Contrast in your Container Garden

How do you choose your plant combinations? I think the number one rule is variety; variety of all different types: color, height, leaf shape, plant shape, and plant density. Nothing can stand out if it is surrounded by only similar objects. Planting all tall, skinny, grass-like plants that are the same shade of green is not going to look as impressive as if you change only one of the parameters. A grouping of grasses of a similar height but different colors is going to be more eye-catching. 

So what plants did I choose? Today I am showing you the plants I bought at Swansons, what groupings I placed them in, and why I chose the plants to begin with.

Container One

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Pocahontas Penstemon

I chose this plant for its wide, purplish leaves. In the early spring this plant sends up stalks with lavender flowers that hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees love. We'll have to look for them next spring! In the meantime, this serves as a good anchor plant for this container, dominating in height, leaf size, and leaf color.

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Lamb's Ear "Silver Carpet"

It is hard to deny the fantastic texture that lambs ear has. The fuzzy leaves add interest and texture to any garden. I also love the dusty sage color; it serves as great contrast to the Penstemon leaves, in just about every aspect.

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Diamond Heights California Lilac

And now for the punch of color! This plant has a great, bright, color, with dark green details. It is also a low lying choice, that will spill over the edge of our containers. This one attracts bees and butterflies, and is resistant to deer, not that we have that problem on the second floor!  The only down side for this plant is that it isn't always hardy in our climate. It will all depend on how mild the winter is.

This one contrasts the other selections in color, leaf size and texture, height, and growing pattern. The penstemon and lambs ear provide the complex but reserved backdrop for the bright green stunner, that will spill over the edge of the planter as the summer goes on.

Hello, little bee!

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Container Two

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As the second planting, I went for a little grouping of terra-cotta pots. When thinking about the future of my porch, it is most likely that I will just keep adding terra cotta pots, and smaller groupings to the collection, this is just the logical beginning. Multiple pots add a statement, in a more cost effective, and transportable way than it would if I bought larger, statement planters.

Blackbird Penstemon

To start with some height, I chose a different variety of Penstemon, this one is called Blackbird Penstemon. It has larger, taller, flowers. This one is also great for wildlife. I liked this variety for its height, color, and spindly nature. Just look at those twisty tops!

Silver Bush, Cushion Bush  (Calocephalus brownii)

This plant was just so unique, I couldn't resist it! It's made up of little white twigs, which contrast in color and texture to all of the other plants we purchased. The white color, and bushy shape stand out amongst the group.

Stonecrop, Sedum makinoi "Limelight"

Good old stonecrop, a great spreader and easy to establish. I chose this one for it's tendency to spill over the edges. It has great color, and juicy leaves. The stems contrast nicely too!

Wooly Thyme

So fuzzy, so tiny! I paired this one with stonecrop in a shallow pot, both spread along the top, and their roots don't extend too deep into the soil. Again, the fuzzy texture adds a touch detail and interest to the composition.

Two More Sedums

I told you i was excited about them in the last post, so I bought three! Just look at the variety amongst them, in color, height, texture; they really have it all (the third is the stonecrop, listed up above).

Sedum telephium "Chocolate Drop"

Dark, glossy leaves, and a commanding height called me over to this beauty. I chose this one for its ability to make a statement. This is in the same height range as the Silver Bush, but has so many differences that they stand out against each other.

Sedum Kamtschaticum "The Edge"

This one is special enough to have a pot all to its self! I like the growth pattern of the leaves, and the irregular edges of the leaves. It also has a nice, bright, green that related to the stonecrop and the California Lilac, tying them all together. It is just about to bloom with bright, yellow flowers too.

Those are all the plants that I got this time. I think it is a good starting pint, with a nice variety and contrast.

Now, truth circle time. I went against the advice I've been offered and bought a tomato plant at the farmers market this past weekend. We shall see how that goes. It has been uncharacteristically warm here for the past week or so, I figure we can give it a whirl.

Happy Gardening! and Happy 4th of July, we hope you have a fun Holiday!

New City, New Apartment, New Garden

So what is new with all of you? We know we’ve been absent for a while, but moving cross country, and away from home, can knock you off your feet pretty easily! Looking back on our first few weeks here, I can feel a difference in my attitude and my outlook, it’s getting better but I still don’t feel normal.

We have good days and bad, and we miss people at home and everything familiar about it. We are trying to set up a life here, and beyond going out on frequent friend dates, that means getting back to the normal activities, like this!

