Spring planting....
The weekend was AWESOME! Not too hot, not to cold. Still a little chilly out some mornings but I just couldn't help myself...I had to get some color in the ground!
This is my view from my computer table...
Last year I put planter boxes outside my front bedroom window! Loooove! And the hostas are starting to pop...I transplanted a few this weekend! Hostas are a great plant...after a few years they are easy to split and share or move around the yard. Just make sure you split them before the leaves start opening up. I usually get mine when they are just starting to poke their little heads up...just take a shovel and dig up a "chunk" of the plant and transplant it...then when the plant fully blooms you can't even tell where you have removed a section of it! I have TONS of hostas and all of them are from a few I planted 10+ years ago...I just keep splitting them. But now I have run out of shady areas and I am going to have to start sharing.
But the biggest fun was planting a few little splashes of color around the storage building I spruced up earlier this year (here).
As I posted earlier, I am trying to keep MOST of my annual plantings in containers (here). As usual I bought WAAAY to many plants and had to stick a few in the ground here and there...but that's normal. Container planting is easy. I am always on the look out for nifty pots...unusual containers or old pots that can be painted. Last year I bought these little copper planters on clearance at Lowes and put them on the side of the storage shed. I didn't plant in them last year since it was so late in the year!
The first thing you need to do with any planter is make sure there is proper drainage...punch or drill at least 3-4 good size holes in the bottom (I used a 1/2" drill bit to drill 4 holes in the bottom each) and then fill the bottom 1-2" with rock. Now you can buy river rock and cover the bottom of all your pots, but that costs money!
Most people have that one spot in their yard that seems to grow rocks. This is a great place to hide them...in the bottom of your containers. If you don't have a place in your own yard where rocks grow, check out your neighbors yard! (That's what I did, but I made sure to do it when they weren't home)
Once you have filled the bottom with rocks, add just plain ole' dirt to the container...about 4-5" from the top. Then top it off with a good potting soil mixed with a slow release fertilizers (I LOVE Osmocote!) Using expensive potting soil to fill the entire pot is usually a waste. Most annuals don't root very deep! Then plant your annuals, water well, and wait!
Right now they are just tiny little plants without a lot of POP! But give them a few weeks of sun and daily watering and this place will be popping with color!!!
Here is a little tip...Lowes had marked down a few selections of little annuals because they got "nipped" by frost. The plants weren't dead, they were just a little pathetic looking...but at .50 a six pack verses $1.25 (on sale), they were a great buy and they will perk right up as warmer weather sets in...so don't be afraid to check out the "bargain bins" at your local nursery...you can get some great buys on some plants that with a little TLC will be beautiful in just a few weeks! Also, Memorial Day and Mother's Day week are always great weeks to find sales on flowers...and May is a GREAT month to plant!
Like I said...I just couldn't wait any longer!
Get outside...get your hands dirty! Learning to enjoy gardening is just like anything else...start a tiny bit at a time and learn to enjoy creating beauty around you.
