Answers...

In a comment to my previous post, I was asked a few questions.  So, here are some answers:

Thank-you for your blog post! Your planter combos are gorgeous! Just a thought about your expensive pre-designed combo: when you consider the number of days its beauty will give you joy, its "cost per day" may not be so very expensive after all! What is the plant growing at the base of that pot? 

The plant growing at the base of my pot is chocolate mint.  I've had it for quite a few years and I love it!  It doesn't really taste that chocolate-y, but I enjoy picking a leaf or two to eat as I walk by.

And what kind of mulch do you use? 

My mulch is sold as "soil conditioner." It is small pieces of pine bark and when worked into the soil, it helps break up the clay a little.  I like using it as a mulch because the chunks are smaller than regular mulch and I think they look less "mulch-y."  It also breaks down a little faster and adds a healthy layer to the soil.

Your herb pot is gorgeous too! Do your herbs overwinter in that pot, or do you buy them new each spring (or start them from seeds)? 

I buy the herbs new each spring.  I plant Johnnies in the pot for winter and new herbs in the spring look much fresher than ones I have tried to overwinter.  It may not be as frugal, but it sure is pretty!

 Also, what is the diameter of your herb pot and how tall do the herbs in the back usually grow to?  (I'm trying to figure out how to do something similar with what I already have.) 

 The pot is about 20" in diameter and the basil is about 20" tall.

Is your tobacco plant poisonous to the touch, as in did you have to wear gloves to plant it? 

No, the tobacco plant is not poisonous to the touch; I didn't have to wear gloves.

Is the wall next to your herb pot fairly recent? I would love to see what you have in that bed.... 

The wall is a couple of years old.  It has a Buddleia planted in it.  And at the base of the Buddleia is Dianthus.  When the Buddleia blooms, I'll post pictures of it.

Have a beautiful day!

Next year...

In “From the editor” of the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Horticulture magazine, the question is asked “What are you planning to do in your garden in 2010?” The layout box titled “new year’s resolutions” offers these ideas, linked to articles in the magazine: conquer dry shade, start a terrarium, plant something native, something honored and something new and/or choose the right mulch.




What am I planning to do in my garden next year? That started me thinking and here is what I came up with. I am planning to do better. I’d like to stay on top of the weeds, get stuff planted on time, keep things watered and fertilized when they need to be, get the nemesia out of the ground and into containers and into the greenhouse BEFORE the first frost so they don’t have to live in my kitchen for a week. I guess that amounts to spending more time in my garden; making it more of a priority in my life and not a guilty pleasure.




And conquering dry shade, planting something new, and choosing the right mulch are all good, too.




Have a beautiful day!