the green garden where I live

I live with a very wonderful container garden that is on permanent display in our backyard.  It reminds me of the rooftop garden I made at our old house.  I still long a little bit for that garden.  But this yard we have now offered me some new challenges.

Containers and plants are moved and rearranged throughout the summer.  Actually, Margot took home three beauties at my friends sale.  This space is constantly changing.  Some folks like to move furniture around in their living rooms.  I like to move plants.

Right now there is a growing collection of hail damaged succulents.  They are forlorn looking but I feel certain they will rally back.  There's one next to the budha head.

What about your container garden?  What plants and/or containers delight you?  What in your garden makes you want to go out in the morning with your cup of coffee?

Hot and Tropical

Today I noticed the forecast for the next week and we are headed for the hot days of summer.  Here are a few plant choices that feel fresh and will continue to bloom through the heat... as long as you give them a drink everyday!

I say canna you say...?  So I hear this a lot lately!  But really what I understand is that it's pronounced like can-nah, not cane-nah.  It's one of my favorites because of its graphic and dramatic foliage. 

One, singular sensation... Every year I end up having at least one hibiscus.  I don't mix other plant materials in the pot with it, because I think it stands alone.  Oftentimes I will include it in a grouping of containers.  This photo is from 2013 and this plant flourished all summer long.  Gorgeous, right?  The plant on the left is kangaroo paw.  I am in love with this plant.  It is native to California, but thrives in our summer sun and comes in many colors from reds to yellows.  

Pink & Lime Green

This is the second arrangement of containers with pinks that I have created this season.  

I cannot resist pink. It calls to me at every garden store. 

A Dahlia with rich dark purple foliage is paired with the  variegated sage plant.  I suppose you could snip it for cooking, but I think it looks so pretty I would have difficulty doing that.

Each of the three pots contains mostly annuals with a few surprises like this ravishing Dahlia (left).  It takes center stage in the largest planter.

Another small one (left).  Different from the one above with the Dahlia and sage.  It holds a hyssop, known to attract hummingbirds and has a fragrance that is sweet and licorice-y.All three still need good homes!

Michele's Purple Garden

 A new favorite including annuals and perennials.  This one lives with Michele.

Container gardens are like any other living garden, they grow and change and flourish and fade.  I try to design them so that there's a continuum of life from summer through fall, but they will only be perfect for so long before they need some TLC.   

When the annuals start to fade in the hot weather of the July summer,  it's easy to replace them with new mums and fall blooming plants.  The grass and sedum (bottom left, florets of purplish green) should keep going into the fall.  The Red Husker penstemon can be planted in a regular flower bed, once its blooms are all spent.  Yes, your container garden does more than look pretty. 

Creative Containers by Luis

My friend and collaborator Luis builds beautiful wood containers.  I love filling them with bright flowering plants.  This bright yellow one I call Luisa, after Luis.  It makes me think of Santa Fe and all of its joyful colors.

This one is Hot Mama! and features corrugated steel panels on each side. It's a vibrant red with a touch of pink.
 

And this one I call Hilda because it reminds me of the Heidi story and meadows of mountain flowers. 

Luisa and Hot Mama are still for sale!  If you're having a 4th of July party or just need some color in your garden, these containers are ready for you to take home.  We can deliver too!

Luis is a creative genius, so if you have something else in mind, Luis can probably build something beautiful of your own design.

Farmers Market Experience

Yesterday, was my first experience on the other side of the Cherry Creek Farmers market as a vendor.  We loaded up at 5:30 and arrived at the market by 6.  Might be the first time ever I experienced the entire day, sunrise to sunset, of Summer Solstice.

30+ plants, table, tent... Two vehicles.

What I noticed immediately was a sense of community and general collaboration among vendors.  My friend Jose from Palizzi Farms gave me tips on finding vendors.  The food vendors were giving early morning samples for hungry bellies.

