easy-care plants

Does anyone out there just plant up the perfect container garden at the start of the season and then not have to change the plants or move things around? 'Cause I've never been able to pull this off.

Plants get too big, bugs destroy them or they simply stop blooming and are done for the season. And with a 3-year-old, heading out to the garden center for more plants – much less anything else – always turns into a major project. So many times, I simply have to make do – ripping out a bunch of scraggly, overgrown plants from one pot, for instance, and replacing them with a smaller plant stolen from another. 

Hence this evolution of containers on my deck. I potted all these up between the middle of May and the first week of June, and already they've all required some major change-ups.

The diva

This container has had more costume changes than Beyonce at an awards show. It all started in mid-May with the Festival™ Burgundy cordyline that came via mail-order and the pink geranium and white-flowered bacopa put in the cart by my 3-year-old during a trip to Home Depot). I hadn't had a chance, of course, to really head out to a garden center and leisurely look for great plant combinations).

But then, of course, I stumbled across the container gardening articles at FineGardening.com and suddenly my container's understated outfit would never do. So here's Pot Number 2, after I finally got a half-hour to go down the street to the Agway garden center to pick up lime-green ipomoea (sweet potato vine), purple ornamental kale and red, white and lime-green coleus:

I was, of course, very satisfied with my oh-so-fashionable selection – that is, until the nasturtium in the container next to it got all out of control and monster-like. So I went for one more wardrobe change, snagging the ipomoea from this pot to replace it. I don't care if they say every pot needs a thriller, a filler and a spiller – without my spiller, I think the container looks more neat and tidy.

Waaay over the rainbow

Similarly, here are the original, rainbow-striped, original Tropicanna^® cannas I originally potted up in the beginning of June, and some ornamental kale and nasturtium I picked up at that same trip to Agway. With my frustrated inner artist out to play, I then grabbed some of the white stones out of our landscaping pathway and set them on top of the soil, just to see if a white "canvas" of sorts would intensify the color.

Then the nasturtium turned all yellow and ratty (I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that my approach to watering is to wait for the rain). So I ripped it out and added some croton. Why? Because I can. I fell in love with psychedelically-colored tropical plants on my April trip to Maui (see my previous post), and I think I just wanted the craziest, loudest collection of colors I could get my hands on.

Encroaching kale

And here's the Tropicanna Gold and Tropicanna Black cannas I planted along with aeonium, the white-flowered bacopa I stole from the first container (above) and yet more ornamental kale and nasturtium from that Agway trip, just to fill up the holes. But the nasturtium also overtook that, so I ripped it out of there, too. You can't see the aeonium or the white bacopa, so I'll probably move that over to the pot of Flower Carpet^® roses where I had to remove one of Dad's traditional cannas that got turned into swiss cheese by Japanese beetles.

And that's the life of garden containers. Even though it's an unpredictable game of switcheroo, it's a game I'll play again and again. Besides the croton I bought for like, two bucks at Home Depot, it didn't realy cost me an additional penny. Plus, it's like rearranging furniture – it gives me a creative outlet and lets me express myself. In other words, my husband would say, it keeps me out of trouble.

So what about you? Do you engage in Container Switcheroo? Or do you have a great container recipe that stays tidy and colorful all season long? Post a comment and tell me about it!

When I’m choosing plants for my garden, I don’t have a lot of time or money to waste. That’s why every year, I check out the All-America Selections winners – flowers and vegetables that have been tested by a network of independent judges and proven themselves as easy-care plants offering superior performance.

And this year I’m especially excited, because for the first time, winning plants will be available the same year they receive the award. That means the following 2010 winners will be available as plants and/or seeds this spring.

Here’s a roundup of this year’s winners, perfect for low-maintenance or easy-care gardening. For more information on a particular plant, click on its name below or visit www.all-americaselections.org.

Gaillardia F1 ‘Mesa Yellow’ (upper right)

The first hybrid blanket flower with a neat, mounded habit and prolific flowering. Daisy-like, 3-inch flowers and globe shaped seed heads offer summer-long, superior presentation of color. Blooms appear two to three weeks earlier than competitors, attract butterflies and are great for cutting. Ideal for small-space gardens and containers. When placed near the inside edge of a container, it will cascade down the container. Relatively maintenance-free and wind- and rain-resistant. Recovers quickly in severe weather.

Marigold F1 Hybrid African ‘Moonsong Deep Orange’  

Intense, deep-orange, fade-resistant flower color that   makes other marigolds look more golden than orange. Long-lasting,  2½- to 3½ inch, fully double blooms “rank among the best of the class.” Easy to grow in a 5- to 6- inch pot and highly heat- and drought-tolerant. Erect plants grow 12-15 inches tall. Foliage covers old blooms, keeping the plants looking fresh.

Snapdragon F1 ‘Twinny Peach’

This double or butterfly-form snapdragon is unique because of its blend of soft peaches, yellows and light oranges, and because it doesn’t have the jaws or joints to “snap.”  Abundant flower spikes for cutting. Flowers all season long with little garden care.  Easy to grow and extremely heat-tolerant.

Viola F1 ‘Endurio Sky Blue Martien’  

This unique spreading/mounding viola looks delicate, but is tough as nails. In warmer climates, it flowers throughout the winter, laughing off wind, rain, cold and passing snowfalls. In colder climates, it offers two-season color – flowering well after first frost when planted in fall and again in spring after snow has melted and soil has warmed. It can also be planted in early spring. Ideal for window boxes and hanging gardens as well as balcony and patio planters.

Zahara Zinnias (‘Starlight Rose’ at right)

Crosses between zinnia species has resulted in this disease-resistant and heat- and drought-tolerant line of zinnias offering reliable, season-long performance. ‘Double Zahara Cherry’ and ‘Double Zahara Fire’ are both double flowering. ‘Zahara Starlight Rose’ (available as plants or seeds) is a new rose and white bicolor.

Pepper ‘Cajun Belle’

There’s Cajun flavor –- sweet and savory — in this small bell pepper (1 oz., 2-by 3-inches). Compact plants are early to mature, show no disease problems and at 2-feet tall and wide, perfect for containers.

Watermelon F1 Hybrid ‘Shiny Boy’

This red-fleshed, 20 lb., globe-shaped melon won a taste test against comparisons with its sweet tropical flavor and crisp texture. Earlier than other varieties, it’s also healthy and tolerant of severe weather. It can be grown vertically in small spaces and produces high yields.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’

Differs from all purple coneflowers for flower color, branching and plant size. Deep rose-purple, 3- to 4-inch flowers that keep their color longer. First-year-flowering perennial is basal branching, which means more flowers. Grows 20 to 24 inches high. Thrives with few insect or disease problems.