Aren’t these vintage pots so lovely?
They came from an estate sale years ago and they just keep getting prettier with time.
See that red painted floor behind the first pot? Yikes.
Our porch overhaul is a major upcoming project. It’s such a mess that I don’t even want to photograph it right now. In fact I find I’m doing camera acrobatics to show it in the least tragic light. Over the years people just kept adding paint. And more paint. And mooooore paint. Spoiler alert: after a while that doesn’t work and the 86 layers have to be removed at great pain and expense to the current owner. Aka, us. 😂 That’s going to be a real good time haha.
I don’t like drawing attention to it but even so, I’m still going to put flowers out.
Everything can be improved with flowers, right?
The large saucers were purchased for $3 at an estate sale about 1 week ago and I love the combination of the terra cotta with the green and beige/cream pots.
Keeping it Simple
This year I went the simplest route ever. I purchased two hanging baskets filled with white geraniums, pulled the flowers out of the plastic pots as a single unit, and plonked them straight into my vintage planters. Later in the season I might pick up some trailing vines to hang down the sides but right now, I’m appreciating the simple understated beauty of these clean white blooms clustered together.
Sometimes one flower en masse works just as well as something fancy. And when they come pre-potted as a group? Even better!
If I really have it together this fall I’ll try to take them in and keep them alive in the basement over winter.
But let’s not hold our breath on that one…
I kept it simple with the bedding plants this year as well. Ha – perhaps you can sense a theme!
White impatiens are planted in staggered rows along the front of the green picket fence that delineates my rose/cottage garden. I used a full flat and managed to get them all planted in one afternoon.
I didn’t get to putting down fresh mulch just yet but there is a little bit of last year’s still there and it will have to do do for now. One win at a time. At least the little plug plants are in the ground and can get growing. The new mulch can come later. In the meantime the little guys can start to get established.
Last year I relocated some peonies to this triangular section. They were really struggling in their previous location and needed some more sun. Lets hope with this change we get some blooms this year! Time will tell. They all came up this year which I consider a victory … even though hubby accidentally ran one over with the lawn mower (I won’t hold it against him!!)
I also have some peonies planted right up against the fence.
There is a mock orange bush at the end of this row that has started to grow by leaps and bounds. The saying sleep/creep/leap is really true with perennials… this is year 3, or maybe even 4, and this bush is definitely leaping!
My grandmother had a huge Mock Orange (aka Philadelphus) planted at her house, along with my grandfather’s beloved peonies, and the fragrance of was just spectacular. Smelling this one in bloom brings back lots of memories.
Memorial Day is coming, have you started planting up your beds for the summer?
What are your favorite bedding plants? Let me know in the comments!
