Flower Power

Spring is such a happy season!  Everything is turning green, birds are cheerfully chirping, Jazzy basks in the sun and I get to plant flowers!  

All the rabbits running around our yard makes it a bit tricky to plant flowers in the ground.  And I don't exactly have a green thumb.  However, I am pretty successful when it comes to hanging baskets and pots. So, I'll share what I have found works when planting baskets and pots.  

My first tip is to spring for potting soil.  I know it's more expensive than plain ol' dirt, but it really does make a difference.  I usually go with some type of Miracle Grow variety.  My second tip is to get some Miracle Grow Plant Food.  This stuff really does make your flowers grow bigger and look healthier.  I dilute it with some water and only use it every 2-3 weeks.  My final tip is to get flowers best suited for the amount of sunlight you have available. 

The way our house is situated makes full sun plants difficult to grow.  There is one pot that I put on our driveway that gets sun for a good portion of the day.  I have found that I can include full-sun plants in that pot and they do well.  This year, I opted for spikes (that's what the tall grass is called, just spikes), petunias and ranunculus.  I also threw in an elephant ear bulb.  I love the big, gorgeous elephant ear-sized leaves that pop up!  

I found these adorable polka-dot-ish pots at Home Depot.  I bought two to put on either side of our porch steps.  

These pots gets quite a bit of sun throughout the day.  So, I bought full-sun geraniums and celosia.  I added an elephant ear bulb to each pot.  I also mixed in some part-sun fuchsia and threw in some shade impatients.  I love impatients because they seem to do well in the sun or in the shade.  I've had luck with both sunny and shady areas.   

The hanging baskets do best with part sun or shade plants.  They do get some morning sun, so I can put some full-sun flowers in there and they seem to do pretty well.  I have three hanging baskets hanging above our porch railing.  

I filled these guys with a variety of the following: impatients, celosia and petunias. 

I wanted to go with blue accessories on the front porch this year, but didn't want to spend a fortune replacing the red accessories I already had.  So, I bought a $3 can of spray paint.  A big red pot and my red plastic watering can got a spritz of navy spray paint.  They look brand new and you can't beat the $3 price tag.  

Hope you get to do some happy spring planting, too!