Just gorgeous Shauna!!!
I will try to get some photos sometime this week.

Brachycome Swan River Daisy (Picture #2)

That's it. I couldn't sleep tonight, the "forgotten" name was bugging me so much. LOL

Shauna

Stunning! I need to borrow those for the tour too - just send them along, okay? :>

Great containers! I may borrow some of you combinations for next year. I'll post mine later.

Syreeta

Very pretty Shauna, I'll post some later this week as well.

Sierra

I say every year I am going to do fewer pots and planters..pppfffhhhttt..never seems to work that way..lol..
my dh and ds wrestled this fir block home for me last fall for a planter
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one of the 2 balcony planters (both look the same so I wont post both pictures..lol)..suttin's reflection petunias,lobelia,diascia and phlox
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2 pots..one with heliotrope,nolana and phlox and the other with fantasy petunias,dianthus and felicia (unfortunitly it was cool and the felicia had kept its petals curled up)
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just too lazy to size more pictures and load into photo bucket..lol...savona

Savona, very pretty combos. I love the stump planter. I've been wanting one, too, but haven't found the right stump yet. But, I might find one when I go out of town, hopefully, this week.

Shauna

Now I know what to do with my stumps, good job Savona!

RICINUS communis ÂNew Zealand Purple Castor Bean, Petunia Tidal Wave Cherry, Red Peacock Orn. Kale and Lagurus ovatus Bunny Tail Grass, somewhere in there is a 'Blackie' Sweet Potato Vine ....in a month or so, this container will be packed full.

Nicotiana 'Perfume Deep Purple', Petunia 'Dreams Midnight', Lobelia 'Regatta Sapphire'

Begonia Pin-Up Flame & Lobelia 'Regatta Sapphire'

and ass't Wave and Tidal Wave Petunias

excuse the deck not being finished....see here I go again, always pointing out the negative. LOL

More to come...

Sharon

As ever, fantastic, Sharon. I'm jealous of just how many you do. What's in the ones in the last picture, on the right, at the back, under the window? The purple and orange? I seem to be doing a thing with purples and oranges this year.

Shauna

Thanks Shauna, those are Blue Waves and Dimorphotheca Spring Flash Orange Rain Daisy, I'll take a better photo once they get a lit' bit bigger. I find around August is when the pots and containers put on their best show.

Sharon

Oh my gosh Sharon. Your pots look so lovely.
This is my pot I bought at the last minute so I filled it with stuff that I had no place for.
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I need to change my colours next year. I'll have to add more flare. Everyones looks so nice and mine look rather boring. I have way too much purple happening in my pots. I'll post them later.
Shelley

These are starting to really fill out nicely.

Close up of my favourite one!

Containers to add height where there was a blank spot(s)!

My container of coleus is really filling in.

And my 5 year old's little bucket of "mari-go-rounds" 8^)

Ang

Great containers everyone. Here is one of mine. I just love this little guy.

Syreeta

Dimorphotheca Spring Flash Orange Rain Daisy, Petunia Blue Wave & Bidens ferulifolia ÂPeterÂs Gold CarpetÂ

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Nicotiana x sanderae ÂFragrant CloudÂ

Sharon

Ol' Watering Can & Brachycome iberidifolia

Sharon

Decided to add this container..the only thing blooming in this planter was the petunias when I planted it up...I added a mixture of lobelia but didnt know the colours to the salpiglossis or allspice nemesia..I'm not sure i would have picked out these colours on purpose but kind of like it anyway..:-)..savona
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Ok, I'm horribly jealous of everyone's full looking containers! Some of mine are filling out, but it'll be awhile before they all are over-flowing.

The whiskey barrels are doing alright. I thought I'd better take a picture of this one before the cabbage butterflies that are flying all over, lay their eggs.

I'll post more later when things have grown a bit more.
Laurie

A sample of my containers. LOL! These pics were taken last week or the week before.....they have grown a lot since then and will probably be at their prime in aug.

