This is our first spring at our Missouri house and we’ve discovered we have a lot to learn about gardening in our new state! We’re pleased to have found a great nursery here that reminds us of the one we always shopped at in Kansas.
There’s so much we’d like to do in our new yard, but it’s a slow process and we’re on a rather tight budget. Buying our flowers is always one of my favorite days of the year and it was especially fun this year because we also bought two trees to plant in the backyard—a Newport plum and a Japanese maple, which the nursery came out and planted for us. The new trees are dwarfed by the towering trees in our woods, but we’re excited for the color they add to the yard.
We probably won’t plant nearly as many annuals or flower pots here for a couple of reasons: 1. Deer! We have up to 15 deer pass through our yard almost every day and we love them. But we’re told they’d like to make a snack of any flowers we plant. And 2. We still hope to do some traveling once the country opens up again, so we won’t always be home to water our pots and our daughter will be doing that job for us when we’re away.
Last summer we moved some of our outdoor flowerpots from Kansas and the deer didn’t bother those we put up close to the house. So we tried again this year and so far, so good.
We also learned last year that the deer seem to leave certain types of plants alone. Lantana and coleus are two of my favorites so I was thankful to learn they are considered deer-resistant.
Several varieties of coleus and lantana are filling the pots in the garden cart my dad made as a housewarming gift when we bought our first house in 2005. I especially love that I can see the cart from my office window.
I always seem to buy more coleus than I actually need, but I love them so much and it was nice to have enough to plant up a pot for the screened porch.
Have you started planting flowers or working in a garden yet? I’ve been surprised how many different things grow here in Missouri that we didn’t have in Kansas. I’d love to know where your garden is and what are some of your favorite flowers to plant there?
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I have only got a pot of miracle leaf at home. (The scientific name is bryophyllum pinnatum, I just found that out from Mr. Google) It is a plant that grows buds around its leaves and the buds grow into new plants once put into soil. So you can imagine that they are reproducing exponentially and I get a crowded flower pot very soon. I don’t have a garden and it’s the only pot of plants I have, which is placed on the windowsill. In the lockdown, I emptied the overgrown pot, untangled the roots and put them in seperate pots. Now I have got two pots of miracle leaf on my windowsill and they’re much less crowded.
That sounds really cool, Anna! I will have to check it out and see if it grows in Missouri! I supposed if it’s a houseplant, it’ll grow anywhere. I love creating new plants from cuttings and divisions. A way to make our dollars go much further!
Miracle leaf is quite nice, Deborah! I got mine from a friend for free. She gave me three leaf buds and they grew into my jungle in a pot.
Nice photos, Deborah! Is the second photo a wall? It looks like a picture made mosaic. I can vaguely see the tiles.
Wow! You have sharp eyes, Susan! That photo was shot through the screen on our screened porch. I was high up there looking down on the tree planting scene. 🙂
I always love to see what you plant and how you make your yard come alive, Deb. It gives me inspiration. I’ve been trying in recent years to make my gardens less work intensive for me, by seeking more perennials. I created so many gardens when we built this home 25 years ago, and now I have a difficult time maintaining them. On the side by my porch, I have three azaleas, a rose bush, and hosta. On one side of my backyard against a fence, are a row of iris (originally brought from my mother’s yard), two rose bushes, and I added several variety of hosta last year that have come back nicely. Since we had a mild winter, begonias have come back around my patio, so I don’t have to plant this year.
I love coleus, too, and lantana, which I’m sure you know are wonderful attractors of butterflies. I sympathize about your deer, but know how beautiful they are. We have an adorable family of rabbits that I love. Fortunately, they only go after newly planted flowers. I look forward to seeing how your plants thrive. They are always so lovely. Thank you for this post and take care!
Your gardens sound wonderful, Betty! Especially the azaleas! I have fallen in love with those since moving here and hope we can plant some! We’ve never lived anywhere for 20+ years, but we’re hoping this house we’re in now will be the one that we do get to work on for many years and reap the rewards of time! It does take a precarious balance between critters we love to watch and flowers we want to thrive, doesn’t it?!
