“I enjoy the spring more than the autumn now. One does, I think, as one gets older.”
― Virginia Woolf
Well, I must be getting older because this year I’ve officially converted from an Autumn-is-best mindset to an I-adore-Spring one! Perhaps it’s because we had such a long winter this year. And I’m fickle, so it’s possible when autumn does come, I’ll flip-flop and change my loyalties again. But right now, having just potted three flats of cheery annuals, moved half a dozen rose bushes to a newly tilled flowerbed, and set out our freshly painted patio furniture on our freshly painted deck (complete with market umbrella so I can work on the deck!) I am a very happy camper.
I’m not a patient enough person to wait for seeds to sprout, but there is something so satisfying about buying tiny plants at a flat sale, and then watching them fill the pots over the course of the summer. Every single year we remind ourselves that we bought too many last year. And every single year, we buy too many again. Can you ever have too much coleus? Too many begonias? I don’t think so. But once we’d filled all the pots we’d planned to fill, we still had a flat and a half left to go. So we dragged out more pots and filled those too. And come June, when blue and pink petunias are spilling over the sides, and coleus’s vibrant colors are catching the sun, I know we won’t be sorry.
What is your favorite thing to plant every spring? Are you more of a flowerpot gardener, or do you grow perennials? Or better yet, veggies?
Several of this blog’s writers have shared their gardens on my Novel Garden blog. For a little preview of spring, click HERE to see more than seventy novelists’ garden spots.
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Oh Deb!
What a picturesque setting and outlook from your deck.You must be one very focussed lady because if it was me, I would completely lose all my concentration because I would be too busy drinking in the beautiful surroundings and admiring my (your ) handiwork.. your flower pots are so pretty.Great photos too.:)
This may sound a silly question but what is a flat sale? Is it like our garden sales or market stalls, where prices are pretty reasonable? I’ve not heard that particular terminology before.
I had to smile at .your comment favouring Spring over Autumn. Over here, we have had extraordinary weather with Autumn and Spring all rolled into one. We have our (Spring) wattle blooming amongst our Autumn leaves…most unusual.
Today was 30 degrees (Celsius) but temps dropping down to 19 tomorrow and rain for the rest of the week. No wonder our plants are confused and we all come down with colds because of our changeable weather.
Irises, Fuschias, Pansies and Violas are my pick ..they look very pretty in pots dotted around our enclosed courtyard and spa area.
Loved your cheerful post Deb.:)
Rosie
Hmmm…I sent you a big, long reply, Rosie, and WordPress must have eaten it! Anyway, I was explaining that a flat sale is when nurseries make their small bedding plants available in trays of six 6-compartment pots. So for around $13-14 you get 36 great starter plants! It’s a quick and wonderful way to fill a flowerpot that looks plenty nice right away, but will be lush and overflowing by summer’s end for a little bit of nothing.
I love Fuschias, but I’ve never been able to get one to survive our blistering Kansas summers. 🙁
I’m envious of your green thumb, Deb. A gardener, I am not. I did manage to get my roses pruned back this year so they are awash in blooms. Hooray! Any flowers that can survive both Texas and me have to be made from hearty stock. Ha!
My green thumb only extends to the pots, Karen. It’s my hubby who works magic with the things in the ground. I do help with weeding and watering, but he’s the one who does most of the work. I just sit back and enjoy it. 🙂
Beautiful, Deb! I love the red paint–so bright and cheerful. I hope you’ll show us your garden again later in the summer.
Thanks, Lynn. We discussed changing the color of the deck when they did the repairs from our spring storm last year, but that red is just TOO cheery and bright. (And did I mention it matches the sofa in our living room, which has a clear view to the deck?) So red it stayed! 🙂
I’m with you, Deb. I love the fall, but I also enjoy the spring, when I plant my flowers and garden seed and watch as things turn beautiful! I’m looking forward to when our roses start blooming. This spring I planted bleeding heart for the first time, and I hope it does well! Enjoy your spring! Debbie
Oh, I love bleeding hearts, Debbie! I hope yours do well. I thought I lost the first one we planted because it didn’t appear the following spring, but the spring after that, it was beautiful and huge! So don’t give up if it looks like it didn’t make it. Always hope!
Morning Deb! As of yesterday, I cleaned out the weeds and planted perennial seeds in three flower beds. These beds had nothing in them when we moved in last year except ivy and weeds. It has taken longer to clean everything out due to Connor, bit that is fine. I still have a crazy amount of ivy to clean out from two more beds. Hope to get that done before Fall. I would love to plant already established flowers but that is a luxery for later 🙂 I told Erik yesterday that SOMETHING has to grow from all the seeds I planted yesterday!!
Catherine, I am so impressed with anyone who can grow flowers from seed! We’ve done a few bulbs, but never seeds (unless you count the REseeding that happens when our flowers drop their seeds and then come up the next year.) As for ivy, it is really pretty, but SO invasive! We planted some at our last house that eventually covered the entire garden shed. It was pretty as could be, but I think it would have knocked the shed down if we hadn’t kept it trimmed back a bit!