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Sierra

Very nice containers everyone!!!
Sierra I really love your hanging bags all lined up like that!

Laurie, I noticed thousands of cabbage moth eggs on my ornamental cabbages/kale too, time to get the Deritox Dust out soon, damn buggers ;)

Sharon there are 13 of those blooming bags on the fence. And here are a few more planters.

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Sierra

Sierra, you must spend a good part of your day watering!! I had a bag of pansies on my fence. It looked terrific until the weather got too hot for the poor things. :-(

Beautiful containers, everyone. Lots of great ideas for plant combinations! I found the purple and orange ones especially appealing. Already planning for next year...

Oh no no no.......it only takes me about an hour, twice a week.....if I am fertilizing, it takes an hour and a half or slightly longer. The containers are mostly large so they hold water for quite a while......and the bags and some smaller containers are in the shade and only get morning sun. So they don't dry out as a rule either. We don't usually get the heat here that you all seem to get, so that makes a difference too. If its exceptionally hot and with wind....I water a bit more often. Don't have time to spend all day at it. LOL!

BTW pansies are the worst for drying out.....maybe try something else that will tolerate being a bit dry from time to time....and if you have shade...all the better.

Sierra.

You guys make me want to cry. Most of my containers don't look very good at all. :(

Yeah me neither Marcia, yours probably look better than mine!! :0( I planted way too much lobelia for a hot scorching summer like this, and the only thing that's doing well in containers are... well, cacti. LOL.

I love everyone's containers!! Especially Savona's salpiglossis, and everyone's tunies, and the merry-go-rounds (LOL!) Grrr I'm jealous!

Ok, everyone spill the beans - HOW DO YOU GET YOUR CONTAINERS SO FULL AND LUSH AND HOW DO YOU KEEP THEM GOING???? Mine never fill in much and look so gangly. Do you fertilize a lot or use special soil - HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely beautiful containers you all....

#1 Check daily and water if need be, don't let them dry out, nor water too much.
#2 Fertilizer faithfully once a week, I use Miracle Gro 15-30-15. My fertilize day is on Fridays, F is for Friday and this is how I remember ;)
#3 Deadhead and or pinch back regularly to keep them bushy and blooming till Fall.

Sharon

I'm a relative beginner, but I do have good luck with my planters & not a lot of time to devote to them, so I'd like to add:
The main plants are purchased in 3-4" pots, from the greenhouse. Or a less expensive hanging basket of one flower type divided into other pots. 6-packs for the extras.
A quick scan through the greenhouse(s) to see what is readily available then choosing a colour scheme is faster than preplanning & searching.
Deadheading while doing the daily watering.

We are on water restrictions here, so I can't water everyday or its a $50 fine for each day.

As I mentioned above I water about twice a week, if its really dry and windy, I sneak in an extra watering.
Fertilizer day is Wednesday here, if its a water day. If Wednesday isn't a water day then Sunday. I was trying twice a week, but fell short on that. So it gets done once a week. I use the same as as Sharon.
Deadheading is done everyday as I do the garden crawl. But majorly once a week when ever it fits into my schedule.

Zavina, my best blooming Alstoemeria

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A begonia pot that a co-worker gave me for my b-day. Looks pretty good yet considering it has fallen of the deck about 4 times.
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My too much purple pot with double purple waves
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Godetia. I have 7 pots around my upper deck
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two different pots of purple waves, lobelia, and martha washington geraniums
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And a couple throw together pots.
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My African Daisies that I didn't know where to put
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Shelley

I've mostly done foliage type containers for the shade. But here's one that's mostly in sun, looking okay.

A friend of mine painted a small galvanized tub for me:

Isn't it nice? She's talented! Had to ask her how come she never labelled the flowers with their Latin names! LOL

Great containers Marcia. Your friend is very talented indeed.

Syreeta

Ohhh, those are nice Marica! Nice friend indeed!

Gorgeous photos, everyone. Here's my one and only container this year. I can't even take credit for planting it up (but I did add a couple of things). At least I haven't killed it, yet. This pot is so large, I can't even rotate it--but at least it doesn't dry out very quickly!!

