Why I Oughta...

I've covered the Elephant Ear bulbs that I planted in some of our patio containers already , but after gifting a few of them, I had two remaining.  What did I do with them?  I stuck them in the ground amongst some 'escaped' strawberry (that I'm using as groundcover) and Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses.  See below for these two tropical annuals that have popped up in our landscape: #25 on my annual to-do list was to use 'annuals beyond the container' .  I'd say that this counts, right?   What have I learned?  First...that these probably aren't a perfect fit in this area.  At least by themselves.  But....that doesn't mean that I can't plant them somewhere else, right?  Or, augment/expand this bed and plant some other colors at their feet?  Something to think about for next year.  The other thing to think about?  Those sexy black-stemmed version that they have at the Arboretum .  Upgrade to those, right? 

Back in Spring, I planted a bunch of Colocasia esculenta corns in containers and even one in the patio-adjacent bed in our backyard.  I've grown them a number of times and I like the tropical vibe they lend to some of our larger containers.  Here's some from 2018 .  Some from 2019 .  I've also remarked about their trippy, almost hallucinogenic pattern on the top-side of the leaves .   This year, I think I've grown my largest plant that I've ever had in our containers.  Below, you can see the size of one of the leaves - my hand for reference.  Note:  I don't have tiny hands like our former president.  I *think* mine are normal.  I have to do more reading up on tropicals (and sub-tropicals) in containers - because every time I use one like these, I like it in our patio containers.  More to come on that - and something that I think I should put on my 2022 to-do list :  using more tropicals and sub-tropicals in my garden.