Confessions of a Pot Addict

Sometimes one is just not enough. Sometimes 87 is better. As a matter of fact, it is 86 times better. But 88? Pure crazy, I tell ya.

Last I counted I had 87 containers full of plants. But I may have counted wrong.

Annual rudbeckia hirta and monarda citriodora

Anything and everything that doesn't fit into my garden beds, is stuffed in a pot.

Colors are blended and hopefully flow into each other

Seed grown bat faced cuphea lounging in the oregano

but if they clash, who cares?

All annuals that attract pollinators are grown by seed over the winter and 
I fill in the gaps with organic herbs.

Perennials live in the pots forever so I add organic fertilizer 
and granulated mycorrihizae to the soil to keep it fertile.

I bought a pot of basil at the grocery store when my plants were too small to harvest.
 I stuck it outside and thought it would immediately die but it thrived and grew 
so I had to buy another pot.

 I had no choice.

Pineapple mint with seed-grown Jupiter's Beard

A copper watering can? Stick a plant in it.

If sticking plants in pots isn't enough, I create funky art and stick it in the pots. 
It's like decorating the garden.

Agastache that would die in my clay loam thrive in a container so what's a gardener to do but buy more containers? 

Sweet potatoes fill the two pots in front of the miscanthus. I'll harvest these in the fall and cook them for Thanksgiving.

Pots fill my patio steps

 'Pandora's Box' daylily

and house some of my impulse-buy daylilies.

 Just in case they need a little motivation.

Even the cracks in the patio pavers are sprouting plants.

I scattered rudbeckia hirta "Denver Dasies' seed last fall but 

squirrels ransacked the pot so only a few came up. Furry little jerks.

 I don't bother with fillers, thrillers, and spillers, I just add stuffers and fluffers and call it a day. This gives the plants more room to grow and requires less watering.

 A bit of variegation keeps everything from being too green.

To keep the soil from crusting over, I break it up with my fingers so the water penetrates the soil instead of running down the sides. A sharp stick is used to poke holes in deep soil to increase water absorption. Plus, this gives me an excellent excuse for poking things with sharp sticks. It's an excellent stress reliever.

'Red Hot Mama' lilies blown over in a storm were brought inside.

Even my watering can is occasionally pressed into service.