Gardening as therapy.

Mixing edibles and ornamental plants is a whole "thing"... consider kale, chard, herbs, even cherry tomatoes mixed with flowers - marigolds are pretty but the possibilities are endless.

Hummingbird mint is great, low water xeriscape plant. There are many varieties and colors. Look for agastache for the options. I will be using some as well, had several at my old house.

Over the weekend I saw a gardening spot on the news. There is a giant lily hybrid that flowers get as big as your head. I may try to find those bulbs and start them in a large pot to take with me to the new house. A nice plastic lightweight pot easier to move.

There is a garden here with lilies that need to be thinned out badly. May decide to tackle that.

Polarbear, maybe a Japanese maple tree would suit your purpose. They are pretty, slow growing and provide color and texture. Attracting pollinators to close to your entry door may not be a good idea. If you have a sunny location, hummingbird mint is very pretty and attracts bees and hummingbirds, they have a fragrant smell too.

polarbear- what about some tiger lily's, begonias, or dahlias? They attract hummingbirds and come back each year as they are bulbs, I believe. They have a variety of colors.
Happy planting.

My MIL wants to give us a nice HUGE heavy ceramic planter. It takes two people to lift and carry it when empty. She wants to know what we will plant in it. I have NO idea what I would plant in it. But it would look good at the front steps leading to the entrance. I prefer plants/trees with practical and useful purposes (edible, or at least attracting bees to pollinate) yet still looks pretty year round. I know I am asking for a lot.

Any suggestions? Thanks

cwillie- I understand we planted a few things outside this last week and had to cover them today with straw and plastic in hopes they will not freeze. We are having crazy weather here, sunshine and warm and then freezing. :(

Snowdrops first appeared in Feb during a warm spell, now they are back looking bedraggled. No sign of any other blooms yet.
Time to spray my dwarf blue spruce with dormant oil in hope of stopping a repeat of last years gypsy moth invasion.
The long term forecast is for continuing below normal temps :(

WoW

I'm quite enjoying the pink hibiscus in an urn next to the side door

I pruned mom's yellow rose bush way back this year not expecting any blooms until next but it is covered

I wish she could see it

Iris's are out and about.
Harvested- some turnips, spinach, lettuce, radishes
Growing- are tomatoes, canteloupes, beets,carrots, cucumbers, peppers, cilantro,brocolli, basil, rosemary, sage, oregano
Planted-potatoes,( red, blue, yukon gold), squash and zuchinni, more turnips, beets, and radishes, watermelons, garlic, corn

Veronica, just a few days ago I read of early spring bulbs that deer don't eat. I think they might have been Siberian Squills, but I'll see if I can find the article.

You might be able to soften the ground by mulching with last year's leaves. Or you could take cuttings now and start them, so they'll be established by the time you leave.

I hope the weather stays nice for your move. When I was 9, we moved on a blizzardy day, left our poor little cat behind; Dad stopped over at the old house and got her for us.

I've moved another time in frigid weather. No more - from now on I'll only move in nice weather!

Well here's an interesting dilemma. I have not even seen the garden i will be tending this year because we will be moving at the end of the month to Maryland into a house i have only seen pictures of. The pictures do look very nice and i am assured that the hardscape and landscaping are lovely.
In our current location the bulbs are pushing their way up through the snow. i don't have anything like snowdrops or crocus because either the mice dig up the bulbs or the deer eat the flowers. They mostly leave the daffodils alone because they are actually poisonous, but the occasional head gets bitten off.
I hope the ground will be soft enough to dig up some mint and chives before we leave.

Garden reports, please! What's sprouted, what's in bloom, what are your plans for this year (any changes, new beds, etc.), and what have you bought so far?

I just realized I haven't even ordered any catalogues, and only received one from a company from which I ordered years ago.

This year I'm going to try to plant a lot more herbs, as I had years ago, as well use daylilies as parterre borders. For years my goal has been to create a formal, French chateau style garden while surrounding the parterres with an English Country Garden. I hope I can get that accomplished, at last.

The May issue of The English Garden is available now, complete with a captivating special addition on roses. I am sure I can smell the fragrance of those beauties just by glancing at the special handout.

Spring is emerging from my house garden - the daylilies are up about 3 - 4". Deep purple crocuses appeared on Monday. And this is despite overnight temperatures in the 20s.

The landscaping magazines and garden catalogues are calling to me, and of course I must obey!

We are not quite out of the frost stage yet. Stores are bringing out early spring plants like pansies.

I do have plants on order such as a rose, lilac, and daisies. In a couple weeks they will be arriving. Looking forward to some color and flowers!

Dorianne, I inherited some lovely honeysuckle when I bought my house decades ago. I love the fragrance. There's another variety I've just seen in a gardening catalogue that's on my "to buy" list - it's Lonicera Mint Crisp. I've never heard of or seen a mint scented honeysuckle, but I love anything that's mint scented.

Another, Lnicera Scentsation, is touted to be a rebloomer over 3 seasons, so I take that to mean it blooms from spring to fall. This might be another addition to my garden.

Glad, thanks for the heads up. I'm sure I can find some reason to go to WW and wander by the plant section. Lowes seeds section is another place I need to visit, just browsing, of course!

Saw first plants at wally world, columbines and some yellow flowering potted vines. Way too early in this area to even think about. Here mother's day is usually considered safe from frost.

Thanks, smeshque. Probably some law about sending seeds across the US-Canada border though. :-) I will keep my eyes out for honeysuckle when the garden centres open. Not sure what else I'll grow, but it will depend what colour vine flower I end up with!

