A New Worthy Plant To Consider

As I was walking through town with a friend, she stopped in her tracks by one of the containers.  "What is that neat plant" she asked.  Duh, I couldn't tell her and I'm the one who planted it.  I didn't know because it was new to me this year and it has a tough name to remember.  But I sure will remember it from now on....Cherianthus 'Gold Dust'.  At the time of planting it was just a little pile of forgettable leaves.  But I am a sucker for new plants so I decided to give it a try. And when the flowers came out in late winter I was rewarded for my decision.  

Does this not shout cheerful

In the container with 'Gold Dust' is the pansy Dynamite 'Blueberry Thrill', Liberty Yellow Snapdragon and Carex 'Ice Dance'.  If you look closely you can see that the flowers fall away from the bottom, leaving you with color at the top for a long time.  Not sure how long it will continue to bloom but I will definitely use 'Gold Dust' again, even if it only has a short bloom time.  The impact is well worth it.

Another new pansy for me is Ultima 'Purple Lace'....dark purple petals edged in silvery gray.   Talk about a class act.  It is paired with Euphorbia 'Rudolph' and Dusty Miller 'New Look'.  Check it out.....

'Purple Lace' has been blooming consistently through the season, spent heads just droop quietly, not calling attention to themselves.

The addition of the Dusty Miller really pulled out the silver on the leaves of the pansy, and the dark purple stems of the Euphorbia made the final connection.










For whatever reason Dusty Miller has been able to shoulder its way to the forefront of the containers this year.  In the past it was lost in the crowd.  I'm glad it was able to strut its stuff so that this combination could come together.

I'm off to groom again this weekend and get more pictures.  Be back soon.

Checking In On The Pansies - and others

Sorry I have been away for so long and not sharing what is happening with the containers.  A sad, personal event has kept me from writing.  But the joy of the flowers is helping me, so I'll be back on track.

The cold weather has made the kales and mustards very happy.  They are busting out of their assigned spaces.  Every time I am in town I stop by containers and cut them back to give the poor little violas a chance to get some sun.   The common question I get is "do I eat them"....no can do...I put insecticide in the soil.  Yuck!

But I wanted to share one of the pretties with you.  The container that sits on Main Street by the Perk Avenue Cafe is so striking right now.  There are Liberty Yellow snapdragons in the center with Carex Ice Dance woven in between.  The pansies are Silhouette.  A neat combination of purple and yellow.  It is such a cheerful arrangement.  

Probably should have tidied this one up before the photo but it was darn cold outside I just promised them I would get back later this week.

The faces of the purple pansies are so striking. What a great contrast against their yellow companions.  

I braved the wind and went down by the Town Park and got this photo of the Red Russian Kale.  It is not only thriving but is so well behaved, not nearly as rowdy as the Red Giant Mustard -- much less pruning is needed to keep it in check.  

Okay, a little grooming on the parsley would have helped this photo too but it is also doing really well.  Another cold weather fan.  But check out this cute little viola that is poking its way through the foliage.....

Now back to the really cold weather issue....here is an update on that tropical fern 'Blue Star' that I have left in the container on Main and Washington to see how long it would last.  I'm northern by birth (but southern by choice) and I could not have withstood the latest frigid weather we have had.  Looks great -- still no frost burn.

I have "understudies" waiting in the wings if and when the weather finally takes this soldier away but I'm thinking it may be a player again this summer.  Stay tuned!

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.