Part Three Of: Summer Scenery On Campus

Today we shall transition from container plantings on campus to lively plants that live in the ground. The first container for today shares a similar theme to those discussed last time, but I think this container is more successful. It blends just a hint of tropical with more familiar plants, and they're all bright and vivid.

 

 

These flowers were in all of last post's containers, but they are blooming much more aggressively here.

 

I still would not choose petunias to adorn my home, but these are some of the more creative I've seen. Petunias must be easy to breed and design, as I have seen an astounding array of colors and patterns in them this year alone.

Around the edge of the container are warmer-colored flowers. I like this combination of colors and textures. I also like that the bright orange flowers are tucked underneath the more inconspicuous ones. It keeps them from stealing too much attention.

I don't know what these flowers are, but I cannot get over them! They look like lacy cotton candy.

More of the pink froth.

Near those bushes (which were sadly unlabeled) were Stokesia laevis 'Blue Danube', common name Stokes' Aster.

These would be fun to have as a border. Their fuzziness complements the laciness of the pink flowers quite well. They'd both fit in a Victorian-esque garden, for sure.

More of these. Couldn't stop looking at them and wondering what they were.

And, lastly, daylilies in a banana color. Part of me always wants to deadhead the daffodils on campus, but there are a LOT of them, so I never have time.

What summer scenery has adorned your neighborhood this year? What do or don't you like about it?

Next post: knocked out by roses (for real this time).

Part Two Of: Summer Scenery On Campus



Here we are again, embarking on a new journey into the art possible through arranging plants. Today we're going to focus on a few designs that, I think, mix the tropical and temperate very well.

 

This container is the first at which we'll be looking.

 



As the sign says, the large plant in the center is a triangle palm. These arrangements are very temporary--palms cannot survive Midwestern winters. In the summer, though, they add a touch of the exotic.

While I never did manage to get a good picture of them, these purple/green flowers add a hint of the whimsy of the sort that dominated my last post. This is especially true because the spikes curve just slightly at their tips.

And look how bright the blooms are when they're fully flowering! They almost look like they're under blacklights.

Also adorning this composition is some coleus. Coleus is massively diverse in color, leaf shape, and even scent; I think this cultivar was a good choice for this container. It contrasts with all the green foliage around it, and it gives you something flashy to look at that isn't a flower.

Pink vinca are used as a filler in this container. I prefer blue vinca, but the pink is very summery.

Here is the coleus, the vinca, and a vine-y plant with blue flowers, which I really like. It pops against the dark coleus leaves very well. On top of that, the blooms aren't too frequent. I hope the vines spill farther out of the container as the summer goes on.

Here's another pink flower that's been added. Personally, I'd prefer another plant with interesting or colorful foliage to these, since "pink flowers" is a base that's already been sufficiently covered.

The centerpiece of this container is shorter and somewhat less flashy than the triangle palm, but still exciting considering Missouri's climate. Otherwise, the arrangement is the same as in the last container.

This is the last container up for discussion today, and it's my favorite of the bunch. I'm a sucker for purple and yellow, though. Note the striped petunias at bottom right, and the orange lantana at bottom left. These are the real sources of pizzaz in this arrangement, to me. I also like the variation in leaf shapes and types throughout the design. This creates a lot of different textures, and keeps the whole from needing to be saturated with flowers.

Which container did you like best? What landscaping design choices have you evaluated lately?

Next post: a closer look at this last container, and some plants in the ground.

The Great Garden Planting of 2013: Before

Since the rain finally took a break, my mom's garden finally got tilled a few days ago. That means I came home at the perfect time: time to plant!

Here's the plan--Mom makes fantastic salsa, which requires tomatoes, peppers, and onions. On top of that, she likes salads, and wilted lettuce salads in particular. So she's planting tomatoes, peppers, onions, and lettuce.

Mom likes 'Supersteak' tomatoes, so that's what she planted.

The peppers are 'California Wonder,' and will bear green fruits. Green bell peppers are my favorite kind.

 

The cultivar of lettuce Mom's planting is 'Green Salad Bowl.' More interesting lettuces exist, but this one will serve her purposes just fine.

These are the onion sets she's using. I find it pretty awesome that onions like this can grow into full-grown plants. Plants are just amazing like that.

These petunias are one reason I'm glad I'm not living at home this summer. Mom can have fun deadheading them. I'm sure she'll enjoy them anyway, though.

I got home at prime planting time, but I missed the height of the azaleas. Mom has pink, white, and purple azaleas, and these blurry pictures merely hint at what they must have looked like a week and a half ago.

What's going in your garden this summer (or, if you merely wish you had one, what do you wish you could plant)? What annual ornamentals are you planting?

Next post: the aftermath of planting.

Strawberry Hill Farms, Part 3

We left off with a sampling of Strawberry Hill's tomato selection. Today I present the last of the pictures I took there. I saved some of the best stuff for last.

We begin with petunias. As I've said, I would not buy petunias for myself, but they are sweet flowers. Strawberry Hill had a much larger color selection than shown here, but I thought all these colors were appropriate together.

 

These, however, were my favorite petunias of the day. I've never seen a flower bred to have green parts. The effect is attractive, though.

 

Next is the biggest reason Strawberry Hill is my favorite place in town: gooseberries. Gooseberries are high on my list of plants to grow at some point in my life. When I first saw this container, I thought it couldn't be what it looked like.

But then I approached the tag. I couldn't get a clear shot of it, but you can tell it says GOOSEBERRY 'Pixwell.' I grew up eating gooseberries similar to these. I'd love to have some.

I don't know what this hanging basket contains. I just liked the shape.

And lastly, here's Scott posing next to more benches of petunias. If he had posed next to some celosia, he would have matched!

 That's all the greatness I encountered at my last trip to Strawberry Hill. Fear not, though--I will go back there, and I will dawdle so I can take pictures of other awesome plants they purvey.

Next post: the last windowsill update.

(Belated) Cinco de Mayo Plantings

Happy (late) Cinco de Mayo! Today representatives of the Horticulture Club planted containers at one of the apartment complexes in town. We planted four large containers near the entrance to the pool area, four elevated containers surrounding the pool, and eight small, border-type concrete cutouts along the pool area's walls.

This is one of the larger containers. I planted almost everything in this one. We had a red banana, some celosia 'New Look,' some orange petunias, a couple of marigolds, and some yellow calibrachoa.

These are two of the containers overlooking the pool. It's really hard to see what we planted from this distance, so...

...I'm posting a tags picture!

And here's another shot of the contents of the larger containers. By the time I thought to take pictures, the pool area was locked, so I couldn't photograph the small cutouts.

The greenhouses where we got all these plants (minus the marigolds, which we had leftover from our sale), was amazing. It was huge, and it had half the plants I've ever wanted. It had purple shamrock, Dusty Miller, ferns, all kinds of succulents, all kinds of herbs (including some awesome variegated sage), wandering jews, and we didn't even explore the vegetable greenhouses. I'm planning on going back there next weekend to meander. I'll take pictures while I'm there. It will be a fun time.

How did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Have you seen any impressive plant collections lately?

Next post: maybe cave photos this time.