Back Stoop Containers - Euphorbia, Persian Shield, Sweet Caroline Medusa Green Ipomoea, Orange Zinnias - July 2024

#7 on my 2024 to-do list was to 'do better containers' this year.  That meant doing DIFFERENT containers than I've done in the past.  This goes back to that whole 'get out of your comfort zone' thing that I confronted with flowers in the beds last Fall.  I told myself to resist early Spring and resist the Big Box store.  But, also...lean-in to what I liked about last year.  That 'what I liked' in our containers last year started and stopped with Euphorbia.   Last year, I bought one Euphorbia plant and tucked it in with some Zinnias from Northwind Perennial Farm.  Loved it.  I also saw that the Morton Arboretum used Euphoriba in one of their beds in the Fragrance Garden.  Lovely.  (That's also where I spotted Cardoon, too.)

We have two large rectangular containers - one on back patio, one in the shade on our front porch.  Then, we have a large round planter on the patio and a couple smaller companion planters that sit on the steps our back stoop.  This post is about those containers.  

Did I 'do better'?  I think so.  Did I use big box material?  Yes.  But, I was more choosy.  These two containers, while a matched set, are planted differently.

The one on the right (as you face the house) is planted with Diamond Frost Euphorbia, a single Persian Plant and some harvested Creeping Jenny tucked into one side (for the spill).  Below is a look at that container: 

On the other side of the stoop, I repeated the same Diamond Frost Euphorbia.  But, planted it with a new (to me) Sweet Potato Vine named Sweet Caroline Medusa and one of the orange Zinnias that I used as bedding plants.   This container is below:

Below are a few looks at the plants and their containers.  First the Persian Shield plant:

Then the Diamond Frost Euphorbia:

And, finally...the Sweet Caroline Medusa Ipomoea.  This one is really neat.

Next up is a look at the other patio containers.