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Angelonia and Gomphrena |
Tony Avent was not amused when he visited last summer: "Friends don't let friends buyAnnuals" he boasted on one of his catalog covers some time ago (
and his tee-shirt is still on sale). Those who follow my blog assume that I grow mostly tiny alpines, various xeric shrubs and lots of cacti and mesembryanthemums. So much of my garden (rock gardens, xeriscape) blooms from early spring to early summer--and then becomes a bit too much of a "textural study"...I've found over time that annuals in containers can make a splash of color to liven up this corner or that...And I have become addicted to growing them. This is my confessional...I like and grow everything. And after what seems like the longest winter since the Pleistocene, I am indulging in an orgy of annual worship! Come join me on a stroll around my garden as it was late last summer...
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More pots (at least one has basil in it) |
As luck would have it, I live a skip and a jump from
Sheila Schultz, who can fairly be said to be
Denver's container maven whose work is featured perennially in Fine Gardening. Sheila runs
Denver Dirty Girls who make a living by designing containers. Since I cannot compete on the level playing field of design, I know I can beat anyone when it comes to Quantity! I have FAR more pots than they do...especially if you factor in the 2 1/4" pots that fill my nursery....
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Salvia patens (on strike) with Nicotiana |
This one would be wonderful if the dang Heavenly blue Salvia would only bloom the same time as the Nicotiana! They seem to alternate bloom times...maybe by this fall...
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I dote on the reds and oranges of the vast array of Pelargonium |
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Bessera elegans
I have a few pots given over to bulbs--this is the first year I've grown this amazing beauty! The flowering lasts a long time.
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Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eiler' |
Let's cleanse our palate with this wonderful black eyed Susan I never see in local gardens that much. I find the color easier to live with than the ubiquitous and rapidly becoming clichéd "Goldsturm"
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Campanula pyramidalis 'Alba' |
Had to sneak in the first blossoming I've had of this wonderful campanula (rather dwarfed in the shade of Orach and my darling Amorphophallus konjac, which I hope you notice in the background...Thanks, Tim Alderton and J.C. Raulston Arboretum!)
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More pot madness (with black Millet) |
I've clustered pots willy nilly--if I only had the designers eye! and a staff of a few dozen helpers to do it right...
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And MORE... |
Another cluster--with who knows how many lurking, buried and smothered by the grasses and Cowpen daisy (which I don't have the guts to yank)...
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And more...
I have no couth: I let these red Amaranths germinate and grow in my Pelly pots. I'm sure Rob and David would have yanked those...
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Pelargonium sidoides |
Robin tells me it's just sidoides, but Ernie insists it's a hybrid between sidoides and reniforme. Since Robin just sent us a box of pellies, we are going with her name.
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More pellies... |
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Pelargonium reniforme |
The other putative parent of the hybrid. I know I should have cleaned it up for you...My staff took the day off, alas.
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Begonia |
I can look up the cultivar: although I know the name of every subspecies and hybrid in the alpine and perennial realm, I am slovenly and amateur with my annuals: I'm happy to know the generic names. I often get these from a few secret sources when they are destined for the dump, and the names are often missing...so much for my Curatorial credentials...
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Salvia guaranitica |
I grow a number of tender Salvias in pots--and why not? This one needs a bit more sun...
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Salvia coccinea and Pentas.. |
I know pink and red are not supposed to go together. I don't mind the combo myself (as you can see--half my pots have red and pink in them). That's not a thistle on the lower right--it's a Berkheya! But those are Oxalis--I better get after them...
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Dry border still chugging... |
Another palate cleanser--our resident analine wild Phlox that was here when we moved here, and some random Rudbeckia hirta self sown...
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Tender cacti on summer vacation... |
These qualify as pots, Mr. Proctor! and add to my astronomical count...
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Pentas, Ipomoea, Canna, Gomphrena |
This pot needs to be watered every day: it is so pitiful when they all wilt.
This pot needs to be watered every day: it is so pitiful when they all wilt.
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And MORE |
More of the same... ho hum (see all the cactus pots beyond--their numbers add up!)
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And More... |
A few more pots...
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And even more... |
Another stretch of them--with the Church meadow beyond.
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Closer look... |
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Periwinkle is underutilized... |
A few troughs to add to the pot count...
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I like gomphrena... |
Getting repetitive I fear...
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More pellies and Millet |
The last in the row...
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Pentas and begonias |
I'm fond of this one, not sure why. There are some gomphrenas that didn't show up very well (the "thrillers")...
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By the front door... |
To the left of the front door. Love them Periwinkles...
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Pentas and Plumbago and begonias too... |
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Angelonia joins in... |
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Euphorbia millii (Crown of thorns) |
I finally broke down and grew one (a gift at a talk). It's bloomed non stop--I may have to get more!
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Scarlet Pentas...woooooohooooooooo! |
I love the red color on this Pentas...
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Periwinkle and Angelonia |
MORE Vinca and Angelonia--a good combo I think..
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By the front door (other side) |
To the right of the front door: I better clean up the mess...
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Periwinkle and begonia |
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White periwinkle, Pentas and Begonia... |
My last pot...I just realize I forgot to photograph the pots below the veggie garden--and the ones out by the meadow! You could have had another twenty or more shots! Oh well...I think this is more than enough...
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Closeup of same... |
I fear I have confirmed all suspicions you might have had about my mental competence...I know no limits, I'm afraid. Can't wait for a whole new year to overindulge all over again!
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