Colorful Containing

Hooray! Happy Spring Equinox! As much as we truly adore winter (toasty sweaters, hot cocoa, skiing, sledding, cozy family time, comfort foods, etc., etc., etc.)…once spring arrives & the weather starts to change, it is so exciting to see the little baby plants sprout up with promises of a new, colorful season!

 

Colorful Containing | theinspiredparent.com

 

I’m no longer squeamish about getting my hands in the dirt (though I had better call it “soil” or one of my sisters-in-law will likely correct me). 🙂 In fact, I truly do love getting out there and planting new things — it’s relaxing and peaceful. Growing something from seed or even from a baby starter plant from the garden center and watching it thrive is quite cool & there’s a great sense of accomplishment when you sit out on your patio surrounded by pretty plants.

My first gardening project involved creating colorful containers when we moved into our house about 12 years ago. Containers seemed much less intimidating and fell into the “instant gratification” category for me — I was NOT a gardener in any way, shape or form back then.

At first we grew a lot of annuals — they were easy & having their showy flowers on our front porch reminded me of the gorgeous flower carts in New York City or at the farmer’s markets in Europe. Over the years, we started taking advantage of the southern exposure our front porch receives to grow herbs with a few full-sun flowers tucked in for a bit of color. As we expanded our garden, we started keeping various containers of herbs & veggies, mixed with flowers, surrounding our raised bed in the backyard near our patio.

TIP: Try repeating elements throughout your yard or in a couple of containers. Though we tend to gravitate toward a cottage garden atmosphere where we mix and match plants in a slightly whimsical fashion, it’s fun seeing the same red (or yellow or pink) flowers popping up in a few different spots throughout the yard to tie things together for a sense of cohesiveness.

As for herbs — oh how we love them! Nothing beats clipping some fresh herbs you’ve grown yourself for whatever culinary delight you happen to be making for dinner! We’ve tried lots of different herbs — most work really well for us — though for some weird reason, we haven’t ever had much luck with growing cilantro. Other than that, we have some favorites that we end up growing each year. Some have even survived our harsh winters & surprise us when they appear again the next spring — love when that happens since it means fewer new plants to buy or start over from seed.

We keep our chives in a container that can remain outdoors over the winter & every year, it is one of the first plants to start popping up in the spring. The other one we’ve actually had survive is rosemary. That one really surprises us since it shouldn’t be able to withstand our bitter Chicago winters. We have had luck with some rosemary plants that survive two or three years before we need to buy a new one.

After trying out many different herbs, the favorites we seem to grow each and every year include:

  • Basil, basil & more basil so we can make tons of pesto
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Lemon Thyme
  • Chives
  • Dill
  • Parsley
  • Sage
  • Mint (different varieties)
  • Lavender

TIP: When filling a container with different plants & herbs, make sure that the required soil conditions are similar for each of the plants…you don’t want to plant something that prefers dry soil with something that needs lots of watering. Thankfully, containers are quite easy to re-do if you find that you need to move things around a bit by mid-season if it seems one plant is struggling a bit. The key is to pay attention to your little plant babies each day to see how they’re doing — that way you can fine-tune things if necessary.

TIP: Mint is a tricky one — in most locations, mint can quickly take over your yard or garden since many varieties are quite aggressive. Keeping mint in containers are a wonderful way to enjoy it without worry. We love growing different types to put in our iced tea in the summertime!

 

Bi-colored sage, a lovely variety of rosemary and some pretty annuals tucked in for color.
Bi-colored sage, a lovely variety of rosemary and some pretty annuals tucked in for color.

 

Quite possibly my favorites, gerbera daisies are such happy little flowers! We’ve had great success planting these in containers – they’re a great element to repeat in other parts of the garden as well.

