I thought in the middle of the NPA garden tour posts, I would insert a quick post about my own garden, and what you see when you step up to my front door. We needed a little break from all that fabu, right?
Two years ago I put together some annual pots for my front step/porch (read about it
here), but last year I just didn't get around to it. When we were on Vashon Island, we visited two nurseries, where I bought a bunch of annuals for this very project. I've been buying others all during the course of the spring plant sales, but they finally reached critical mass this past weekend, prompting me to put them all together the very next day.
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| Annual pots by the front door, and herb-filled kitchen garden, one step down by the garage |
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| I used to have herbs in my two raised beds in the back, but this works better, and leaves space for more vegetables in the raised beds. |
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| What you see when you look to the right after knocking on my front door |
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| Hmm...it could use a few more pots on the left there, don't you think? |
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| Begonia luxurians (one of many rooted cuttings that Peter brought to the Portland plant swap) |
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| Behind the Begonia luxurians is a mass of Dahlia foliage, and beside it several small Begonia boliviensis, including one pink one bought at Kathy's Corner |
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| Aren't these pot feet hilarious? I bought these this past weekend at a shop on Vashon Island, and presented a similar profile to the entire neighborhood while taking this picture (although my enormous butt was at least clothed in denim) |
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| Pink Begonia boliviensis on the left, red on the right |
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| All the greenery behind the pots is from a boatload of Dahlias, which were dug up while doing garden renovations. I'm waiting for them to bloom so I can identify them, and figure out where in the beds to put them. |
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| This dark Coleus, called 'Marooned,' is from Proven Winners |
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| I sowed a handful of Cerinthe 'Kiwi Blue' a couple of months ago, and I'm hoping they'll look good with that maroon leaf. |
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| I planted up the window box with a variety of succulents, some of which were left over from last year, and have been languishing in my kitchen ever since |
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| Mosaic plaque from Lisa Betz Originals, from the Vashon Island Farmer's Market -- Nigel pointed out there are two ways to interpret this phrase, both of which apply to me |
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| Instead of hanging baskets, I'm using cheap bird cages from Fred Meyer, filled with one annual each. |
I got the idea to use birdcages from Debbie Teashon at Rainy Side Gardeners. Check out her post
here.
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| Nasturtium 'Flame Thrower Orange,' a really interesting Nasturtium with narrow, split petals, bought at Dig Nursery |
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| The foliage is a bit different from most Nasturtiums too. |
We now return you to your regular programming....
