There Is Ugly Too

As I was redecorating a room in my home a friend told me "you can't ignore the elephant in the room".  The "elephant" was drapery that I didn't want to remove because of the cost - but it was UGLY - and trying to decorate around it was not working. 

And so, while I  tell you about the pretty pots around town I have to admit there are a few just plain ugly ones that could never recover from the heat of last fall and then had to endure the long, cold temperatures that sapped their meager strength. 

But this has been a great learning experience.  This is where garden diaries are a great help.  Write down the winners AND the losers - and the reasons for the success and failures.  The "why" of both is important to the success of your garden.

Every time I plant something in this container it struggles.  Why?  Too much shade!  Just maybe, I tell myself, these plants will work this time.  Violas need sun.  Snaps need sun.  And the hour or two the container gets in the morning just isn't enough.  There is an autumn fern in the middle but even it isn't happy.  Time to address the elephant in the room.

Wish I could just take out everything in this container, leaving it bare until the spring changeover, but that can't happen.  Unfortunately, folks seem to think a container with no plants is a giant ashtray or trash container.  So until the April changeover this will have to do and just maybe the violas will rally to the challenge and fill out more.  They are Sorbet Lemon Chiffon, one of the tougher ones I use, so stay tuned to see if they do meet the challenge.

Lesson to be learned!  Know the elephant in your garden. 

Sunshine Yellow Brightens The Day

Grooming the containers is now a real joy as the weather warms just enough to encourage new growth and blooms.  While all the violas have a cheery attitude, some of them really bring a smile, and Penny Clear Yellow really does that. 

These are also large blooms for a viola, adding to the impact.  Really like the subtle shading of the colors, which gives the flower more depth.

Here it is in one of the containers.  The snaps haven't started to bloom yet so the violas have to carry the whole show - but do that pretty darn well.

The parsley is filling out very well -- but you can hardly hold parsley back.  Without constant pruning it would take over they container. 

This will be the last season for the Rosemary BBQ.  It is a good winter/summer plant for its evergreen habit but after two full seasons it gets woody looking.  Put in a different one last past fall - Rosemary Tuscan Blue.  Much prettier, with softer leaves - but it was NOT happy with the low temps and burned out.  Waiting to see if it recovers enough to stay and will seriously consider using it again if the Farmer's Almanac predicts a better year.   Rosemary is a nice change from kales - the other winter staple used as center pieces.  And nothing eats it!!! 

Nature Triumphs

I should have been more confident about the plants I chose to put in the containers -- they not only survived the freezing temperatures -- they are happily blooming.  Well, most of them are anyway.   The violas that struggled with the long warm days had an equally hard time with the long cold days.  But take a look at this container --

The Redbor Kale loved those low temps, which brought out the bright fuchsia color in the center.  And that really connected with those shades in the Sorbet Orchid Rose Beacon violas.  Tucked in between is Dusty Miller Cirrus, giving a little relief to the eye with its silver tones and soft textures. 

Sorbet Orchid Rose Beacon's shadings add a lot of interest in the container - almost like have several different violas instead of just one.  It has been a good performer, jumping back after losing most of its blooms to the freeze.  A definite return companion. 

Lesson learned - don't be too quick to throw out the plants that might look to be goners.  A careful pruning back of just the seriously dead material allowed enough of the plant to make food for new growth. 

Be back tomorrow with some photos of Penny Orange violas -- their color is really catching the eye on these long dreary days. 

Blog Site Revived

The Madison Container blog site has been revived!!  It is with renewed energy that the containers themselves will have a new look this spring along with the blog site.  But oh where is spring?!  There are still weeks ahead before we can safely think about putting out those tender pretties.  In the meantime, I'll at least get the blog moving along again.

The winter weather gods have not been kind to us this year.  Tried and true plants that have been used in the past struggle to even look alive let alone bloom.  I've always used violas instead of pansies because they can handle long periods of temperatures in the teens but they met their match this year.  Many hours  were spent grooming the containers, cutting out the dead material and hoping what was left would fill the empty spaces.  Only warm weather and a dose of fertilizer will tell us the outcome.

When the rain stops long enough to allow me to walk around and take pictures I can report on the "winners" of this long, cold battle.  I can safely say that the kales have revived and are standing upright again.  Poor snapdragons are attempting to hold themselves up but many continue to droop.  Dusty millers have also perked up and tough old autumn ferns only have a few browned fronds.  So, if nothing else, the containers will have green and a bit of silvery gray color in them.  But I am holding hope that those violas will prove themselves just as tough and start blooming.  Back soon with photos!