Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Herbs and Flowers in my Porch Pots

I have gotten pretty comfortable with container gardening over the years. I typically plant three pots of flowers on the front porch with thrillers (tall plants), fillers (bushy, medium or small height), and spillers (a creeper that spills over the edge of the pot).  I even know how to secure my pots so they aren't stolen off the porch, a sad but real part of downtown city living.

However, inspired by my friend last fall, I wanted to see if I could work more edibles into my gardening overall.


I filled my big pot with a geranium, a few begonias, and then (the edibles!) thyme with purple flowers, variegated creeping thyme, creeping rosemary, purple basil,  and lovage.  The smaller twin pots on the porch posts got a few begonias and summer savory. 

We'll see if they fill out and look lovely and if I remember what each herb is.  I'll take pictures in a month or so and report back.


In other gardening news, I'm still mulling how to do a container of carrots or beets.  Our peas are up and looking happy.  New baby dill plants are growing.  Our lettuce is nice and hearty.  And I have started a packet of basil seeds inside on the window sill instead of buying plants the way I usually do.

I planted hen and chicks, a creeping succulent, in Ben's old sneakers. Not edible, just adorable. 

This spring, I pulled out some irises and lily of the valley to make space for a rhubarb plant from my friend Caryn (thanks again, Caryn!). I am hopeful it will take root well enough to survive the summer heat, unlike the last one.

How are your edibles coming along?

7 comments:

jenny_o said...

My edibles are up, and eaten, and presumably enjoyed. I must explain that the diners are deer, and the edibles are my rhododendron bushes, my evergreen shrubs, and my crocuses.

I think it's time to check the internet for plants that deer don't like!

What a good idea to mix flowers and herbs. The herbs provide the greenery as well as meal enhancements. Why has no one thought of this before? In all I've read of container gardening, I've never come across this!

Hazel said...

I've done edible containers before, but this year there's a an extra section in our village scarecrow competition for a pot with veg/flowers/fruit, so I'm thinking hard about combining them this year.
Basil grows well with tomatoes, as does French (and African, I think) marigolds, so I'm planning on mixing those. There's also all the ingredients for pizza topping or as I have some old wooden crates for a local chicken company, the ingredients for sage and onion stuffing...

Julian said...

So cute! I found an old enamel washtub and am going to plant flowers in it. I got a colander and am going to hang ferns in it in the backyard. I like thoes little shoes with the succulents. How cute!
Christina

Sew Blessed Maw [Judy] said...

I love the hen&chicken plant in Ben's old shoes..Adorable!!!
We have a pretty big garden this year [it is at Kenny's camphouse /hunting land].} About 8 miles from my house..
Since, I like having my tomatoes where I can run out and get one, when I want it, I took 6 big old plastic tubs, and planted tomato plants, squash, cucumber, some seasonings like sage/basil/dill.. Kenny drilled holes in the bottom for me and I filled with potting soil/peat moss/ fertilizer and everything is looking good..
We have peas/butterbeans/corn/ tomatoes/ eggplant/squash in the big garden.. [Lots of work coming up this summer, and I am looking forward to it.]

Jo said...

I am systematically pulling out ornamentals and planting edibles in my front yard. I am trying to retain the herbaceous border look, but with kale and artichokes instead of ferns and roses. Time will tell if this is achievable!

Margo said...

Hazel, those are such clever ideas. I'm especially taken with the chicken crate one.

oh Jo, how neat!

SewBlessed, I'm envious of your big garden. You WILL be busy this summer!

AP said...

I love doing edible/decorative containers. My best one has been thai basil as "thriller", nasturtium as "filler" and sweet potato vine as "spiller". Although the sweet potato didn't really end up being edible...would love to find an edible spiller! This year I am trying some cabbage in pots on the porch, no idea how that will work out.