Here are some shots of my front container garden. It was completely unplanned. Mostly, last fall I moved containers of geraniums / pelargoniums into the garage, after letting them dry out. In April or so, I brought them back out, removed dead leaves, pruned them back a bit, watered and gave some balanced fertilizer. A few geraniums are from seeds I planted in early winter. They did great but I should have waited a little longer before starting them. The succulents were from the in-law house that I sold last year. The daylilies are rescues, I grow them in the vegetable garden and move to the front when they are blooming. I think this was one I created when I was going through a mad scientist phase a decade ago. I forget which were the parents. It's my favorite of those home made hybrids. This one was basically smashed to smithereens by cement contractors. I dug it up, divided it, potted a couple of divisions. I don't expect blossoms this year. Daylilies are resilient! Bishop-weed was intertwined with the daylily roots. I keep pulling out the few remaining, very weakened, bishop-weed stems. They seem to be almost eradicated. It will be nicer when more open. The variety is Ice Carnival (I think). The dahlias were miniatures I bought several years ago. I overwintered, dry, i the garage. I divided the tubers and planted in fresh medium this Spring. Also on the deck are eggplants, with deeply purple stems and flower bracts. And a poblano pepper. My favorite. I didn't know how it would do in container. It's doing great! I remember this geranium is called "Batik" something. It's a few years old, and stays compact with tough, crinkly leaves. I think it's a hybrid between zonal and ivy types. I forget this one's name. I call it " Grocery Outlet" and I think it's also an ivy geranium x zonal hybrid. It also stays more compact, with tough crinkly leaves. That white one was one of my seed-grown. They got ahead of me and I let them dry out for a few months before reviving them again. It is from the "Maverick" series. (My very first car was a 1972 Ford Maverick). The red one in the foreground here was also seed grown, from the Maverick series. Last year I didn't like the growth patterns of my red ones, so I had let those freeze. This one is much better. Sone of those pink ones are heirloom variety, "Apple Blossom" that I grew from cuttings. It a vigorous, big grower. Other pink ones are just "pink geranium". The variegated leaf one is also heirloom, I grew from cutting, "Mrs Pollack". I don't know the name for this one. The leaves are the attraction but it's also a good bloomer. I was late planting marigold seeds. They are starting to bud now. The other marigolds were the only flower plants I actually bought this year. The Mandevillas aren't blooming yet, but are close. They remain in back until they start blooming. I'm having a lot of fun with these this year. They have been very rewarding, and many feel like old friends now.
Also, alpine strawberries I grew last year from seeds. These St. John's Wort were both labeled the same, in the same container pack, when I bought them. One has green berries, the other has red berries.
