interesting shape on that cactus....

Guess my garden pics are not that interesting compared to the shape of Al's cactus...LOL

Hadn't even noticed that.

I'll share a few... although, I must say that most of my plants are amaryllids and many are in various stages of growth at the moment, so I don't have a lot of current photos of floral explosions to share.

This is the result of "cuttage", a process whereby I saved a bulb from certain demise due to rot. You'll notice the newly formed bulblets growing in my rendition of the Gritty Mix...
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This is my mother bulb, Minerva... after I separated her very large daughter bulb from her. Again, she's happy in a free draining Gritty Mix...
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Here's my Sans... doing nicely in Gritty Mix...
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A few orchids freshly potted in Gritty Mix...
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And one photo from last summer... this is a pot of Society Garlic I grow for the lovely lavender blooms it produces. Hardy Glads are growing in the larger pot behind it. This is grown outside, but in a large clay pot...
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As the season turns from winter to spring, I should have a lot more new pictures to share.

Thank you one and all. I love pics! What an outstanding group.

See? You just needed someone to break the ice, Ania! ;o)

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More? ;o)

Al

Nothing terribly unusual as this was the first year in a new house. These are all container plants grown on my deck.
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Potted Tree Hibiscus
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Dahlias & Tomatoes
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Morning Glories & Moonflowers in one container
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Moonflower (can only take a pic in evening)
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Jane

And the next batch:
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Al

Wow. What kind of maple is that? That's just amazing... and in the previous post what are the pink and white flowers in the larger bonsai-looking pot with the mint-looking foliage? That maple... just wow is all I can say. Going to have to look into bonsai now...

Hello Everyone...

Beautiful pics everyone...

Love all of the hanging containers AL..especaillythe Fushia...i have a hard time with this particular plant...but i do love them!!! Great yard too!I also like the setup for your Bonsai...looks very convienent to water and take care of them..

Pretty work...

Jodi..Hi!!! Did i see a Plumeria cutting in your first pic? They all look great...You will have a pkg coming to you soon!!! As soon as it warms up a bit!!! Hope you are having a great day...

Jane...beautiful moonflower...

AL....forgot to mention the Hibiscus...love the color!!

Ania..great thread...keep up the great work!!!

Take care everyone!!!

Laura in VB

Yes, you did, Laura! That was a tiny glimpse of the white noid I have, slated for a re-potting and a summer outside in the greenhouse! I'm really looking forward to nice weather! :-)

As always, Al, I so enjoy your photos! They're so interesting, and so varied in plant materials and container size! But I bet I know the one constant... root health due to medium choice! :-)

As the seasons change, ania, the photos will multiply! You'll see! Everyone will begin to show off their container successes! I think we're all waiting on pins and needles for spring to start!

Love the photos.

Al, what is the thing on the bench?

Ooh! What a feast for the eyes!

I don't really grow flowers in containers, but I sure enjoy looking at others' plants!

Al, that's a terrific group of maples.

Josh

Redshirt - the maples are just the species plants, palmatum, grown from cuttings and cut back after several years in the ground. If you're referring to the plant with the tubular flowers in the white pot (previous set of pics, it's 'Torenia' - likes sun until midday, then late afternoon sun. I takes lots of deadheading & pinching to keep it nice, but I find those chores relaxing - especially the pinching. You can tell I'm not content to just let things grow - I like to manipulate plants. One of the reasons I don't get much of a kick from taking care of the more common houseplants is because all you do is just water/fertilize/look at them. ;o) The reason I like bonsai is because no matter your level of proficiency, there is always the challenge to improve plants and skills. There is never a shortage of new techniques and methods to learn. Most of what I share with you guys is a direct result of my search for enough excellence in the art of bonsai to satisfy me personally - though I doubt I'll ever be satisfied. ;o) Plants are plants & most of them can be relied upon to respond in the same way time after time. The key is knowing what do do to improve their opportunities to grow best, and when to do it.

Hi, Laura - So nice to see you here. Thanks for the nice things you said - that goes for everyone!!

