Questions to ask myself of the container gardens I planted this summer.
Happy August! This is the time of year I review my container gardens. I always ask myself the following questions.
**Warning here if you ask others to review your garden containers you may hear – “Yeah, they’re okay.” or “They are pretty, don’t be so hard on them and yourself.” This process is not to be critical of myself. It is to look at what plants were used and how I used them so next year I do not cause a poor plant’s death. That is said with good humor and a wink.
So here are the questions:
- How are they doing?
- Should I plant them this way again?
- What would I change?
- Why don’t I like them?
- Which ones blew me away?
- Did I have an epic fail?
Here is the review of my container gardens.
I thought I would review them with you. Especially since I am in a new gardening zone – Zone 6, I have a lot to learn. With hot humid muggy conditions which of course causes other issues like powdery mildew, it attacked my bee balm (monarda), notes help plan for better plant selection next year.
How are my containers doing?
50/50. Some are doing awesome! A couple need to be watered more often than I care to do.
A couple are awful! However, the hummingbirds are happy with these pots as they buzz around midday.
Should I plant them this way again?
Yes, on the succulents, the troughs, begonias, herbs
No, on the dahlias, salvias, fuchsias
What would I change?
Dahlias should be in the ground or a bigger container. My rectangular one requires too much water and they are drying out daily. Even though these dahlias are a smaller patio variety.
Salvias and Fuchsias also need larger containers; these containers dry out too quickly.
As you can see the containers I used in Michigan aren’t cutting it here. They are too shallow for this growing season and heat.
Now I could try next year adding water polymers to the soil. I have used these in the past when I planted herbs in shallow containers for a party. **Please note if using these polymers follow the directions closely. I thought I’d wing it once when adding them to the soil. Wrong! The next big rain the polymers swelled up monstrously and pushed the plant out of the soil. And it looked like slime bubbly up out of a Ghostbusters movie. LOL it was a sight and a shocking discovery when the rain stopped.
Why don’t I like them?
They are not lush. Looking at these container gardens you can tell they are under stress, like someone who wants to leave the party. Yes, they are looking for a better pot to grow in. (Yes, I am having fun with puns.)
I have a couple other pots of flowers that are doing horrid too. But in my defense it is not my planting, It is the squirrels constantly digging in them. I have tried multiple ways to dissuade them but nothing has worked. Maybe they haven’t read all the articles I have on ‘How to Keep Squirrels Out of Containers’. Lol. As you can see with this heart form the squirrels are pulling moss and succulents out of the form from the top and sides. The center is growing nicely.
I am working on keeping my sense of humor. If you remember I have a retired greyhound, who has been trained since birth to chase small furry creatures. Not Rosie, she watches them running around the yard then if she sees me watching her watching them. She points as if to say, “They are over there if you want to get them out of the flowers”. Oh yeah, no chasing. She’s not that ambitious. Lol. Anyway, back to the flowers.
Now, I do have hanging containers that are working beautifully. But I don’t like the coloring of the leaves. I love the Coleus in it! I just wish I would have picked a brighter leaf – I did debate that at the nursery. This is a pot that I showcased being planted in our Facebook group, you can see the picture here.
Which ones blew me away?
The dragon wing begonia on the front porch is amazing! And my upper deck begonia container is breathtaking!
What do you think?
I love how the spider plant and impatiens look in my wire orbs. Sorry for the funky picture angle, I was standing on the edge of the chair, trying to get it to stand out from the trees. I am learning in my photography class ~ wink. Maybe you remember these from a previous blog. Here is the link.
Plus my succulent container gardens are gorgeous. I am thankful I wrote down in my journal the plants that went into them. They are a mixture of hardy perennials and tender house succulents. Most certainly, I would never remember which ones are tender this long after planting. I really love my planter with the candelabra on the back deck by the bar. Again the squirrels dug these up right after I planted them but the netting I covered it with let the plants grow in and they haven’t dug in there since. Too bad the netting didn’t work on other containers.
Did I have an epic fail?
Yes! The miniature flowers I planted in the Fairy Garden the squirrels loved to dig them up. This poor fuchsia is a good sport flying between the pot and the ground. It ends up out of the pot often. And I think it is just this one pot that these squirrels want. Because everytime I move it to another place thinking it is safe here, it is found and dug up. So I brought it back to the Fairy Garden hoping the fairies would protect it. Hmm… still haven’t figured out the squirrel logic here.
Container gardens review conclusion is…
So here is the good, the bad and let’s not try this again. Luckily it is the end of summer. So the real fails are going to be pulled out and planted for the fall. I love starting these early because then they are filled nestled together in the container by the time the pumpkins are getting put out for fall. Then I can get my hands into soil, another good thing. So all is good. If you want to get your hands in soil and plant some fall containers there will be a class September 14 you can check it out here.
As long as I have a sense of humor, life flows and notes are made. These notes really serve me well next spring. Also they are great when placing orders in February of items needed for the containers and garden. As I often say I love my journal and all the life notes it helps me keep. If you are looking for more ideas for garden note keeping and journaling, I have a previous blog about that here. Also with my notes I can spend some time dreaming of new plant combinations using the plants that thrived last year. Then the cycle begins again and life goes on…
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