The Deck - 2010 Annual Containers

The Deck

Coming off the kitchen is a small deck. This space is also in direct sun from 9:30am to about 4:00pm. The containers are about 16 inches (40.6 cm) in diameter. Because of the somewhat harsh location and the closest water source being the kitchen sink, these containers also dry out very quickly. The plants chosen for the deck must be heat and drought tolerant. Because of the size of the deck the plants must also be somewhat contained in order to not over-crowd the space. Even though The Deck is a full story above the Back Patio, the Patio can be viewed from The Deck. For this reason I choose the similar color pallete and plant selection in order to connect the two areas.

August 17, 2010 - Week Thirteen

August 31, 2010 - Week Fifteen

Plant List

Anisodontea 'Slightly Strawberry'

Bracteantha 'StrawBurst Yellow'

Calibrachoa 'Superbells Pink'

Helichrysum 'Silver & White Licorice Vine'

Lantana 'Bandana Cherry Sunrise'

Mandevilla 'Giant Crimson'

The Mandevilla is a fantastic plant that is perpetually in bloom. But I had to be diligent in preventing the twining vine from smothering the rest of the plants in the container. The Calibrachoa actually did much better on The Deck than on the Back Patio - perhaps because The Deck containers get more rain. The Lantana seems to do well wherever I put it. The Bracteantha did well for a few months, but then declined; the lower leaves wilted and the flowers weren't nearly as profuse or large. The Licorice Vine loved the location; it was thick and lush the whole summer, and almost took over! The Anisodontea had a tendancy to lean instead of remaining upright. But the flower shape and color echoed those of the Calibrachoa and brought those elements to a higher level withing the design.

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.

Plants on the Hill

This week we mulched our hill. It's actually my in-law's house. Three years ago they lifted the house and stuck a basement underneath. The front hill was cut through during the process. Since it was a horrible (and dangerous) thing to mow, we decided to plant it with prairie-like plants. This is their third year on the hill and it's looking great. We leave everything up during winter and cut it back in spring. We've discovered which plants self-seed and which do not. As a result we have many new freebies! Always a bonus. The randomness of where the new plants grow adds to the prairie look. Here are the descriptions of our hill plants.

Achillea millefolium 'Paprika' (Paprika Yarrow) Very tough little plant. It is very free-form and would be considered scruffy or unruly anywhere but a prairie setting. Bright orange-red flowers

that don't stay as long as I hoped. This is one we've allowed to

self-seed to fill in the gaps. The Achillea is very happy to oblige. And it grows fast, too. The original plants have more than doubled in width since we planted them. Very good for soil stabilization and erosion control. Very drought and "crappy soil" tolerant. Just wish they bloomed longer.

Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' and Echinacea purpurea alba 'White Swan' (Magnus Purple Coneflower and White Swan Coneflower) When we first planted the coneflower we quickly saw evidence of Aster Yellows* - on all the plants. Greatly dismayed, we pulled up the worst ones, which left many gaps. We allowed the remainder to self-seed. The following year many baby coneflower dotted the hill. Now, in the third year, we have healthy patches of coneflower with minimal Aster Yellows sightings. As you can guess in the photo, a Magnus seedling grew up through a White Swan ....or is it the other way around? The stems of the coneflower are incredibly stiff and strong; I caught the tines of a garden rake under a flower head - the flower didn't pop off nor did the stem break. These characteristics make Echinacea a perfect choice for our very windy and exposed hill.

*Aster Yellows is a virus that causes bizarre distortions in the flowers, sometimes preventing the petals from expanding, and the foliage to turn a funny yellowish color. It is spread by leaf hoppers and is untreatable. Infected plants aid in spreading the disease and will become worse in ensuing years. UPDATE: For photos of Aster Yellows click here.

Juniperus sabina 'Monna' (Calgary Carpet Juniper) The only true shrub on the hill. Very tough plant that laughs at the terrible soil. A little slow in growing, but has grown noticeably this year. As suggested by the 'Carpet' in the name, this variety of Juniper grows out instead of up. The evergreen nature offers a nice visual rest from all the color and billowiness of the perennials. We have some situated near the top of the hill; they don't look quite right there so we're considering moving to the lower parts of the hill. Not really looking forward to that job....

Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage) Wonderfully silvery-purple and billowy. It is the largest plant chosen for the hill. Although a marginal Zone 4, it withstands Minnesota winters quite well - and the hill is exposed to the harsh winter winds. I think the secret is to have adequate snow cover. By leaving the plants standing during winter they act as a snow fence, preventing the snow

from blowing away and, therefore, providing the necessary snow cover. I do cut them back by 1/2 - 1/3 every fall. In spring I inevitably have to remove more so it actually ends up being 1/4 height. But it never ceases to grow up to its 4-foot height each year. In the three years it's been on the hill only one has died. Unexpected bonus - readily self-seeds! Yay for free plants!

Rudbeckia sp (Black-Eyed Susan) Today I was surprised to find a rogue Rudbeckia in the Echinacea. "What are you doing here?" I asked, because I really do talk to plants! I'm actually quite delighted he decided to join us on the hill; his yellow flowers will be little spotlights scattered among the lavender-purple and silver blue. Having similar traits to Echinacea, they are also well-suited to our hill. They begin blooming about 2 weeks after the Echinacea and continue about a month after the Echinacea has gone to seed. A great way to keep the color coming!

Schizachyrium scopulorum (Little Bluestem) I have had more people ask me to identify "that grass" than any other plant on the hill combined. As the name suggests, the blades are a delightful blue-green. Very vertical presence. In fall the blades turn a striking red-purple - which is when I get the inquisitive passers-by. In October the flower plumes open a delightful silver. They're not as showy as a Miscanthus (Feather Reed Grass), but the effect of silver above purple is lovely. As winter approaches, the blades turn a buff color with a hint of orange. We leave them up all winter. Sure, they get flattened by heavy snow, but they bounce back up in spring. We actually use the grass as our winter weather vane and wind sock. Since the trees have no leaves it isn't immediately clear if it's windy. Then we look at the grass. If the bitter wind is blowing them around, we know it's better for us to stay inside.