Patio Containers

Finally figured out why my digital camera was not loading on my computer and can share my containers at their best. Although I used to combine many plants in large containers, I found for my purposes that it works best to put one or 2 plants in each container and then combining them to make a bigger picture.

I always use terra cotta containers of many heights and sizes. Some are very tall and narrow and perfectly fit a one gallon nursery container so I can change them out very easily. I use bricks and concrete blocks and other pots upside down to change the levels, and try to get some tall foliage perennials to form the back rows.

I concentrate on really showy perennial foliage, and then fill in with lots of coleus. It's working great for me.

Let me know what you think.

and more . . . .

yup, another one . . .

nother one . . . .

more . . .

finally, the end.

how very lovley....can i come there and live?? very nicely done:)

Very pretty. I am new to containers and love to see what others are doing. I love what you have done.

Thanks guys! I am sitting out there reading the Sunday paper as we speak!

garden...what tall perennials do you use?
is your background in merchandising....your descriptions remind me of me...

also...if you have time can i see the little vignette you have with the lovely bistro chair?

Sticks:

Let's see, my tall stuff is mainly evergreens in pots, namely 3 chaemycyparis called "Humiro". I have many evergreens including a dwarf sequoia. I also have a persimmon tree in a pot that sits in a bigger pot with a gardenia in it. It lifts it up high so that it is about 6 feet tall. Then I have the black alocasia, a gardenia standard, etc. All the different evergreens are really great because they look great all year and I just change the coleus out in the winter.

Here is a new picture of my bistro set. Is this what you needed? I also have a large sail/awning that is stretched between the two walls of the courtyard made of sunbrella to keep the direct sun off. Works great.

Here is a pic of some of the evergreens, from left, alocasia, persimmon, an unknown cypress in a very tall pot, and my "humiro".

Finally, my homemade awning, it comes down in the winter. Not that we've had any rain to speak of . . . .

in post ending in 604 in the upper right hand corner...it looks like a metal chair? i was thinking that was another bistro set....or is it a planter....

love the look....you have gardenias in a pot? i will have to go look up the other names you gave....very pretty:)

love the awning....i am afraid we have too much wind here...

Sticks: I have 5 gardenias in pots just in that small area. The scent in the evenings is fab, plus gardenias are evergreen here, almost always blooming, so that look great all year long. The foliage is very rich and shiney and a very good companion to the other foliages. I believe the patio set you are talking about is in the pic on this posting. Am I right?

yup that is the patio set....dang gurl you have a great eye...do you have a retail background? i am wondering if gardenias would do good here....i never thought about putting them in containers....i don't mind bringing them in in the winter....heck, i about bring in my whole yard anyway.....so gorgeous...love the skull mixed with the cottagey table and chair ....well done:)

Skull? Do you mean the little angel with the wings? That's very funny! You're from TX and you see a skull where I see an angel. Love it Sticks!

Here's a picture of the "skull". No merchandising background but I'm flattered! Thanks!

yup...it looked like a skull....and visually it worked.....; i thought that you were being a little irreverant in your vignette...but that is what made it work....; and isn't that funny....i associate calif with some desert...(besides the gorgeous other visions)...so i thought you were using humor in your display....(grin); anyway, love the angel...it works nicely...

as if you cant tell i have a background in retail so i am always seeing what others do...etc etc.... irreverance is a great attribute at times.....
i have an antique store and my manager sometimes would place something somewhere where i wouldn't dream of .....but once she put it there is was great that there was a different vision....

anyway nice:) i am looking for gardenias tommorrow

well, i just went to research gardenias and got the following....is it correct??

Proper temperatures are necessary for a gardenia to bloom. This is the most critical aspect. Flower buds will fail to form if day temperatures are higher than 70degrees or night temperatures are over 65 degrees or less than 60 degrees. The ideal temperature ranges would be 65 to 70 degrees during the day and 60 to 62 degrees at night

I've tried 'em inside a few times, failure every time.
xx, Carrie

Pay no attention to all that temperature stuff and go for it. None of those conditions exist here and mine are thriving.

gardener....i went plant shopping yesterday...there were several varieties of gardenias....; one at lowes was 24.95 for a large lovely one....but i didn't want to spend that much for something i wasn't sure about....(even tho it has a one year warranty..)...then went to hd...and they had the same size gardenia (labeled for sun) for 12.98...it had tons of non bloomed blooms so i sprang for it....i still may go back to lowes to get the other one....it was lovely lovely....will be so excited when it blooms:)

Good job sticks! Are you going to keep them in pots? What kind of sun exposure will you have - all day, am, pm? I will coach you through this, but you may have to keep them inside the garage for the winter. That I don't know too much about.

gardener....i am used to having to keep stuff inside during the winter....i hope to have my greenhouse this year but if not i have 2 locations that i keep plants....

as for the gardenia....she is in morning sun ....rest of the day shade...; i am so excited it has alot of blooms that are going to pop....:)(i hope)

Your garden/patio display of pots with their plants is lovely. You are very creative. I too live in Orange and we do have great weather with the exception of heat waves as we have had this Sept. . I get discouraged easily. Your pictures have inspired me to try again to pot up some beauties. Big question - how do you water all those pots? What potting soil do you use and what fertilizer? I am a late bloomer to gardening and other hobby endeavors.

I just water with a hose. It is time-consuming. You can also put together a simple watering system with little tubes and drippers. I just use a good potting soil, and try to replace it once a year or so, or whenever I pot up. I also use osmocote as a fertilizer every 3 months or so.

Congratulations! You've done a lovely job of turning what looks to be a vast expanse of concrete into a beautiful, cool oasis. VERY nice and inviting looking. Gives me a few ideas for the area I'm *trying* to turn into a container garden. Thanks for sharing your pics.