Jodi - you're right, of course. I learned more than 20 years ago that soils are the foundation, the key underpinning of a healthy container planting. Choosing your soil is the most important choice you'll make when establishing any conventional container planting.

Glad your thread took off, Ania!

JW - what thing on the bench? ;-)

Al

last years. still snow on the ground {{gwi:13111}}

There's some nice pics to motivate me while I start my spring garden :)

Great pics!

Terrybull, that is one lush container veggie garden! I hope mine looks that good this year. What were you using for potting mix and fertilizig with?

Al,

LOVE the bonsai! You have quite a talent for that.

Al The first photo in your second batch of photos. It has a nickel beside it. It's on a piece of wood I thought was a bench

Here are a few. filix

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AL, composted steer manure and bark with some peat moss. the fert is a 14-14-14 apex made by simplot. also garden lime. i have some free snow if anyone wants some just pickup. terry

I still love Filix's little Munchkin ..... and the plant is impressive, too!

Thanks, Josh (missed your post as I was prolly typing while you were posting) and Ania, too!

JW - that was a picture of Sempervivum (house leeks/hen & chicks) growing on a piece of cedar board. I have them growing on rocks, too. They REALLY reduce in size when you grow them spare.

Al

Thanks Al. Your little munchkin's a cupcake too! I love everyone's pics. I love your use of coleus in your pots Al. I want to try some this year. I hope your neighbors appreciate your beautiful yard. I sure do! filix.

Lol - Thanks, Filix! They all thank me for helping to keep the neighborhood spiffy. There's actually another gardener on our little circular subdivision whose garden was featured in Birds & Blooms magazine several years ago. It has great hardscaping & he works tirelessly (he's retired) to keep it perfect. We are both favored stops for various club tours because they can hit both our yards/gardens with only one bus stop. ;-)

Al

OK...here's some from this year. Ain't much yet....

Radishes and beets

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Radishes

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Tomatoes and Peppers - just planted and onions in the back

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Toms and peppers again

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Wine barrels with cabbage, lettuce and brocolli

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these are my container plants from last summer
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Wow! The colors are amazing!

Josh

Some of you have accomplished some amazing aesthetics with your contaners gardens.

Last year, given my space constraints, it was all about functionality for me. Maximum veggie production with limited (sunlit) space.

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Got 3.5 acres to work with this year so I'll strive to catch up to some of you!

Here is a link that might be useful: More photos of last year's container setup

Ania - it might not look like much NOW, but remember that the mighty oak was once an acorn. ;o) Everyone is pulling for you and hoping for a bountiful harvest. ;-)

Kandhi and Wulfe - good job. I too, noticed the bright colors of the plants and Wulfe's plants all look healthy - so you're all doing a great job, as far as I can see. ;o)

Al

Thanks Al.. not to sound too cheesy but much of my success last year with containers was due to reading your posts and those of some others on this forum. That's the cold hard truth. So thanks. ;)

Hello Everyone...

Hi Kandhi...beautiful containers...the colors are so vibrant... pretty work!!!

Here are a few of my container plants/trees...

hope you all enjoy!!

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Take care everyone...

Laura in VB

Wow, AWESOME photos everyone! Love the Bonsai and those, are they elephant ears? HUGE!

Nice, Laura! I love the Great Wall of Plumeria! ;-)

Josh

Lol - Thanks Wulfe - for mentioning you found some value in my offerings. That, and your success is the main rewards that come from my efforts here, so I always feel blessed to hear such news.

Look at Laura grow. Wow - quite an accomplished grower, too. Very nice!

Thanks, Tommy!!

Most of these are repeats that many have seen before, but for the newbies, a few more:
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Al

Al, where in the world did you find such happy looking frogs? They are all adorable! Reminds me of Geico Insurance Co.'s Greko(?)character.

I just keep my eye out for them here & there .... and sometimes my dear friends will send me one. I have them all over the gardens. ;-)

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Al

I owe a big thanks to Al, I use 5-1-1 mix for every thing except a few citrus trees.
Even works for gardenias. I grow every thing in containers, resting on tables usually. Pole beans to peppers all do well in Als mix.

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Strawberrys

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Lemons,
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Ferns.

