Monday, April 5, 2010

Fill, Spill and Thrill!


It's the time of year that I enjoy getting our porch ready. I love to entertain and a lot of it is done right on our front porch. In April, we begin getting our flowerbeds ready. The last couple of years we have had some challenges. Challenges that include a baby, goats and chickens. Goats and chickens consider our flowerbeds tasty treats and wonderful places to take a dust bath! Babies get first priority most days, so my flowerbeds received little attention that year! Anyway, fast forward and lets just say, I was basically starting over.

Typically in Texas we have long hot dry summers, so I plant mostly heat and drought resistant perennials. My planters, I like to fill with color and maybe a little more "thirsty" plants. This year I even added lavender and basil. I've never done that and decided it would be fun to see what happens. There are some summers that it's so hot that I just have to replant in August or September.

The nurseries always have beautiful planters because their planters are ever changing. They tell us the consumers "fill, spill and thrill"! Put as many plants as you can fit into the planter and have instant "wow factor"! In theory, that is great, but very expensive. I love the idea, but can't afford to do that, so I go about half way. I fill my planters part way and then in a few weeks, they have begun to spill over and they do look pretty. It's less "wow factor" but less "wow" to my checking account!


Each year, I dig out about half the dirt from the pot left over from last year and dump it into my garden spot. Then I add fresh compost. Digging also lets me dig out any grubs or snails that have made their way into my pots. The chickens enjoy this part of my gardening!



Next, I position my plants in the planters to get an idea of what looks good. This year I happened on an awesome deal at Lowes. They had several racks of 50% off plants. It was packed full of geraniums. I always plant these, so I decided to give them a try. Once I got them home, I pulled off a couple of spent blooms and a few yellow leaves and they were good as new! That saved me about $22.! I love it when God does that for me! He provides even the little things that I love! It's one more way, He shows me that He loves me!



So here is the finished product. I look forward to the flowers spilling and filling, but it will be a few weeks! I've planted my flower beds with everything but the annuals, and I'm waiting a bit to see how big my perennials are going to be. There are also some plants that haven't come up yet. It's only April, so I've got time.

Flowers on the porch just say "welcome" to me and I so enjoy sitting out there in the evening with my family. I hope you are adding bits of beauty wherever you are planted. Enjoy this beautiful spring weather and we'll visit again on the porch soon!

I would love to hear what ya'll are doing to make your homes say "welcome" this Spring!

Hilltop Blessings,
Sheri

5 comments:

  1. lavender loves water, we planted one plant near the downspout in the front flowerbed last summer. It was a small plant when it was planted. This year I had to totally trim it way back because it was soooooo big.

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  2. Love all your pretty flowers...

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  3. Very pretty pictures! I so wish I had a porch. We are just focusing on Spring Repairs right now. :-)

    HUGS!

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  4. Love the look of the flowing containers, but never have been very good at getting them to look right. What do you use besides geraniums?

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  5. I always put sweet alyssum to spill over the side. I then usually add petunia's and I try to get those "wave" ones that can stand the heat. This year I also added lavender and basil. Sometimes, I replant in August if things have burned up. Last year I used some coleus and it did great. I prefer the "untamed" look. I guess it's life with three boys that send me to the "untamed" side of life or if I'm just worn down and think it looks great. Thanks so much for taking a peek at my first attempt to blog.

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