Planted My Pots!

Just once, I would like to wake up, turn on the TV and hear …”Monday has been cancelled”!    ~Unknown

Wouldn’t that be amazing?  It would be the kind of happiness you feel when you would wake up to a “Snow Day” as a kid.  Remember the pure excitement and joy you would feel knowing you had a completely free day.  Aaaahhhh … big sigh!

We had another busy weekend at the Smith house.  One daughter at the State Latin Competition, two lacrosse games, an adult party with lacrosse parents and yard work.  I don’t mind busy … I will have the twins in college before I know it and I will miss the madness!

Today’s post is about planting my pots. It is such an easy, quick way to bring color and happiness to a porch, patio or deck.  Take a look:

Step 1:  Pick up a container you love and some plants.  I got the plants at Walmart, but I special ordered my container because I wanted a particular size and color in stone.  However, you can get amazing pots at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s – almost anywhere.  Pots have really come down in price.  You can get a large pot that looks like it is ceramic but is really plastic for less than $30.

The plants I picked are:

Dracaena – the spike in the middle

Euphorbia – the small white vine plant

Lobelia – the blue/purple flower

Trailing Petunia – Yellow flower

Verbena – the red cluster flower

I like plants that trail over the pot and add a ton of color.

Step 2:  Fill up some of the space in the pot with recyclables, rocks or bricks so you don’t have to use so much dirt.  This will save you a little bit of money since you won’t have to buy so many bags of dirt.  I also find it helps with the draining to have the recyclables leave some open space at the bottom of the pot.

Step 3:  Fill your pot with dirt. I like a dirt that has a fertilizer in it to give my plants a little “jump start”.

Step 4:  Put something tall in the middle.  In this case I just put a simple spike, but I have seen all kinds of cool tropical plants in the middle and I love that look as well.

Step 5:  Plant your plants around the spike.  Be sure to alternate colors so you will get a more cohesive pot once the plants start to fill in and grow.

Step 6:  Water and Admire.

See … six simple steps to a summer full of color and beauty.

Now I will be the first to admit, I do NOT have a green thumb (my hubby can fully attest to this).  I am bad at remembering to water and forget about “dead-heading” the flowers.  I tried to pick flowers that are pretty maintenance free – can handle the sun and won’t hate me if I forget to water 1 (or maybe 2) days.  I think you could, without hesitation, call me a Serial Plant Killer.  Sad but true.  Just killed an orchid in about 8 days (although I will say I think my hubby over-watered it – he will deny this).

I do find that when I take the time to plant things myself, I seem to be more invested in the outcome.  Let’s see how my pots do this summer.  I will keep you updated with some pictures over the next couple months.

Plant yourself a container and have your own little pot of heaven.

Hope your life is more heaven than havoc!

Missi