How Does Your Garden Grow?

How does your garden grow? Mine is growing in pots.

Last summer/fall after our Big Project was all done I believe I may have mentioned that there are areas of our yard that grow nothing but johnson grass. A side effect of living on the railroad tracks I’m sure. I tried planting in those areas many times over the years but failed time and time again to get anything to grow. I’m sure I said something about putting down the old weed cloth and pouring the gravel to control the weeds; and I’m sure I posted a quick shot of the empty pots that I picked up on a clearance sale for only a few cents.

Well; I have started filling those pots and my adventure in container gardening has begun! It won’t be a plush lawn with awesome flower beds and that veggie garden I’d like to have; but over time, as I add more pots in assorted sizes and shapes and find places around yard to place them, I think things will shape up.

Viola Endurio Tri-Color Mix

Pansy Delta Premium Pure Yellow

If I ever teach you one thing make it this… if you buy an older house on the railroad tracks get yourself a gardener to plant a new lawn! I’m so tired of the johnson grass, bind weed, and other noxious weeds that have crept into this yard over the years. Not pretty.

On the up side I now have several fairly healthy trees and two bushes that I planted over the years, the peony bush surprise lilies and daffodils planted by the previous owners are growing, the irises I planted last summer are coming up, and my container gardening adventure is taking off.

Peony Plant Coming Up

Iris Coming Up

I made a couple of visits to the hardware store (yes; I buy flowers at the hardware store as we do not have a greenhouse in town) and I picked up a few tiny violas, a few pansies, three geraniums, four african daisies, and one flower which I did not know the name of and managed to lose the tag before I got home. Maybe someone can tell me what they are; all I know right now is that they are a pretty little yellow flower.

Unknown Flowers

Unknown Flower

I’ve put the violas and pansies in pots on the front porch, I’m not sure what I will replace them with once the summer heat gets to them but I’ll figure that out later, right now they look nice sitting there. The geraniums and daisies are in pots in one of the beds previously dominated by that nasty johnson grass and now filled with gravel and gnomes. and the as yet unknown yellow flowers are in two pots on the patio.

Geranium Tango Rose Mega Splash

Geranium Tango White

Geranium Tango Confetti Salmon

Geranium Tango Rose Mega Splash

The peonies are coming up nicely this year and I hope to have some blooms next month, the daffodils are done for the year as well as that one little tulip, the surprise lilies have survived being moved however I don’t know if they will bloom this year or not because of the move (we’ll have to wait till fall to find out), and the irises are coming up nice and tall and I have hopes that they will bloom next summer.

I hope to add more pots and more flowers and would love to add some whiskey barrels and other larger pots for a few veggies like some nice fresh tomatoes! But it is a work in progress and I have challenged myself to capture photos of how my garden grows over the next few months.

African Daisy 3D Silver

African Daisy 3D Silver & Serenity Rose Magic

African Daisy Serenity Rose Magic

African Daisy Serenity Golden

Have any of you gardened in containers? I could use a few tips!

Container Garden 4/2/12

4/4/12 UPDATE: I have found a name for the unknown yellow flowers! I went back to the hardware store for a few more plants; D kept saying that he likes marigolds so I had to pick up a few. While I was there I found another pot of the same flowers and wrote down the name. They are a variety of Bidens. Now to get that noted in my continer gardening notebook so I don’t forget.