spilled barrel

I want to do a spilled flower container effect, but I do not want to do it with the traditional wine barrel cut in half... too "been there" ...

I need ideas for what to use so I can watch for the right things at flea markets and sales and auctions... also, what flowers do best in that kind of planting and how exactly do you do it? Anyone have pictures to share?

Thanks!

Janie
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Janie, I have a broken bird bath that I'd like to fill with sky-blue pansies this winter, and "Baby Blue Eyes" Nemophilia next spring......I figure I'll set it on the ground in a bed, prop it up a bit on the back side and plant the pansies inside it and on the ground nearby.....

Mmm that sounds nice,

I have an old birdbath I could use the same way... the blues sound lovely... and the pansies should be perennial shouldn't they?

Janie, the pansies probably are cool season annuals for you, too; I know mine tend to give up when summer's heat really kicks in. They may reseed, but I don't know if they'll come true, since I think the pale blues are a hybrid.

For your climate, you could try pansies in early spring and direct seed a pale blue forget-me-not like Cynoglossum for summer, which should reseed in following years.

Mmm I love forget me nots, they remind me of my childhood home beside the creek -- where they grew wild! Great ideas, Vols!

You're welcome, Janiejoy! I'd love to see how yours turns out - let's plan to compare photos next spring, okay?

By the way, here's a list of the links to Forget-Me-Nots in the database. http://davesgarden.com/search/plants.php?search_text=%22Forget-Me-Not%22 All but one have photos attched. Happy hunting!

I was thinking of putting an old metal milk can that I have over on its side and haveing some white flowers spilling out
( spilt milk)...

Hi Janiejoy -

Just the other day I saw a photograph of a lovely "spilled" arrangement done with various sizes of terra cotta pots and one of the plants used were nasturtiums. Sorry, but I don't recall anything else about it!

I had a huge terracotta pot which lasted many seasons before succumbing to the frost. I always figured I'd be more likely to drop it and break it, trying to move it under cover... Anyway, that did make a nice spilled-planter effect one season, just buried it enough to look whole. I used sedums, which are terrific with clay. and spill nicely. If I were to do this now, I'd probably go with a concrete urn that looks as if it were almost excavated... lots of moss and lichens aging it, and with perhaps hostas and ivies... John

I love the milk spilled effect!! Lovely idea :)

I also love the excavated look, too - such great ideas, everyone, thanks. I'll be sure and post pictures once I figure out what I'm going to do and what container I will use to "spill". I also have a wooden box that might be interesting...?

For the white flowers I might use white petunias just because they were the most prolific and reliable annuals in my garden this year.

Thanks everyone,

Love in Christ,
Janie
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