I also noticed the super enterprising nature of so many vendors and their dedication to their product.  Two booths down was Kay's Kitchen the mecca of all jams and jellies in Denver Colorado.  I tasted 9 of the more than a dozen she had featured in her booth.  No Joke.  I just couldn't stop tasting, I was so curious about her unusual flavors like cinnamon bourbon and chocolate habenero.  Kay is a creative, zestful, energizer of a jam maker who's a grandmother.  Her grand daughter was serving bacon jam while Kay was manning the jam tasting and buyers of jam. Sharing stories and jam making tales from her most recent daily home marathon cooking sessions.

Next door to my booth was Earthspun Apparel.  They make tees and knit clothing from recycled materials including water bottles and food trays.  They featured products from their recent collaboration with A Small Print Shop.   I love their concept and designs and walked away with a new Food Tray Black Tee with this design.






Did I sell containers?  Yes, some.  But what I probably will remember most is the entire experience and not just the plant sales.

Shredded

That is the word I was using this morning as I walked through my garden and container gardens.  Yesterday we received 2 intense storms in our backyard, both with a flurry of hail.  Surveying the damage was a hard pill to swallow.  When it was all happening, my husband and I worked quickly to move many plants under our balcony.  Umbrellas were positioned on several other containers.  But I just couldn't get to things quick enough. Many plants were unfazed, but the leafy glamorous ones were hit hard as were the succulents.  

It was rough to see the annihilation and even rougher to see some containers that were heading to the market next week, damaged.  I can say that I know my garden will recover and I cannot worry about nature.  It gave me a BIG lesson in surrendering and being smarter about its unpredictability.

another kind of green garden

I enjoy riffing on the green garden theme.  The possibilities are endless.  I like the challenge of knitting together greens that harmonize with each other, as well as integrating several shapes and textures.











This large Japanese rice bowl planter is loaded with sedum and other xeric plant materials.  The garden in the background is shady and lush with lots of deep purples and whites.  The sedums with hints of purple definitely tie this container into the surrounding garden.








In the back is a Husker Red penstemon. See the dark purple spire in the middle. It will have white blooms soon. Iphone photography can be challenging!

Romance Garden

Can you hear Andre Bocelli now?  Actually, I think Amy Winehouse, singing old jazz/blues standards.

 

Green Garden

Green gardens never get old for me.  I love em' and keep thinking up new versions.  Personally, I think flowers can be overrated.


That said, I have included a mixture of delicate white flowers in these two containers including a false spirea or Astilbe japonica. You may recognize the taller white container from earlier this spring.  The arborvitae is the same, but the other plant materials have been refreshed and include fragrant sweet woodruff.









The smaller container features a Rex begonia.  That's the deep purple and pink leafed plant. I have a thing for them.  Their leaves are very beautiful and textural.  Did you know that at the end of the season you can dig them out of the soil and keep them in a cold place, like the garage for planting next year?  A good experiment to try.
This container now lives at Elizabeth's house

Mediterranean Inspired Garden

I was thinking about the warmth and the color of a Mediterranean day, when I created this garden.

It was sunny for about half an hour this morning when I took these photos.  Was trying hard to channel warm weather.  Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful!  Hard rain came down that was interspersed with a blanket of storm clouds for most of the day.  

  

Canna, dahlias and straw flowers co-mingling  = warmth.  The container was one of the first I purchased this spring.  The  pattern features a super unique artichoke pattern.  When I spied it at the vendor's all I wanted to do was run my hand over the pattern.  The color is a happy blue with an earthly red under glaze.

Sparrow Garden

Succulents + Strawberry Pots

I  forgot the strawberry pots in yesterday's post.   Super Fun.

I think I like succulents over strawberries.

1-2-3-4 ...Chocolate Terracotta Succulents on the Staircase Floor

Do you know that Feist Song?  It's one of my favorites.  I actually like the Sesame Street version.  OK, I have many moments of dorkiness.  But go check it out.  You will laugh, I promise.

Once again I've digressed.

This is hands down my current favorite container garden installation.  10 terracotta pots made of chocolate hued clay, all filled with an assortment of succulents.

Bronze Beauty

A new container garden.  I squeezed as many beautiful plants as I could into this one.  My friends  sale is coming in 3 days.  Will you take it home?