The Back Patio - 2010 Annual Containers

The Back Patio

Not far from the Terra Cotta pots is the Back Patio. This area receives the most direct sun of the entire property, from about 9:30am to 4:00pm. The four containers against the house are 24 inches (61 cm) in diameter, and the two at the edge of the patio are square and 14 inches (35.5 cm) across. The containers against the house are under a four-foot (1.2 meter) -deep eave which prevents them whenever it rains. As a result, those four are always dry. The two containers at the outer edge of the patio, although they do receive rain, dry out very quickly. Therefore I choose plants that are both heat and drought tolerant. The color scheme of the surrounding gardens is mainly yellow and purple, so I try to introduce bold colors (red, orange, maroon) in the containers' color scheme. 

September 7, 2010 - Week Sixteen

September 7, 2010 - Week Sixteen

August 31, 2010 - Week Fifteen

June 1, 2010 - Week Two

August 31, 2010 - Week Fifteen

Plant List
Ageratum 'Artist Blue'
Anisodontea 'Slightly Strawberry'
Bracteantha 'StrawBurst Yellow'

Calibrachoa 'Superbells Orange'
Dichondra 'Silver Falls'

Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost'

Hibiscus 'Red Shield'

Lantana 'Dallas Red'

Well, everything started out lovely when it was planted (see top vertical photo). Then the Hibiscus got really big. In all honesty, everything ended up looking really weedy and overgrown (see bottom vertical photo). The Ageratum died, the Bracteantha lost all the lower leaves and stopped blooming, the Calibrachoa got leggy and flowered poorly, the Anisodontea got lost in the Hibiscus, the Euphorbia got lost in the Lantana, the Dichondra sort of flopped out of the container, and the Lantana tried to take over the Back Patio horizontally while the Hibiscus endeavored to do the vertically. And as you can see in the bottom vertical photo, it was very hard to see any flowers. I think that is a combination of the plants stopped blooming and the remaining flowers are too small and non-showy.

But the plants that did well in the drought situation are the Dichondra, Hibiscus, Lantana, and the Calibrachoa (to an extent).

There is definitely going to be a serious regrouping and overhaul of next year's plant selection for The Back Patio.