Saturday, May 26, 2007

Hot colors, sleeping woman

Finally, I got the patio pots planted. Some of those bedding plants had been on my porch for so long their roots had wound aroung the bottoms of the containers. I had to wield the scissors to cut and pry them out. These are my "hot" color pots. I want to see some pizazz when I walk out the back door and the pots are in my direct line of view. The tall yellow plant is Euryops, mixed with grocery-store zinnias, Laguna White lobelias, and a calibrachoa.

More of the same in another pot. See how the leaves have yellowed in the center of the white lobelia? I tried to tidy them up but it soon became obvious I'd have a plant with no leaves.


This is a broken strawberry pot. I have lots of broken clay pots, I just turn the broken parts to the back so only my neighbor sees them. You can see where I tried to reinforce the top with a piece of leather shoelace. That's annual Gypsophila "Gypsy" in the pockets. I usually put bright blue lobelia in there but decided to throw caution to the winds and try something else. Also I couldn't find the bright blue, only the dark blue.

This is the view of my hot colors "Mexican" corner. My dinky pond is in the background. I've given up putting fish in there as the raccoons will come snack on them at least twice each week. I bought a big plastic turtle that "swims" in the pond when you press a button. The grandchildren should like that.

The big plant on the left is common mullein (Verbascum). The birds sow this all over and I always hope I get lucky and a couple will sprout somewhere other than in the middle of the path. This one almost made it. The path is just a little narrower now. Mullein is probably a noxious weed in Colorado but I can't help but reap what the birds sow. And it's no wonder they do, one mullein can produce up to 180,000 seeds per plant and the seeds remain viable for 100 years. How do you beat odds like that? It comes full circle for the birds though. By the end of the summer they're busy swaying back and forth on the tall seedheads gleaning their breakfast.

The grasses in the pot are Stipa, or Korean Feather grass. I love to see the light shine through these early in the morning or at the end of the day. The silky tips of the grass look frazzled which remind me of how my hair looks sometimes when I wake up. It's amusing on the grass, but not on me.

Here's the sleeping woman. I bought this head at a garage sale a long time ago and each year she's lost parts of herself to frost and ice. Now she's only half what she used to be so I put her to sleep with her head resting on the groundcover. Not so sure the grandchildren will like this. Even I think it's a little creepy. Her "thyme" may have come.

20 comments:

Diana LaMarre said...

Everything is looking so nice. I love the colors of your flowers (same as mine! :) )

I usually have a wild mullein or two sprouting around my gardens. I, too, usually leave them.

I agree, the head's a bit creepy...hope the grands don't have nigtmares about it! LOL.

Carol Michel said...

When I first saw that head, I thought, "someone's murdered her neighbor"! It is creepy.

But all your pots look great, wonderful choices. Best of luck with them.

It is amazing to think that your garden was buried under all that snow this past winter. How about some pictures side by side to show the difference?

Annie in Austin said...

The sleeping head does look like a Ray Harryhausen special-effect ready to open its eyes and scare the young ones! Rather than turn them off, however, it may be even more appealing for being creepy.

LostRoses, your garden is wonderfully full and lovely, and your annuals are way ahead of mine and the Euryops looks great. With the right microclimate the Euryops is grown as a shrub in parts of Austin - maybe I should give it another try.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

KGMom said...

Oh good--another potty gardener. I too use pots for most of my flower plantings. And I love your mixing of colors and shapes.
Raccoons really come & raid your pond?!?
I think the sleeping woman looks a little creepy.

Mary said...

Nice Halloween dec - the sleeping woman! LOL! Your garden looks so sice, Lost Roses. I can see you've worked hard to restore it after the horrible winter you had. I like the herons and I giggled about the wind-up turtle. Yes, the children will love it! (Not sure about the head, though...)

I hope I never see a raccoon near my pond!

EAL said...

Pots add variety and a versatile design dimension that seems essential--at least for my garden.

I am trying the white diascia this summer.

Susan Gets Native said...

I LOVE the sleeping woman! I think it looks quite peaceful.

LostRoses said...

Zoey, while I was planting I thought the same thing, "These are Zoey's colors!" We're looking good, huh? This is probably "the head's" last year, she has a big crack down her face.

