At A Glance: More Spring Plantings

 

Blue in a Michigan garden?  That would be blue pansies and lobelia.  OK, there are some true blue delphiniums, and cornflowers to come later on.   But if you have a big love for blue, express yourself now. 

Bright yellow and dark purple pansies, orange grass, and cream stick stacks-a spring wake up call. 

creme brulee coral bells

Creme brulee heuchera-great in pots.  The habit, the leaf size and shape-and that color-the stuff that spring memories are made of.  I am not crazy about black and silver leaved coral bells, but these enchant me.    The backs of the leaves-a faint version of red violet-echoing the punch of red violet from these dark pansies.

Fresh cut copper willow twigs, and a spring assortment.  I like lots of spring voices looking for a little harmony.  This-a simple pleasure. 

Picoteed and whiskered violas-I love them all.  They look especially at home in small low terra cotta pots-bulb pans, we call them. 

On the right, a trailing viola I have never seen before.  It may be my favorite bicolor viola-what a treat that it trails.  Pale blue and dark purple-stunning.  On the left, clear sky yellow pansies and angelina. Prairie and copper willow provide a little natural vertical interest.

planting for spring

Lemon cypress and dark red dracaena contrast dramatically with each other.  The softening part?  lavender and peach violas with that lime.  Citrus mix pansies and Ogon sedum with that dark spike.

Ornamental kales and cabbages are great for spring pots-they will grow to a decent size before they bolt.  Barely visible in the right pot, a one gallon pot of asparagus. 

Green spikes are common in summer pots-but they handle the cold in the spring and fall very well.  Any ordinary plant used in an unusual season warrants a fresh look.

This tuft of a lime cypress will grow up to a shrub of considerable size, should you baby it over a few winters.  That lime green says spring like no other color.  Other choices?  Bibb and leaf lettuce.  Green oakleaf lettuce.  Lime green hostas.  Lime green hops.  Lime green leaved columbines and bleeding hearts. Green flowered hellebores. Lime green leaved tradescantia.  You get the idea. 

 Any spring pot makes a better show right off the bat with a plant climber in place.  Some seasons ask for a little backup from some structure.  In this case, steel structure.   Given a few weeks of warm weather, these blue pansies and white variegated ivy will grow, and make a better statement.  All of these plantings need to grow on and up.  But today, these freshly planted pots still say welcome to my spring.

Comments

  1. I like the plant layering in the 2nd photo…and only the second time did I notice the bluish color of the containers. In fact, all the containers do something different for me. MMMM!

    • Deborah Silver says

      Dear David, thanks for the visit and the comment. Different containers do different things-yes. I fall for just about all of them. Deborah

  2. Barbara Olsen says

    Hi Deborah
    It’s lovely to watch the progress of your seasons-I can certainly understand why you get so excited about spring’s arrival. We have about 6 weeks of cold weather which is probably equivalent to your early autumn and then spring arrives. Although our seasons in Brisbane aren’t marked like yours we still notice changes. Now that the heat of summer has passed my grevilleas are flowering beautifully and the bees are coming in large numbers and one of my banksias which is flowering for the first time has brushes which are 30 to 40 cm long.
    Thankyou for sharing all the wonderful photos of your pots-they are quite an inspiration.
    Regards, Barbara.

    • Deborah Silver says

      Dear Barbara, so nice to hear from you! Even subtle changes are changes none the less. Would that I could have banksias in my garden. Thanks, Deborah

  3. LOVE the verticality the Willow stems add.

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