Back door steps pots...

I received a very broad hint that I needed to do another blog post.  So today I am going to share with you the pots that are the bottom of the steps that lead to my back door.  The first one in on top of the retaining wall I built several years ago.

For this summer, it holds Lobelia (the blue one), Verbena (the red one) and Petunia (the yellow one).

I bought these flowers as a pre-made combo in a hanging basket.  I paid a pretty penny for them because 1)  they were a pre-designed combo 2) they were "locally grown"  3) they were in a hanging pot and 4) they were at an up-scale grocery market.

But I decided it was worth it because they were so pretty and were exactly what I wanted.

Just to the left of the above pot,  but sitting down on the path, is this little container.  The plant is an alpine geranium named "Charm."   It's new this year.  I've grown an alpine geranium in this pot for several years, but it finally died out.  I liked it so much that I wanted to replace it with the same thing.

Isn't it charming?

My yellow pot is against the house, right at the very bottom of the steps.  It's a hard place to get anything to grow well in the summer. However, last year I discovered that ageratum grows very well there.  And I like ageratum a lot, even though it is unassuming.

Finally, my big pot at the bottom of the steps.  It sits in the bed that goes along the pathway. A couple of years ago, I started growing herbs in this pot.  They do very well, not minding at all the hot afternoon sun.

This year, I have three different basils,  thyme, tri-color sage, and Cuban oregano.   And Nicotiana.   Nicotiana is a tobacco and all of the plant is poisonous.  Is it diabolical to put a poisonous plant in the middle of edible herbs?

Anyhow,  I like the effect.  The purple hues in the tri-color sage pick up on the reds and pinks of the Nicotiana.

And how 'bout that Cuban oregano!  It's thick and fuzzy and variegated.  Yes, it is usable, like other oregano, but apparently, it is much stronger. 

A variegated Lirope grows below that pot.   One of my sisters gave it to me several years ago.

Cemetery Sedum has planted itself in front of the Lirope.  I think they look very cool together.

And the whole combination looks very lovely.

Have a beautiful day!

Plectranthus...

So, I was at a friend’s house this morning and a plant with variegated leaves caught my eye. I mentioned to Lori that I liked it and asked her if she knew what it was. She said that it had been part of a 4-H project (which she told me about – sounded very cool) but that she had no idea what it was. I then asked her if I could have a cutting of it. She found the scissors for me.




I told her I thought maybe it was related to Creeping Charlie. I had a Creeping Charlie (Plectranthus verticillatus) in California with smooth, plain green leaves that lived outside in a shady corner that I really enjoyed (the plant and the corner), but it looked very little like this aromatic, furry plant. When I got home, I looked it up in my Southern Living Garden Book, and, sure enough, I was right. It was indeed a Plectranthus. I believe it is Plectranthus amboinicus ‘Variegatus,’ also called Cuban Oregano or Spanish Thyme or Indian Mint. It has a rather pungent smell, kind of like oregano and thyme.




One the way home, I stopped to buy, among many other things, some potting soil and perlite. The cashier asked me what “pretty things” I was going to plant. I told her that I kept potting soil on hand, you know, like you keep salt on hand, but that the perlite was for rooting a cutting. (I think I actually still have some in the shed, come to think of it.) She told me, with a laugh, that she gets cuttings and sets them on her dryer without doing anything with them and they never make it. I have put my cutting in a jar filled with perlite and water and put the whole thing in its own little greenhouse made of a Ziplock bag. I know I should have trimmed off a couple more leaves, but I just couldn’t bear to. Oh, and it is sitting on my dyer.


Have a beautiful day!