Carol, if there's any murder going on in this neighbor, it's just the murderous thoughts I have about squirrels! Good idea about the pictures, white snow vs "hot pots".

Annie, I had to look up Ray Harryhausen and found that he was the special effects guy behind my all time favorite campy film "Jason and the Argonauts". Now if some of my many garter snakes would just twine around the head I could have my own Medusa!

Thanks for the compliment on the pots, the only reason my annuals are so full is because they've been on my back porch for so long! I think they are happy to be "free". Euryops as a shrub? Very cool!

kgmom, yes those darn raccoons. And they don't just eat the fish, they also tear up the water plants and generally make a big muddy mess out of the birdbaths, too. Maybe the creepy woman can be kind of a scarecrow for them.

Thanks for your compliments on the pots, I love them for adding color to my mostly shady back yard.

Mary, I don't know how people keep raccoons away from their ponds. I wish I knew. The garden is a far cry from that wintry landscape, isn't it? Such fun! Oh, and I play with the turtle too.

Elizabeth, I like to add white to the containers, I think it really makes the strong colors stand out. My back yard is a third of an acre, more space than I can fill with color (and still afford groceries) so I like to think of it as a green backdrop to the colorful terrace.

Okay, Susan! I obviously like "the head" enough to keep it around for awhile, I'm glad someone else doesn't think it's too creepy!

Rusty in Miami said...

Your pots look great I like the way you mix the flowers. My pots are already suffering from the summer heat they need water twice a day

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Love those pots Lostroses and you've planted them up very nicely. I like those combinations you've made. BTW I love a garden(er) with a sense of humor!

A swimming plastic turtle, whatever will they think up next? ;-)

I have no problems with raccoons, over here it's the herons that eat all the fish from your pond.

Jane O' said...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

Naturegirl said...

Love the look of your garden! Oh those hot colors do pop!Your strawberry pot looks like mine what a great idea with the leather shoe lace.. gives it character! I just can't part with mine either all cracked!Oh that sleeping ladys head A true converstaion piece..I love it!
hugs NG

Kati said...

I love mullein too and either leave it or move it to a better spot if it volunteers in my garden. Such a statuesque plant! Woman is not as creepy as stone women's heads I saw in a pond just under the water's surface in a garden magazine. Now, where was that -- I wish I could remember!! I have read people install metal grate just under the surface of the pond to keep raccoons out. It would still have to be very securely fastened because in my experience, raccoon are determinedly destructive.

LostRoses said...

Rusty, watering twice a day would do me in! We're still waiting for "summer heat".

Yolanda, I will gladly trade my raccoons for a stately heron eating my fish! The raccoons scare me, they are really big and nasty.

Piana, thank you. I'm off to visit your site.

Nature Girl, thanks for your compliments! I can never get rid of a pot till it's in pieces. I do get a kick out of the head, weird as it is!

Kati, thanks for visiting! Oh, what an idea to put the head in the pond. Now that's truly weird! I never thought of a grate, but that's might be a solution if I can get it in there firmly. I'll have to give that some thought. Thanks!

CountryGirl said...

Your Mexican corner is wonderful, I love the colors. It looks like a great place to relax in.

LostRoses said...

Thanks,country girl, I can spend way too much time on the patio relaxing. Or planning what needs done next!

Silvia Hoefnagels . Salix Tree said...

I love the color combination of oranges and violets, looks exotic.
As for the head, maybe you could build her a laying-down body out of dirt, and plant it with baby tears, so she's wearing a pretty green dress.

Anonymous said...

I love the sleeping woman. I don't think she's at all creepy. Enchanting, rather. And, of course, children love that kind of thing--creepy and enchanting. Don't they read Grimm's anymore...or have they been completely Disney-fied? Bring back "Jason and the Argonauts" and "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad".

Philosophical Karen said...

The head is creepy, but it might just be the way the photo sneaked up on me without warning. I'm not sure what the effect would be seeing it in proper context in the garden. It's probably not as creepy if you are actually walking through the garden.

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

What a nice place to take a nap among those lovely flowers!