Garden.True.North
  • Blog
  • Classes
  • Picture Gallery
  • Contact
  • Gardener Quiz
    • Seed Question
    • Temperature
    • Soil Test
    • Tools

​Garden Stories

​​Garden.True.North is about gardening in Zone 3,

​sharing thoughts, ideas and tips for all northern gardeners.

Pretty Flowers

6/1/2017

0 Comments

 
​“I want some pretty flowers”, I overheard the tall slim man with a small round container of succulents in his hand declare to the garden center clerk.  Here’s a place where there is a smorgasbord of flowers in abundance.  I wondered how she would guide this customer.  I didn’t hear her answer but the man replied with “something like pansies”.  Good choice I thought as pansies are usually my very first purchase of the year to start the garden season.  
​I was on my annual pilgrimage to purchase flowers for my containers.  Some years I’m more adventurous and try to fill my containers with everything new; other years it’s the regulars that have proven successful.  My first containers followed my Grandma Minnie’s standard of red geraniums with dracaena spikes.  She planted them each year in a white washed metal trough that sat on the low roof between their porch and the cheese factory. 
 
Some years I have a detailed plan for each container after studying the magazines all winter.  Okay, I did that one year.  Most years if I have a plan at all it’s more a count of how many filler, spillers, and thrillers I need to buy.  For those unfamiliar with the terms:  fillers are bushy flowers filling the container, spillers are ones that overflow and run down the edges, and thrillers are showy ones that are the focal point of a container.   There even was a year when I challenged myself to use as many divided perennials from my own garden in containers as possible. 
 
This year’s plan is more an aspiration:  to try some succulents and ornamental edibles.  I liked the tall slim man’s approach at the garden center in buying a container already planted with an arrangement of succulents since I know so little about that type of plant.  I need some ornamental edibles for a demonstration for a summer garden program and have already planted several containers with kale and pansies.  On this trip I bought some Rainbow Swiss Chard that with its bright stems will need no companions for a colorful container.  Beyond that my plan is to grab and go.
 
Mostly I revert to my standards:  Calibrachoa, also known as million bells; Egyptian Papyrus (King Tut ®), Wave ® Petunias, Sweet Potato Vines, New Guinea Impatiens, Elephant Ears, and Dahlias.
 
Whether I plan out in detail, make multiple trips to the garden centers, or just enjoy potluck it all seems to come out fine.  And every year I buy pansies.  
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Classes


    ​Handouts for programs
    ​are on the
    ​ "Classes" tab. 
    ***************
    ​Check out my Garden Course catalog if you are interested in  a presentation to your group - Click Here

    Link to North Country Master Gardener Volunteers' website

    Archives

    November 2022
    April 2022
    August 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017

    Categories

    All
    Annuals
    Fall
    Garden Events
    Garden Trends
    Garden Visits
    Low Maintenance
    Miscellaneous
    Monthly Calendar
    Perennial & Biennial
    Spring
    Summer
    Travel
    Trees And Shrubs
    Vegetables
    Winter

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog
  • Classes
  • Picture Gallery
  • Contact
  • Gardener Quiz
    • Seed Question
    • Temperature
    • Soil Test
    • Tools