Painting Flowers

I’ve finally begun the process of painting my flower pots. I’ve kept my terra cottas in the natural for these many years, enjoying the slightly orange color but it’s time for a change to More Color!

The paint is an inexpensive craft paint that I got at “the world’s largest”. For those who are interested—its seals say “Made in the U.S.A.” The paint slides on, and on slick surfaces such as plastic, glass or ceramics, it can just as easily slide off or any which way. As with most paints, two coats make a fuller color. This one is formulated for outdoors as well as in. Occasionally when I’ve told people that I paint flowers, the troubled question emerges, “But won’t it hurt them?” Normally I’m talking about painting a picture of a flower though I did work for awhile for a company that preserved bridal bouquets, which did call for painting on the flowers. (If you feel your lip curling at the thought; be assured that we did it very tastefully). But oops! Somehow I did actually get purple paint on this red hibiscus. And no, it didn’t hurt it.

Making the Best of What’s Left

I was recently away for over three weeks to be by my dad’s hospital bedside and then say goodbye. It was a very difficult time but there were good things as well, like being with family I hadn’t seen in a long time. While I was away, my husband did as well as a non-gardener could—probably saturating the plants. However, when he joined me at my family home for a week, the garden had to fend for itself. That was sad but I really needed him to be with me; he was grieving as well. The culmination of a week without water in outlandishly hot days caused a lot of death in my garden. More death was hard to come home to but I cut away the dead stuff—three bags-full and found that a lot of life remained. My garden would normally be burgeoning this time of year but though it’s diminished there are still signs of hope. I had to strip all the leaves from one plant but I could tell it was still alive; now tiny new leaves are poking out up and down the stems.

The Persian Shield and one of the Parrot Leaf plants didn’t fare well at all but I was pleased to find replacement plants at a greatly reduced price at the local garden center. A big box garden center had fuchsia and white-trimmed petunias and a large pot of trailing purple verbena. Though the petunias and verbenas each looked like one large plant in their large pots, I found that they were instead, several smaller plants intertwined, which worked better for planting them in the decimated hanging baskets. I spent most of yesterday moving pots around and sweeping dead plant leaves; it looked like autumn there were so many. The physical exertion distracted me from my grieving and might even help keep me healthy. But I was sore. Now I have more space and comfort to sit in the garden and write to you.

I had been planning to paint my pots in bright hues of red violet, blue violet, yellow orange and yellow green. I think I’ll do that soon—more color is a good thing; it soothes my soul. Stay tuned.

Filled

Even after I added the colorful “designer” coleus to my hanging basket, it still had gaps. I wanted more petunias but they’ve been hard to find this time of the summer since they get too leggy to sell. I was pleased to find a small pot of fragrant deep purple petunias at a big box garden center (yes, I like to “shop local” but the workers at the chains are local too). I turns out that they’re “mounding” petunias so they’ll keep the middle ground filled. I’m pleased. I’m glad I got them transplanted before the rain poured. We and our thirsty ground thank you Lord!

Color-full

Though my petunias surprised me with a comeback this spring, there was still a gap between them and the yellow-green sweet potato vine; I like full and flowing hanging baskets and this one wasn’t there yet. I added a magenta Superbells petunia but that didn’t do it; it even stopped blooming shortly after I brought it home. I looked around the local greenhouse last Saturday for some beautiful full flower to complete my composition—coupons “in hand”. What I found was this cool “designer” coleus with feathery leaves in bright fuchsia edged with yellow-green. I want some branches to trail but I’m pinching back others to make it fuller. Another plus of this “designer” coleus is that it can take full sun as well as shade. These types can be expensive so I was glad to have my coupons!

Combo

When I saw that the local garden center still had some Parrot Leaf plants left, I bought another—after all, I had requested them a couple years ago. As it turns out, it brightens the too-sweet-pink Fuchsia. Though the Fuchsia isn’t as colorful as I had hoped (you may have noticed that color is a BIG deal to me) the differently shaped flowers add a new interest to the garden. It’s been too hot—so far the hottest summer EVER, to spend much time in the garden though I have actually enjoyed a little morning heat. Thankfully, I can enjoy my garden through a window.

Hot & Cool

Last weekend, we got up early to beat the heat and take my coupons to the local greenhouse; the garden had a couple of open spaces that needed filling. My intent was to buy some of their small, brilliantly colored pots but someone else apparently had the same idea first so I looked once again to the flowers and foliage for color. I found something I had never seen before, a fringed, magenta/orange (together as though pooled in watercolor) coneflower! It looks like a Gerbera Daisy but the petals bend down in coneflower style. It was so cool, I couldn’t pass up the Hot Papaya Echinacea! Today, I repotted it to give it room to grow; as a perennial it should be around for a long time. The colors and shape go perfectly with my purple Angel Face Angelonia, red, orange and yellow-green Tropicana Cana and purple-leaved Persian Shield. As for the plain terra cotta pots? I may just pull out my paint brushes and paint them myself. The more color, the merrier.

New Avenues for Growth

It’s 108 degrees outside and will likely get hotter. And to think that we had night-time temperatures in the 50’s earlier in the week! That’s the great thing about living in the Southern Piedmont region; June almost always holds a “cold snap” (except in last year’s brutal heat). My “rooster plant” is maturing nicely and is sprouting branches along its “trunk”. The red hibiscus not only survived the cut (pruning) but as hoped, is branching out in new directions. More branches equal more flowers!

Thirst

Today is such a beautiful day! In fact, the weather is perfect; I could stay outdoors all day but I just might fall asleep. The rudbeckias and alternanthera (parrot leaf) are much happier now in their larger containers that hold more water. When I leave plants in the plastic pots they came in they usually don’t fare too well. The mild weather will help them adapt more quickly; though the strong, dry breeze feels really good to me, I’ll probably have to water some of the new plants again this afternoon as it will dry them out more quickly.

Deeper Color

The fertilizer seems to be doing its work with the Angelonias; both are producing more buds and the flowers that have recently opened seem to be deeper purple though nothing else seems to have responded yet.

Elbow Room

My beautiful red-violet dahlia is blooming again. This time I did nip the additional buds on its stem since they were so small. So far, I don’t think the flower that did bloom is any larger than when I left the other buds intact. Will it grow larger yet? Maybe so, maybe not—we’ll just have to wait and see (a favorite line from the curriculum of the ESL class my husband and I taught).