Every year, I'm more and more impressed with small petunias and Million Bells. Photos don't begin to show the depth of colour on these little gems.

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Very lovely Doris!

Here are some updated photos taken today....

Purple Wave

Sharon

Ok, I know I've said it before, but,

I REALLY WANT TO LIVE IN YOUR YARD FOR THE SUMMER SHARON!!!

Wow, I have never seen petunias look so good! The ones along the side of the deck, are they in individual pots, or is it one long built in planter? Oh, and what kind of grass do you have in the charcoal planter on the deck? I never thought of putting just a grass in a big planter like that, but it looks very elegant on it's own.

WOW Sharon! Your yard is absolutely gorgeous!

I'm sure getting lots more ideas for next year.... and obviously I'll have to get over my love/hate relationship with petunias (love the look/hate the stickiness when deadheading them!) because they sure do add that fullness to any container!

Ang

Laurie, of course you can come live with me in the Summer, but the deal is that youÂll have to deadhead those Petunias everyday for me. LOL

Yes, the olÂman built me planter boxes along side the edge of the deck of all sides. I was wanting hanging baskets too, but that wonÂt work because the baskets will set off the sensor light when its windy at night. Thanks, those urns are green and IÂm trying those new Cyperus eragrostis ÂWind Dancer Love Grass that I started from seed, so far I like them too, hope they donÂt flop over or go flat as the season goes by.

Ang, thanks hon, I know it may seem like a lot of work to keep them looking this way, but I donÂt mind it at all, to me its my way of relieving tension when IÂm playing out in the garden, whether it be my Petunias or weeding or what have you, its what I enjoy doing ;)

Sharon

Ok, so the grass is Cyperus eragrostis ÂWind Dancer Love Grass. Were they hard to start? And where can I get some seed if they weren't hard to start??lol

Hmmmm, deadheading millions of petunias every day........I'll have to think some more about this deal ;^)

The Wind Dancer's were very easy to start from seed, if I would of known this, I wouldnÂt have sowed all the seed that was in the packet.

I bought the pelleted seed from T&T Seed, started them indoors on January 9th, and they germinated on the 14th. If per chance that they do produce viable seed, IÂll collect some and send you some. Remind me thou ;)

Sharon

That's awesome Sharon, thanks! I was hoping you'd say they were easy to start, because today I picked up 2 fibreglass planters at walmart for $7 each, thinking that they would look really good with a grass in them ;^)

Laurie, isn't Shelley's alstromeria planted in the same kind of container that you just purchased? I like the look and texture of the planters. You will be able to plant any color combination in them next year and it will look great.

Wonderful containers everyone!! So many kinds of plant combinations. Love Sharon's wave petunias!!! Not sure about that much deadheading each day though.

Brenda (who will post pictures of my wheelbarrows and oak barrel planters one of these days)

Oh, it is too, Brenda! Yes, those planters look great with the alstromeria too. I'm sure they'll be very versatile planters, and from the looks of them, should last for years.

Beautiful containers everyone. Getting lots of ideas for mine next year.

Colocasia esculenta Elephant Ears

Here's that Cyperus eragrostis ÂWind Dancer Love Grass again, it looks really gorgeous in the back light of the evening sun.

Pelargonium 'Black Velvet Scarlet' Geranium
and the sign in front was made and given to me from my nephew inlaw. I hoping someday that he'll paint a mural on our garage door ;)

Sharon

That's a great sign, Sharon! Is it going to be the name of your nursery? (he forgot the WS jugs! LOL)

Mine are not great this year. The sweet potatoe vines (only 1 in each of the long pots) are overtaking the million bells planted on either end this year.

Sharon your drifts of petunias are awesome and the mass plantings in your outside sitting area is lovely.
Had to wait awhile for the freesias to start blooming in this flowerpot
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moss baskets of mixed wave and tidal wave petunias
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a few pots and planters on the deck
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savona