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Tomatos.

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Fig trees, key lime, grape vine, papaya.

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A few flowers.

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onions,
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containers in front of house, Strawberry and pineapple guavas on right.

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Plant em if you got em.
Sam

Such great pictures of fabulous gardens! I'm swooning!

Love all the pics. Man, I really need to work on my landscaping skills. You all motivated me to pull some of the Ivy and Periwinkle that is taking over the world at my house yesterday.

I need to take pics of my planters in front and ask for suggestions on here. Whatever I plant never ends up looking good there.

Ania

Ania

All I can say is WOW to every picture here.
I'm glad I kept all kinds of containers over the years!
Time to scrub them up and get busy!!!!!!!!

Wow...absolutely beautiful pictures everyone... I can't say enough. I love them all, the bonsai plants are one of my favorites. Thanks everyone for posting! What an eye candy thread this turned out! I'll be back to see more...

Hello Everyone...

What a great thread...

I love all of the beautiful pictures...lets keep them coming!!!

Hi Nancy!!!..LOL...definately "eye candy" i love all of the colors...makes spring more exciting!!

Thanks for the comments...Josh..LOL..it is a "Great Wall Of PLumeria"... i tie them to the deck railing so they wont fall from being to top heavy...

AL..thank you as well for the nice compliment...your yard is just beautiful!!! The colors are gorgeous too..
I especially like to see that great flagpole...looks great!!

Hope everyone has had a great day...

Take care..

Laura in VB

Al: Beautiful as always!!! =) Love the little frogs too...lol

- Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Steve's Container Garden

Thanks, Guys. Great thread - isn't it? .... so many great shots representing so many assorted talents. Great fun!

Al

Ania, send me the ivy! I'm trying to get some to grow up a piece of wood in the front of my house

These photo's are amazing. I love all of the color. I wish I could have plants in my house. I have no windows that allow sunlight!

Beautiful pictures everyone! Thanks for posting.

Suddensam,

Can you comment on what type of drip system you use to water your container vegetable? Also what is that pvc grid contraption above your tomato plants?

I'm curious if your watering system completely waters the mix in a tote. I had issues when using drip emitters, the container mix would be wet right under the emitter all the way to the bottom of the container. But about 3" to the side of the emitter the mix would be dry.

Thanks

how cow, i love that dwarf papaya.. suddensam, how tall does that tree get?

More great pictures! Nice, suddensam!

Well... here's hoping we can add more pictures soon! We finally got a couple of days that feel like spring! Yay!

Great pictures everyone, here is a few pictures of my edible container garden;

Bonanza Peach
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Prickly Pear collection
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Shot of several container trees and shrubs
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Oh my goodness! Such a beautiful bunch of pictures and people.

This one brightened my day. Thank you everyone.

Here is just a couple of my favorite container plants..

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Oops! How did that get in there?

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Here you go. I love posting pics. Click link below and I hope you enjoy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dannys Vegetable Garden

Meyer's Lemon flowering like mad in 5-1-1:

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Lime:

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Citronella cuttings in turface
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Jodik - why are your amaryllids planted so shallow?

First of all... wonderful pictures, everyone! Thank you for sharing them all! Beautiful trees, flowers, and other living things! I love it!

Second... why do I plant my bulbs as shallowly as I do? Because there's no reason to bury the entire bulb when it's in the controlled environment of a container. The important plant to medium contact point is the basal plate, from whence the roots grow, and that part of the bulb is sufficiently buried.

I like to keep the majority of my amaryllids planted shallowly for a few reasons... some amaryllids actually grow more as epiphytes in their natural habitat, I like to see what's happening to my bulbs, and having them above the surface level a bit allows for ease in keeping them groomed.

Most bulbs settle in once planted, and either draw themselves down or lift themselves up a bit as their roots grow, to suit their growth habits. It's more of a habit for me to place them rather shallowly, mainly because of past experiences with saturated bagged soils and a propensity for Hippeastrums to rot in excess moisture.

So, there are many reasons why I tend to plant amaryllids shallowly in pots. If I could grow them in the gardens, I'd place them deeper... well, most of them.