 

Another fun thing we’ve done for the last few years is to help our little one plant a fairy garden. You can find miniature versions of different plants at your local garden center as well as little decorative items. Though we call ours a “fairy” garden as they do in the garden centers, ours is quite light on the fairy aspect…our little one isn’t into fairies & princesses, but she adores animals so she usually finds a few new animals and miniature items at the start of each season. We give her a budget on what she can spend & she picks the plants she’d like to try & decides where to place them in her special containers before we help her plant them. This last year she picked up some new birds, a raccoon, a frog & a koi pond as well as a couple of pretty stones with little painted butterflies. She loves to help us water the plants and gets such a kick out of seeing her mini-garden grow throughout the year!

A few of these plants will come back year-to-year in our climate…the stonecrop has been in this container for about four or five years. We divide it and plant it in other containers each spring since it does so well for us.

TIP: If you have small decorative items in your containers & you live in a colder climate, make sure to remove those decorations in the fall…if you gently clean them & store them indoors, they will likely last many years!

 

Planting a special fairy or animal garden is such a great project for kids – continual learning throughout the season as the plants grow as well as added responsibility for even the littlest ones who can help out by watering & caring for the plants!

 

Have you ever planted lettuce? We started growing lettuce about six years ago. Perfect for spring & fall planting, you’ll get an abundance of gorgeous, tasty greens while the weather is cooler. Different varieties have worked well for us in containers or in our raised bed. This is another one our little one really enjoys — it grows very quickly & she loves salad so it’s a great plant that she can help harvest all by herself.

As for mulch, we absolutely adore using cocoa mulch in our containers & in the beds near our patio. It does a great job keeping the weeds at bay and the lovely cocoa scent is fantastic!

 

Two lettuce varieties we planted last year – both were tender & sweet. The cocoa mulch not only smells wonderful, but is pretty, too!

 

Our raised bed in May. We keep some of our containers along the raised bed – adds a great spot of color at the edge of our patio.

 

A few years ago after our patio installation was complete, we added the raised bed as a spot to grow tomatoes & beans. After using it a season or two, we now use it for different lettuces on one side, a determinate cherry tomato plant in the center of the bed (stays compact) and we’re going to continue putting extra basil plants on the other side. We surrounded the raised bed with some of our pretty containers and it’s a lovely, colorful little side area when you’re out on the patio. It is also very easy to access any of the items we wish to harvest.

If you haven’t tried container gardening yet, give it a try this year! You really don’t need much space & containers are the perfect stepping stone into the world of gardening! Just note that while some containers can be kept outdoors all year, if you live in a cooler climate, make sure to clean & store any ceramic pots indoors — they can break if kept outside over the winter.

If you do keep a container garden, what are some of your favorite things to plant or some of your favorite plant combinations? We’d love to hear about it! Drop us a note in the comments below!

HAPPY GARDENING!

 

 

Butterfly Season at Brookfield Zoo

Butterflies at Brookfield Zoo | theinspiredparent.com

We just started seeing a few butterflies in our yard over the last week or so. Once our purple coneflower (Echinacea) starts blooming, the fun seems to begin & we’ll most definitely start capturing images of these lovely little creatures as they start hanging around our garden.

In the meantime, we popped over to Brookfield Zoo this week — we have an annual membership — and one of our favorite things to do in the summer is to visit their butterfly exhibit (Butterflies!). The enclosed, screened-in outdoor exhibit is near the North Entrance to the zoo. Inside, you’ll find regional plants and flowers — both annuals and perennials — and have the opportunity to observe a couple hundred butterflies up close & personal during your encounter. Each season, they have over 40 different species of butterflies in the habitat, and you’ll typically see approximately a dozen different species (or more) during any given visit.

They have signs up in the exhibit showing which butterflies you’ll see that particular day and it truly is a wonderfully relaxing experience and fun for all! Just be very careful as you’re walking around — some of the butterflies like to take a flying break on the warm, paved floor. Many people think those are injured or deceased, only to see them “wake up” and fly off once again.

And if you’re lucky, you’ll have a butterfly or two land on you! It’s well-worth the extra $3 fee (non-members) or $1.50 (members).

Here are a few photos of the pretty little ones we saw this week. We’ll head back and check out the Butterflies! exhibit every couple of weeks and will share more of our photos as the season progresses — hopefully we’ll find a few new species we haven’t seen before!

