Container Gardening
I absolutely love container gardening. I have been collecting books for years about how to have an interesting container garden with the kind of pots and plants one chooses.....Now, I finally have a teeny, tiny one and the high point of my morning is to go see if any new buds are appearing in the mini-garden on my balcony.
What is it that makes me smile each time I investigate for new buds and flowers in my plants? A sense of accomplishment, maybe? That I managed to make them flower? Not that I really did anything except water them, besides I almost killed them by putting tea leaves that were too hot.
One of the really interesting books about container gardening is the Ultimate Container Gardener by Stephanie Donaldson. It has a nice format, lots of pictures and tons of interesting combinations of flowers and situations/placings. Another good book is the Reader's Digest-Container Gardening for all Seasons, which has all the basic know-how as well as some very inventive displays.
The Vinca flowers continuously and it is a delight to see new buds almost everyday. My bougainvillea was reluctant to flower at first but now every third day new buds are appearing. The most prolific of all is my little pot of May flowers.....lovely deep blue flowers that open only on bright sunny days.
My favourite type of plant is a flowering shrub, especially the mediterranean ones. Some of my favourites are Hibiscus, Cistus or Rock Rose as its usually known, Bougainvillea, Geranium, Plumbago (Cape Leadwort), Oleander (Nerium), Zinnia, Passiflora, Jasmine, Champa, Motia, Raat ki Rani, Ixora, Pentas, Vinca, Clematis and Tuberose.
What is it that makes me smile each time I investigate for new buds and flowers in my plants? A sense of accomplishment, maybe? That I managed to make them flower? Not that I really did anything except water them, besides I almost killed them by putting tea leaves that were too hot.
One of the really interesting books about container gardening is the Ultimate Container Gardener by Stephanie Donaldson. It has a nice format, lots of pictures and tons of interesting combinations of flowers and situations/placings. Another good book is the Reader's Digest-Container Gardening for all Seasons, which has all the basic know-how as well as some very inventive displays.
The Vinca flowers continuously and it is a delight to see new buds almost everyday. My bougainvillea was reluctant to flower at first but now every third day new buds are appearing. The most prolific of all is my little pot of May flowers.....lovely deep blue flowers that open only on bright sunny days.
My favourite type of plant is a flowering shrub, especially the mediterranean ones. Some of my favourites are Hibiscus, Cistus or Rock Rose as its usually known, Bougainvillea, Geranium, Plumbago (Cape Leadwort), Oleander (Nerium), Zinnia, Passiflora, Jasmine, Champa, Motia, Raat ki Rani, Ixora, Pentas, Vinca, Clematis and Tuberose.
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