I find it interesting to follow the progress of container plantings throughout the summer. I only plant each container once because our odd seasons here don’t really allow me to get much time out of a spring- or fall-only planting. This year’s containers have been looking a little tired for a couple weeks now. And there’s no telling how much longer they will hang on. Certainly they will be cleaned up and put away by the end of the month, so this will be the last look at this year’s containers.
Deck planters. Overall I’m very happy with how these turned out this year, particularly in comparison to how these planters have done in past years. The pink mandevilla grew much better than the red has in other years. I’m not sure if that’s something related to the variety or this year’s weather. The white Profusion zinnias couldn’t have performed any better. Each pot got three 2-inch plugs of zinnias and you can see how they’ve grown.
You can see the posts on their progress
here (from August) and the original planting with all the plant names
here.
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| October 1 |
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| August 5 |
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| June 15 |
The big planter by the front door has also really come into its own, but no matter what I tried, the Bordeaux petunia ate almost everything else in the container. I absolutely love the cardoon in it though.
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| October 1 |
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| August 5 |
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| June 15 |
The boxwood planting by the garage didn’t change a whole lot but the petunias get way overgrown and lanky so I ripped them out a couple weeks ago. I’ll be overwintering the boxwood in the container in the garage.
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| October 1 |
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| August 5 |
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| June 15 |
I’m disappointed with how the window box faired this year. While the nasturtiums looked great for awhile, they got pretty raggy in the end.
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| October 1 |
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| August 5 |
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| June 15 |
The planters on the steps by the front door have actually improved a bit since mid-summer. But you can’t even see the bottom one anymore because the nasturtiums planted nearby have crawled up over it.
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| October 1 |
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| August 5 |
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| June 15 |
I’m not so sure about the planter in the middle of the garden. It was showing promise for awhile there but I think I tried to jam too much in it to the detriment of the entire planting.
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| October 1 |
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| August 5 |
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| June 15 |
The stump planter in the garden was really cute all summer and I’m happy I did it. The deer got at it recently and nipped off all the blooms but it brought so much color to that area before that happened.
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| October 1 |
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| August 5 |
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| June 15 |
How did your containers grow this summer?
3 Responses
Beautiful! You've obviously put a lot of time and thought into designing and taking care of these plantings. Some may have worked out more successfully than others this year, but it's always a learning process, and the weather can be different from year to year, making the same things work better in some years than in others. I look forward to seeing your next ideas for container plantings next spring! -Beth
My nasturtiums are looking ragged too and I'm thinking its time to get rid of them.