Truthfully, I have no idea if anything will take. I think I inherited my mom’s brown thumb. But with everything I planted, I hope something sprouts!
I love the look of your yard! It is beautiful.
I long to see color in my yard and get my flowers planted, but here in Central Maine, it is still too cold. It also looks more like mid-March, than almost May. So I’ll stick with the old farmers motto of not planting until after Memorial Day, because we could have frost until then.
I’m sorry you have to wait so long for spring, Tammi, but I’m sure it’s worth it when it finally comes! And I confess I always jump the gun with flowers and most years we end up having one or two nights where we scramble to lug all the pots into the garage for the night, or at least cover them with sheets. Still, it’s worth it to me to have those pots out to enjoy as LONG as possible!
Loved getting a glimpse of your backyard, Deb! Looks like it could be a very inspirational spot to do some writing! Like many others, I’m still waiting for spring colors to arrive here in my part of the country in central Michigan. It’s been a very long winter this year! No green or flowers yet. Everything is still very barren! So I appreciate getting a glimpse of your spring. Please send it this way! 🙂
I used to think Kansas was the last place on earth to get spring. Now I realize how l-o-n-g some of you have to wait! My heart goes out to you! Hope this peek at spring in our part of the country helps you get through to YOUR spring!
Oh my, Deb! So gorgeous! I wish I could come have a cup of coffee with you on that deck! I have such a brown thumb and don’t even try to attempt anything like that.
Spring is definitely my favorite time of the year!
Why do I always have to leave my comment twice?! LOL
What a beautiful spot! I have such a brown thumb that I don’t even attempt anything like that. Wish I could come sit on that deck and enjoy a chat and a cup of coffee with you!
Spring is definitely my favorite time of year. Love the sunshine, warmer weather, and daylight into the evenings!
Linda, I loved both of your replies! I had the same problem this morning, except it DIDN’T post my comment twice. 🙁 Not sure what’s going on with the blog, but we (as in Robin, who’s the only one who knows how this magic works!) will check into it. 😉
As for coffee on the deck with me, you know I’d love that!
I love spring! I’m more of a flower pot gardener. My husband handles the flower beds.
My favorite thing to plant in the springtime are caladiums. They can tolerate the summer heat here in Texas and will last deep into the fall. p.s. I’m sitting on my patio as I type. I thoroughly enjoying writing outdoors, too.
Becky, we planted caladiums for the first time last year and I just loved them! We didn’t dig up the bulbs (or corms or whatever they’re called) and I don’t know if they’ll come back after the cold winter we had, but if they don’t, I may just have to plant some more. We put them under those red deck stairs, and they looked so pretty against that backdrop. Do you not have to dig them up in Texas? They just come back every year?
This is my favorite time of year, even though in West Texas we are having many days of blowing dirt, wind and no rain. We desperately needing rain. I loved your post about the house. Beautiful. God Bless Deborah.
We finally got a little rain here, Angie, but we could use MUCH more. It’s especially miserable when it means blowing dirt. I feel for you guys in West Texas. We’ve been hearing how bad it is there. Praying for that rain you need!
Deb, love the bright red of the patio! I’m doing the same I-love-spring dance here in Indiana!
Thanks, Cara. And so glad you’re getting spring there, too. Beautiful time of year.
Deb thank you for explaining about Flat sales.. what a marvellous idea! Sorry you lost your first reply…it sounded interesting. I lost one last week so wonder if Robin can find that one.:)
Lovely post and photos, Deb! You and Ken are so creative (and obviously have amazing “green thumbs”). 🙂
I remember admiring photos of your yard and plants at your previous house, so I’m glad you’re sharing the beauty at
your new house with us.
I’ve always loved plants and flowers, and each spring/summer have tried so many different hanging baskets on our wide front porch (it’s perfect to have 4 baskets hanging across the front). Since our house faces the west, we get that very hot afternoon sun (and here in GA it can feel scorching in the summer months!). A few years ago, we FINALLY discovered “Trailing Vinca” – – a beautiful flowering plant (similar to impatiens) that can tolerate the heat and direct sunlight—we were thrilled!! 😉 We usually have a shade of pink (usually bright) for the blooms, and they’re so cheery.
Happy Spring!! Hugs, Patti Jo
We’ll have to look for trailing vinca! Thankfully our yard here is much shadier than in our other house. It’s been a challenge finding plants that don’t NEED sun. But we do still have a couple places that could use something as tolerant as trailing vinca!
I love Spring. I am a flower pot Gardner. I plant Africa Violets, Paseys, and Roses and Tuplips. I would love to grow a herb garden but I am not sure how to go about it. I do plan to grow some vegetables and fruits in flower pots this Spring if I feel up to it because I am recovering from surgery. I love your red porch
Tara, you’ve grown a lot of things I’ve never tried. I do have an African Violet on the window ledge in the master bath, but it’s never bloomed again since I first got it. 🙁 I hope your veggies in pots turn out great. I miss our small-town neighbors who always shared their tomatoes and cucumbers with us!