Why I Oughta...

Moving on from the pair of stoop containers (small ones) , we now look at the pair of larger, back patio containers.  #7 on my 2024 to-do list was to 'do better containers' - and these two are the largest of the bunch and that means can have the biggest impact.  Are these perfect?  Nope.  Not by a lot.  Are they better than last year?  I think so.   Here, below, is a look at both of them side-by-side.  There's Creeping Jenny cascading down in both.  Red Wave Petunias are dotted in both.  The corner container has Orange Zinnias.  And the round one has the (new to me) Scaevola 'Bombay Dark Blue flower that has spread out and added some nice color.   Below is a closer look at the Scaevola 'Bombay Dark Blue - from The Growing Place.   Here's a look at all three working together - with the Wave Petunias in bloom (last week). The Creeping Jenny was a hold-over from last year and overwintered in teh containers.  Here, below, is a look at these a month ago when I just

Last year, we had just ONE tiny, white bloom on ALL of our Oakleaf Hydrangeas .  It was a bloom on one of the dwarf Munchkin varieties.  The other ones?  All taken by the dang rabbits the previous Winter.   In Summer 2021, we had our first REAL set of blooms on these things (that were planted in Summer 2020).    That makes this our fourth growing season (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) and the plants ( knock wood ) have rebounded from a tough battle with the dang rabbits.   Over those years, I've been able to 'get to know' these and the kind of care they need - at least when they're young.  As many people know, Oakleaf Hydrangeas bloom on 'old wood' - which means that THIS SEASON - after these blooms decline, the shrub will put up some new stem growth.  It is THOSE STEMS (from this year) that will lead to blooms NEXT YEAR.   How did I help keep those important stems in tact all year?  With Chicken Wire cages starting last Fall and through the Spring here in Zone 5b. 

A couple of weeks back,  I showed off some of the most significant annual bedding planting that I've done in our backyard that included a bunch of shade-loving annuals like impatiens and begonias among others.  Number 25 on my 2023 to-do list was to use annuals beyond the container and with the shade annuals, I was feeling pretty good.  But, I also have a more sun-filled border near the kitchen window that I decided to try some other bedding annuals.  I poked around to try to figure out the difference between traditional petunias, supertunias and wave petunias.  Turns out, Wave are 'spreading' and are the best for bedding.  I picked up four of these Easy Wave Lavender Blue Sky Wave Petunias and stuck them in close to the border in a staggered planting. These have a spread of more than a foot, so I'm hoping that these will fill in the spaces in between and put on a nice little blueish-purple show this Summer: In the photo above, you can see the three Lucky Charm Anemon