Strawberry Jars, Herb Pots, Sedum Planter, and a Saucer Full of Succulents!

Found them!

I’ve been on the search for strawberry pots that didn’t cost a fortune.  Finally, on our way back from a recent trip to Ithaca, NY we stumbled upon a farm market that had some decent prices, so I got three!

Over the weekend I managed to get quite a few things planted, including tomatoes and herbs.  Right now, though, I’m most excited about these lovely pots!

In the blue pot here I’ve planted ‘Love & Tangles’ (lower left), Sedum ‘Angelina’ (upper right), and some Hens and Chicks in the other pockets and in the top.

This larger pot (below)  is full of herbs: rosemary, sage, lemon thyme, oregano, tarragon, parsley, and we’ll see how that basil does on top…might be too crowded in there for basil to be happy, but I since I have a lot of other basil plants I thought I’d experiment and see.

This small pot has three Alpine Strawberry plants and some sage. I read that sage and strawberries are good companions so thought I’d try them together here:

Here’s a view of two of the herb pot, the sedum pot, and a red pot saucer where I’ve planted more succulents: ‘Love & Tangles,’ some Hens and Chicks, a ‘John Creech’ stonecrop, and a tiny little button – looking succulent (not sure of its name.) I don’t think you can see it in this photo:

Here’s another view. Behind them against the garage wall you can kind of see the Persian Shield I just picked up last week at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden plant sale, as well as another yellow saucer full of sedums:

Close ups of the sedum / succulent saucers:

I love the saucers, but realized (after planting them) that they don’t have any drainage holes! I would not have wanted to try drilling any for fear of breaking the ceramic dishes…but now I’m concerned about them drowning in rain water.

I like them where they are, and they get great sun there, but it might be a pain (and sort of impossible) to move them every time I think it might rain. Shoot!

The yellow saucer is place on a fairly steep angle up against some rocks, so maybe water will drain out that way (and hopefully not cause an avalanche of hens and chicks to follow it out!), but the red saucer is lying flat on the ground.

I guess there’s nothing to be done but move them when I’m able to before a rainstorm and if not, just drain the water out myself after it rains. If worse comes to worse I can always put them directly into the ground or into other pots with drainage, but I really loved these saucers and the way the plants look inside them.

Any thoughts?

Tulip Mystery Solved!

The verdict is in.

Last month  when my tulips were just starting to open I had a hard time telling  which was which (you can read that post HERE.)  I had planted ‘Spring Green’ and ‘Angelique’ together in the same pots, and the first tulip to bloom looked to me like some sort of combination of them both!

Here’s a picture of the mystery tulip as it first opened:

It had the light green markings on the outer sides of the petals which looked like ‘Spring Green‘ to me, yet it was pink.  Hmm.

As it continued to open it became very clear that it was actually ‘Angelique,’ and wow  – is it ever lovely!

I love all the layers and the white base of the petals…and that beautiful golden center.

‘Angelique‘ is a shorter variety – at least mine are.  These  grew to about 12’ tall.  I planted them in containers along with ‘Spring Green’ and ‘Queen of Night,‘ both of which are much taller, single varieties.

At the time of these photos, ‘Queen of Night’ had not yet bloomed.  They are in full swing now, and I need to get some photos of them soon.

Here are the pictures I took before ‘Queen of Night’ opened:

That’s our new willow (“Fern Leaf”) privacy fencing in the background, by the way. As you can see, it doesn’t provide full privacy – I don’t think any of the rolled bamboo or willow fences do. But it does provide *some* screening and it looks better than chain link.

You can still see through it, so it hasn’t solved the problem of the barking puppy next door going crazy when he sees cats in our yard, but we still like the fence and will probably put up another one toward the back.

Actually, it’s probably a good thing that it’s not solid / 100% private – some sunlight can still get through there, and we need all we can get!

Back to the tulips:

Next time around I think I’ll plant the ‘Angelique’ bulbs by themselves, or with another shorter variety and keep the tall bulbs together.