I wouldn't want to hide the wood, either, Marcia. But accents of trailing plants here and there could enhance it and soften it a bit - something airy and frothy like annual baby's breath, perhaps? Or verbena? I grew Imagination verbena this year in some pots and they trailed a bit but did not hide the pot. Dahlberg Daisy would be another candidate, if you like yellow (that would really add some punch to the dark wood, I think). Or a mix of portulaca . Or a garden of Sempervivum with a few rocks to accent.

"Or a garden of Sempervivum with a few rocks to accent."

Hmmmm, i like that idea! :)

Something frothy might be too frothy for the wood. I did think of verbena, or maybe sweet potato vine for trailing. Dahlberg daisy would be nice too, and i do like the idea of the yellow against the wood.

Thank you, Pudge!

Marcia - you could try some creeping plants in there too, like sweet alyssum, which would give you a nice fragrant waft in cool weather! Their growth habit allows for a gentle trailing over the edges of containers. I've seen them sold with white, pink, or lavender blooms, although I'm not sure how fragrant the non-white ones are.

Other creepers like creeping phlox, creeping sedum, or even creeping thyme (including the variegated lemon thyme) is nice around the edges.

Marcia, your planter's very nice! DH dun good. I agree with Pudge that a little bit of something trailing might be nice - not too much to hide the wood but just to fill it up a little. Some good container plants that fill out but don't get too rampant for me are verbena (as already mentioned), million bells, brachycomes and lobelia. Alyssum like Jenny said would be good too.

A very unique planter. I like the way you have the legs (the logs) resting on gravel. It must make grass cutting easier plus it really highlights the entire planter.

I like the idea of sweet potato vine for trailing. You would have to ensure you water regularly, however. Mine droops this time of year when it's too dry. The lime color would definitely contrast with the wood and you can clip it here and there if it gets too wide and hides the wood (though I don't think it would).

Other than that, maybe just plants with varying types of foliage and colors. I have a variegated upright sedumn that I just love, though chances are you might have to remove to overwinter. Maybe a good old 'spikes' plant (draceana?) for the centre, that is, something a bit taller than the plants on the outer edge?.

Geraniums are always good (the annual type) and can take fairly dry conditions. Portulaca is nice too. I bought a very small clay planter from the dollar store, that is only six inches wide and hangs on the fence. Put portulaca in there and it's been blooming all summer. It's rootbound, however, so I do water almost daily, but I must have a few portulaca plants in there because it's like a multi colored floral bouquet.

Glen

6" deep, if you hate to water, I'd suggest Portulaca, Mesembryanthemum Livingston Daisy, Eschscholzia California Poppy, low growing Sedums or Sempervivum and I love Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', these guys have been blooming all summer!

If you don't mind the watering, I too like Brachycome as a trailer plant and CYMBALARIA muralis Kenilworth Ivy.

{{gwi:698585}}

Sharon

Sharon,

I love the old wagon.

- Andrew

I don't mind watering, but i'm leaning towards Pudge's idea of semps, possibly with portulaca. Last year i had a different kind of portulaca, really succulent looking, and it tended to trail a bit. Maybe i could find some of that again.

Sharon, love the window box! :) And the wagon, of course.

Do you think dh could sell these planters? I really think he should go into business - he can do some decent work when he puts his mind to it!

Marcia,

If you planted sedums, low growing, like the yellow stonecrop, in the planter that your DH made for you, you would be able to leave it there all winter. I have a milar planter filled with different kinds of stonecrop and they winter over just fine. Adding some of the annual trailing flowers like others have mentioned would look great for next summer. Maybe filled with million bells instead. That would look so great! Did your DH finish the outside of the cedar log or is it just naturally so rich looking?

I love your assorted purple windowbox, Crazy Gardener. Do you have the names of each kind of plant? A ... petunia. I plant up 2 old old wheelbarrows each year and think that this combination would look great in a wheelbarrow.

I do have some of the yellow trailing stonecrop, and a red one too. I didn't think that anything would overwinter in there because it's shallow and the edges aren't very thick - maybe an inch at the most. But i guess they might survive if semps would. I could always try!

Yes, he finished it with linseed oil, i believe. I'll have to ask him for sure.

Thanks Valleyrimgirl, in that window box is Petunia Supercascade Blue and Brachycome mix.

My late Granny Lulu used to play in the ol' wagon years ago when she was a child. I figure its got to be over 80 years old. Hubby took the bottom out and replaced it with a wire rack so that the pots in there can drain.

Sharon