Happy Summer Fun!

This one is a White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae). Some were more blue than others and some had brighter edges.
This one is a White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae). Some were more blue than others and some had brighter edges.
Not 100% certain, but I think this is a Polydamas Swallowtail.
Not 100% certain, but I think this is a Polydamas Swallowtail.
Love watching the Swallowtails. We get different varieties in our yard, too. Can't wait to see which ones appear this year!
Love watching the Swallowtails. We get different varieties in our yard, too. Can’t wait to see which ones appear this year!
This little one had a unique flying pattern - was happy to capture a photo when he finally took a break from flying!
This little one had a unique flying pattern – was happy to capture a photo when he finally took a break from flying!
We could watch these all day. Swallowtails come in many different varieties & it's a lot of fun to see the differences when you can see them in one location.
We could watch these all day. Swallowtails come in many different varieties & it’s a lot of fun to see the differences when you can see them in one location.
Another lovely little Swallowtail. :)
Another lovely little Swallowtail. 🙂

Great Plants for Spring Color

Lilacs getting ready to bloom at a local park and Lady's Mantle in our yard after the morning rain.
Lilacs getting ready to bloom at a local park and Lady’s Mantle in our yard after the morning rain.

Ah, spring has officially sprung and all of the lovely plants are blooming and the buds on the trees are popping open. I love seeing all of the new growth this time of year (even if it makes my allergies kick in a bit). Seeing those pale greens and yellows at first…then all of a sudden some happy little daffodils & tulips start popping up and it’s so nice to get outside and start exploring.

Late last week we had two mornings of overcast skies & a light drizzle — perfect for capturing some of these early spring plants — so I threw on my rain jacket & went on a couple of rainy morning strolls with my camera.

Love the different colors when planted in a large group.
Love the different colors when planted in a large group.

Yellow Tulips | theinspiredparent.com

We live near a pretty park that is known for growing many varieties of lilacs. A few lilacs like the ones in the cover photo were just starting to show signs of deep purple blossoms getting ready to pop. Masses of daffodils were blooming and some of the tulips were just starting to say hi. 🙂 I will definitely head back there over the next couple of weeks as more tulips & lilacs begin to bloom.

Found these little treasures at the park - so pretty!
Found these little treasures at the park – so pretty!
Love the ruffles on these daffodils!
Love the ruffles on these daffodils!

Last fall we planted some daffodil bulbs in our backyard — two pretty varieties to add some cheerful color to the areas where our purple coneflower and shasta daisies will bloom later this summer. We’ve really enjoyed having the early-season color from the daffodils in that bed this year.

One of the varieties that we planted in our backyard. It's a long wait when you plant the bulbs in autumn, but such an exciting treat once they bloom in spring!
One of the varieties that we planted in our backyard. It’s a long wait when you plant the bulbs in autumn, but such an exciting treat once they bloom in spring!
A little early for the wonderful lilac scent, but that will be happening very soon by the looks of these!
A little early for the wonderful lilac scent, but that will be happening very soon by the looks of these!
Lady's Mantle - one of my favorites! | theinspiredparent.com
Lady’s Mantle – one of my favorites!

The photo above is of one of my favorite perennials — Lady’s Mantle. I shot this image last week during our morning rainstorm. I first noticed this little gem many years ago in Toronto at Casa Loma where they have a huge bed of it — the sprinklers had just gone off and I was intrigued by the water droplets on the leaves. When we moved into our house, Lady’s Mantle was at the top of my list of plants I wanted to add to our yard. I still love the way the leaves look after it rains — especially on the baby leaves that are just starting to sprout.

These are just a few of the happy plants I saw the other day. I also adore magnolias, but the timing wasn’t quite right to capture those the other morning since it was quite windy. Hoping to get some new shots of those very soon and will definitely keep shooting more of our plants as they start to bloom so I can post more of those throughout the season.

What are some of your favorite spring plants?