Her garden is wonderful, Deb. I know – I have pictures. And yours is going to be wonderful, too. Your coleus groupings are so pretty – I love coleus, too. Things up here in Spokane are looking great – I cut a bouquet of early pink Lilacs and my house smells divine. We need rain, though, as everything is quite dry.
Looking forward to how your new place evolves – keep us posted!
Like you, we recently stopped by the nursery to stock up on some of our spring/summer flowers! I handle the pots and my husband handles the planting beds. (I firmly believe my job is more fun). 🙂
I couldn’t agree more, Becky! But I like to have a say in both! 😉
I have some perennial bulbs and wild roses in my flower pots out in front of my apartment, and some spinach and radishes growing pots beside them; that’s about all that I’m confident keeping alive right now in MN, when we’re still expecting a hard freeze tonight and snow has hit north both north and south of us in the last week. Hopefully that will be done soon! I’ve been itching to do more gardening. When it’s consistently out of freezing temps, I can put in scarlet runner beans, and my morning glory will have hopefully reseeded itself to take advantage of our vertical space.
Oh wow! I’m not sure I’d survive in a state with long winters and late freezes! Almost every year, I jump the gun and put things out that I have to cover or bring in for a few nights. But it’s worth it to me to have flowers as early as possible!
I live in an apartment and I have back patio and overhang in front. I do potted plants here because I don’t have to weed. I have snap dragons coming up from last year. I normally have a New Gennie Impatient hanging plant and another type plant out back. The ones that are part Sun. Up front I get full sun plants. I also put red geraniums in window pots.
I LOVE red geraniums! Ken’s grandmother always had them on either side of their front porch. They are just the happiest looking plants!
I currently have annuals camped out in my living room. The weather in Indiana is reluctant to allow spring to stay. We had a frost 3 nights ago, hence the indoor huddle of flowers. I’m hoping this week I will be able to put them in the beds where they belong. At least my dog has left them alone!
Your flowers and the cart are gorgeous! I love the rustic feel and the bright colors. Thanks for the photos.
I bet your living room is cheery-looking! 🙂 We ALMOST had a frost. I woke up at 3 a.m. and remembered I’d forgotten to bring things in or cover them. I did get up and bring in one pot of coleus from the porch because they really don’t like cold weather. Fortunately, everything survived, I think in part because it only got to 39 degree and only for an hour or two. And it probably helped that everything was close to the house and out of the wind and moisture. I think we’re past any dangers now.
What a fun post. This is my third spring in Indiana. We’re north, almost in Michigan, and it’s still quite cold; I think it’s too cold to plant yet. I live in a hilly, forest area. I have a fenced-in backyard. I have a dog who enjoys barking & galavanting in the (now dirt, hand-picked weeds) backyard. We also have deer in our neighborhood. I’m debating whether to plant grass or ground cover in the backyard. Any suggestions? I’ve moved a lot, too. Never been much of a gardener. But I’m in a new season of my life….the angle/steepness of our backyard would be quite a challenge to mow.
Our daughter and her family just gave me a big bucket of cottoneaster groundcover that is beautiful—AND deer resistant! I wonder if that would be suited for where you need it. It doesn’t look like it’d ever need mowing or pruning. It has little whiteish yellow flowers and gets red berries in the fall. A plus: it smells really good!
Thank you, Deborah! What a great idea! I haven’t heard of that ground cover. I will investigate…. 👏🙌
My daughter bought some plants for me for Mother’s Day but I’m having to wait to plant them since we are having some cold, rainy days here in central Kansas. I’m hoping either tomorrow or Wednesday I can get the flowers in pots to set outside and the tomato and pepper plants in the garden. I’m planting chocolate mint for the first time. I have lots of irises blooming, plus some columbine and salvia. Thankfully the cold doesn’t seem to hurt them.
That’s a late spring for Kansas! I just smelled chocolate mint for the first time the other day and wow, it really does smell like that! Hope you get some nice days soon!
I never answered, Deborah. Great idea! Thanks.
Check out this video! I’m sure you’ll like it.
https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/tickletank/9429030
That is absolutely charming, Louise! One of the most unique gardens I’ve ever seen. I kept hoping they’d give a little tour of the inside of the “water tank” house!