Barrels of Fun

A couple of weeks ago my husband asked me what I'd like for my birthday.  He reminded me that I'd mentioned a new set of everyday dishes following our 2019 home renovation but I had zero interest in shopping for china.  I told him what I'd really like was three more half-barrels for the garden and, two days before my birthday that's what I received, along with some bags of top soil to fill them.

Two of the barrels joined the three I already had in the front garden under the magnolia tree.  I've made minor attempts to plant directly into the ground under the tree but tree roots have prevented me from getting very far.  When we moved in, there was lawn there but it struggled too and required too much water.  So we put in a bench around the tree and covered the soil with bark mulch.  Planting in barrels has provided the color I wanted.

So, lets look at what I've got in the barrels, starting with the two newest ones in the foreground of the above photo.

This is the first of the new barrels, which I planted using mostly plants considered annuals here

The photo on the left provides an overhead view of the contents shown on the right, plugs of Cosmos bipinnatus, a white-flowering Delphinium (moved from my cutting garden to make room for a dahlia), and plugs of Salvia lyrata

This is the second of the new barrels, containing a mix of plants, at least two of which I hope will last more than a season

Clockwise from the upper left, this barrel contains: a white Bacopa, a single Cosmos plug, Dahlia 'Kogane Fubuki', hybrid Digitalis 'Pink Panther', Pimelea ferruginea 'Magenta Mist', and Salvia 'Danielle's Dream'

The third barrel, one of those I received for my birthday last year, had been filled with Iceland poppies which for some reason never took off and, with summer coming, I pulled them and replanted from scratch.

I included Dahlia 'Iceberg', which gets big.  The tomato cage was added to provide support, assuming that the tuber takes off.  This one is a division taken from the plant I grew last year.

Clockwise from the upper left: overhead view of the barrel, Dahlia 'Iceberg' (with lavender alyssum), Penstemon 'Rock Candy Blue', Nepeta 'Blue Prelude', Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Deep Blue', Angelonia 'Archangel White' and, in the center, Calibrachoa 'Ice Blue'.  I'm hoping the Nepeta won't be eaten to the ground by the neighbor's cat, which has been the fate of every other Nepeta I've tried to grow.

I didn't touch the next barrel.  It contains the same plants I installed last year.

The pink Scabiosa bloomed lightly last year but took off this year.  The new blue Scabiosa is part of the same 'Flutter' series so I'm hoping it'll also thrive.

Clockwise from the upper left: overhead view, Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' (aka mint bush), Pelargonium peltatum 'Burgundy' and 'Lavender', and Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Rose Pink'.  There's a Penstemon mexicali in there somewhere but it seems to have been swamped by its companions.

I replanted the last barrel earlier this year.

I had herbs, principally basil, in this tub last year

Clockwise from the upper left: overhead view, Dichondra 'Silver Falls', noID Hedera, Hemerocallis 'Space Coast Behavior Pattern', and Nemesia 'Banana Swirl'

The third barrel my husband bought me was intended for a shady corner near the street.  I'd had a barrel there for years but it literally disintegrated over time.

This barrel was intended for a spot in the background on the right

The wood slats of the barrels pulled away easily but it took a good deal of work to wrangle out the metal bands and dig up the Salvia and Abelia that had rooted into the ground below the barrel

Cleared area

With the area cleared, I moved in the new barrel, balancing it atop several concrete bricks in the hope of providing this one a longer useful life.  As this area behind the front hedge and directly below a peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa) is very shady, I selected plants that tolerate those conditions.

It gets a little sun in the late afternoon

Clockwise from the upper left: overhead view; Calathea 'Medallion'; Fuchsia 'Miss California'; and three varieties of  Plectranthus scuttellariodes (aka coleus) 'Flame Thrower Salsa Verde', 'Sea Monkey Purple', and 'Vino' 

All things considered, even given the hassle of pulling out the disintegrated barrel and its contents, this was a fun project.  Now, fingers are crossed that all new plants will do as well as that fourth one I showed you.

Best wishes with whatever new projects you have in store for the weekend.

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party