So do you remember that really nice garden plan I came up with last winter? I was pretty excited about it; I was looking forward to see how my work the previous year panned out, and how my plants would expand, and of course filling it up with new plants. Pretty soon after that, the chances of us moving to Seattle were on the rise and luckily I didn’t go through with the plan of ordering all those seeds and filling my life with foxgloves, otherwise I would have had to find homes for many, many flowers. That is the risk in apartment gardening I guess.

In addition to saying good bye to my garden that I’d worked on for three years, I also had to give away, and find homes for my collection of house plants. I may or may not have cried when that happened.

 In Seattle so many things are different, including the gardening. The Summer just doesn’t get as hot and the winters are not as cold. Those pretty spring flowers bloom on forever, because the heat doesn’t come out and scorch them to death. Things that will die in the mid-Atlantic will stay alive through the winter here. Let’s just say that I am excited about the possibilities. One thing that is lacking are those hot weather fruits, notably tomatoes, these apparently aren’t that great in Seattle. 

However excited I am, the circumstances at our apartment are different from the last one. We’re in the city so I don’t have access to the actual ground, and we aren’t really sure how long we will stay in the apartment so things need to be temporary. Our apartment has a porch, which is great, and I feel so lucky to have it. These limitations lead us toward doing some container gardening, and me needing to step back from full-fledged landscaping plan, to thinking about a few pots at a time. What can I say? I think big.

I’ve never done containers outside, and the limits of them sort of make it more overwhelming; there is less open land to just try things out, your one decision makes a big impact. The plants in Seattle are different from what we’re used to, plus we have mostly full sun, which is very different from the last garden. We decided to go on an exploratory trip to a nursery. Back in May, we went to a program by Amy Pennington, a tv host and author here in Seattle, and asked for a good nursery recommendation, she recommended Swanson’s. A few weekends ago we reserved a zipcar and headed over to Swanson’s Nursery, which is an upscale, quality nursery in Ballard. It was a nice atmosphere, with plenty of options. I wouldn't go to find a bargain, but the plants are healthy and there is a lot of staff on hand to help you if you need.

It’s funny, you always want what you can’t have, at the last apartment I always wanted plants that would grow in full sun, even though we were lacking in that resource. At Swanson’s I was drawn to the shade plants.

I almost forgot the part I am most excited about: the sedums! If you’ve ever been to Northern California, you see these outrageous succulents that are huge, and amazing. It isn’t as striking as Northern Californian, but Seattle has its fair share of hardy sedums. They are just so interesting, with great shapes, and colors and textures.

I had trouble making choices here, are you surprised? What are your go to methods when choosing plants for a container garden. Check back on Thursday and I’ll share my selections and thoughts on plant combinations.

Sugar Snap Peas and Greens in a Snap!

We've been in Seattle for about 3 weeks now, we're in our apartment and have started our new jobs. Everything still feels fake and vacation-like, and it's taking us a while to get settled in. That can be expected I guess, but it's jarring and uncomfortable. Ben and I are trying to get back into a normal-ish schedule, and doing things that we always do and try to establish a new normal in Seattle. 

There a few things right off the bat that we love about where we're living, and the first of those is how close we are to the University Farmer's Market. We can see the Saturday morning market from our bedroom! That makes it pretty hard to skip, so a lot of our food has been inspired by the things we've found at the market.

This recipe is particularly easy to throw together for a quick dinner, and uses 2 things we have at the market right now, sugar snap peas, and pea greens. Pea greens seem pretty cost effective, I got a bunch for $3; snap peas are less cost effective, but they're some of my favorites, so I splurged. I hope to grow some on my balcony for the fall harvest (this idea is minimally researched, so don't take that as gardening advice) not only for food, but also as a sort of privacy screen.

Sugar Snap Peas and Greens

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb of chicken breast
1 inch of fresh ginger (skin peeled off)
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 pound of sugar snap peas
A few handfuls of pea greens
A squeeze of lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Spray a pan with non stick spray, then heat a pan on medium high heat.
2. Chop the chicken into bit sized pieces, season with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides.
3. While the chicken is browning mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic chili sauce, and cider vinegar.
4. Prepare the snap peas by breaking off any leafy ends and rinsing them.
5. Mince the garlic and ginger.
6. Once the chicken is browned, put it to the side to rest.
7. In the same pan add the snap peas, ginger, and garlic, add in 1/4 cup of water and toss all for a few minutes until the peas are lightly steamed and bright green.
8. Add in the soy sauce mixture and toss for 20 seconds, remove from heat and combine with the chicken.
9. Plate the peas and chicken, top with a handful of pea greens and squeeze lime over the dish and serve.

What are your favorite finds at the farmers market at this time of year? I'm looking forward to garlic scapes!