small shrub in your garden. 

 

 

For small lantanas that spread  more, I like the "Lucky" series, which comes in a variety of colors.  I did use Lucky Yellow in a couple containers but I still prefer the Chapel Hill Yellow.  You will be able to find most of these lantana next year in your local nurseries and even the box stores, but for true variety, you can always count on Thomas Orchards in Bishop.  For now, just put these names on your garden list to design your beds and containers in the spring.

 

Lysimachia Persian Chocolate

I have been in love with Lysimachia 'Creeping Jenny' for years.  Mainly because of its bright yellow color that adds so much to a container -- talk about an awesome "spiller".  But this year I found Lysimachia 'Persian Chocolate', and while its color isn't as exciting as Jenny, it makes up for it in tenacity.  Heat, sun, shade, lack of water -- none of them slowed down its growth or its beauty. 

The rose colored stems and new growth give this plant a bright, lively look. Depending on whether it gets sun or shade -- and it does great in both situations -- the older leaves will take on a dark brown shade (sun) or more green look (shade).  Against the backdrop of the dark green City containers it doesn't stand out as well as it could.  But can you see it against a white pot? 

I also planted some in the ground and have left them there to see how they fair this winter.  They are zone 6-9 so I'm expecting good things.  And since I have some in pots, I'm going to leave those in place along with the winter violas and kales.  I'll update the map when I'm done to let you know where they are.

Speaking of that, we have moved containers all around the town.  Lots more on Main Street this time, so the map will really look different. 

Working hard on getting the winter color change out but it is taking me longer this time because I'm cleaning out the soil debris and amending it with some peat moss in the hopes that it will help retain more moisture.  Remember those grasses we talked about last time...egads, they were monsters to get out of the pots.  Thanks to hubby Tom and his machete -- roots, roots, roots -- no wonder the poor verbena and lantana struggled to survive.  Someone in the trade told me that if lantana doesn't get enough water/nutrients they will think it is time to go "to seed" -- guess that explains why I had more seed than flowers this year. 

Time to play in the dirt and get those pansies settled in.