Hope you find some honeysuckle or something lovely to grow on the balcony, it will be nice to smell and see. Flowers are such a nice bonus in life. I was given this vine that grows these pretty little flowers and it grows really fast and well. I have no idea what it is called, but if I can get the name of it, I will throw it your way for you to check out. I have a ton of seeds, if interested.

Honeysuckle seems like a good idea for mom's balcony, from what I've read so far!  Looks like there are several varieties for our zone. 

I can’t speak to other gardening zones, but in the south Lady banks roses grow easily and quickly. They like sunshine and well drained soil but otherwise not very fussy at all

Daughter I just learned of the lady banks rose, they are so pretty, I hope to be able to grow some.

I’ve grown morning glories of various colors along with moon flowers for years. I’m in the south and they’re both annuals here though our winters are considered mild with little snow. They’re both so pretty on a metal trellis. Also have a coral colored honeysuckle that is lovely and a great screen plant. My hands down favorite trailing, vining plant is a lady banks rose. It can get huge but the flowers are just amazing

Morning Glories are so sweet and lovely. What about honeysuckle, or even cucumbers if you eat them, they make nice vines with flowers. Some people use sweet potatoes to produce a pretty vine.

cwillie - I'd be starting nearly from scratch at mom's place. She has a couple of big shrub pots and a few smaller pots I gave her when she first moved here....though I could bring more from home since I guess I won't be gardening there this spring. With her being palliative now, I'm not sure I'm prepared to water obsessively though! I would be happy enough with a leafy vine, to be honest, but it would be nice for mom to have some flowers too.

Veronica - I've grown scarlet runners on my balcony at home (I face south). They seem to do fairly well in our heat. But I have one of those shrinky hoses that I hook up to my kitchen faucet....mom doesn't have the right kind of taps for that. Hmmm. I'll have to think on this watering business. The strata by-laws don't allow for hanging plants on the balcony, which is annoying! The kitten doesn't go out there though (mom is 6 floors up, I don't trust him not to jump at a bird!), so it wouldn't matter. But I may get some indoor hanging plants, it's a good idea!

This strata business is annoying. I live in an apartment too, but a smaller (and shorter!) building, and privately owned.  We have a huge communal yard and automatic sprinklers.  Because I help out with the weeding, the landlord lets me muck about planting all kinds of things. I've taken that for granted!

I have found that pole beans in general are very forgiving container plants, in fact they are one of the few I've had success with. Low light may make them bloom and bear less but I think they would still climb enough to make a nice screen. The morning glories could be more of a challenge unless you are prepared to water obsessively. If you don't have containers already look into self watering systems, there are pre made ones and lots of ways to make your own (just ask google and YouTube).

Dorianne I think you could probably grow your scarlet runners facing east. In the heat they will need watering every day or twice if possible. Place the containers where they will get the most light. If all else fails consider a mirror to direct the light on them. In the UK they grow well in a cooler climate with less sun besides which the pods tend to hide under the leaves.
I have mint and chives planted side by side and they just fight it out.
We just got a foot of snow yesterday so no chance of gardening. I had been planning but as we will be moving probably in May it will just be mowing and tidying up before that. Hope the daffodils show well this year.
Have you thought about hanging plants so the kitten can't reach them. There should be some nice hanging baskets available around Mothers Day. They should look pretty in Mom's place all summer and beyond.
I have some geraniums in big planters that i bring in every winter and they continue to bloom all year. I do clip them back every spring.

CM - that silver lace looks amazing! And also like it might take over the whole side of the building, lol! But it might work here - says sun or partial shade - if I could keep it restrained....

And no, nothing on an apartment balcony is really perennial here, unless you can store it in a garage or something over the winter.   (Edit:  ok some people manage small trees, but I'm not sure how....bottom heat maybe.)  I do just wonder about morning glories and light/heat.....I've never grown them. 

Of course I just remembered that mom's balcony faces east, and has a roof....so that will limit what I grow! Probably no scarlet runners. I am over-used to being able to grow whatever I want at home, with different light available in different spots.

glad - mint is the worst! I find it has to be grown in a container or not at all. Friend of mine put it in the ground in a barrier-contained area, but it sure didn't stay contained for long!

cwillie - would they do ok in east light? I don't mind vigor. It is very hot and dry here in summer though, and it seems to me they get wilty fast, or am I wrong?

I need to get out and start killing the puncture vines. Now that is one absolutely nasty weed! Very impossible to get rid of.

The blue flower in my avatar is a Heavenly Blue MG. I'm in love with MGs). I also grow other colors, the exact names of which escape my frazzled mind right now. I've grown Moonflowers for years, but learned when experimenting on a chain link fence that they can't hold their own against the MGs.

In BC, Columbia, I'm not sure you'd have to worry about them being semi-perennial, as they sometimes become in Michigan.

If you want to REALLY fantasize, Google Japanese Morning Glories. You'll see a new variety that literally makes you want to pay the price for these sometimes expensive beauties.

The Split Second, Chocolate, Venice Pink and Windmill Chocolate, Seiryu (stunning!) are lovely as well.

I've also grown Sweet Peas (so lovely and delicate). One of the vines I want to add for privacy are the wild and aggressive Polygonum Aubertii (silver lace vine). I've seen a pink variety which I'd love to have.

There are also the trumpet vine, hyacinth bean vine, clematis, hops (interesting decorative floral clumps) and others which could provide thick coverage.

Oh, oh....this always happens when I think about and look at photos of MGs - I want to go out and plant, even if there's still snow on the ground!