Wow, those planters looks great. I think I would get lazy with the watering and fail, but seeing those gives me some motivations. We have two big half barrels full of plants in the back yard. I just hit them with milo every once in a while and they seem to do alright. I'm sure with your plan they would be doing much better though.

 

Looks great! :thumbup:

 

I took some pictures at a Castle yesterday and the planters were so gorgeous I think this is a great place to share them..

 

What a great post and... WOW! Those baskets and lawn!

I'm hooked. These are great ideas and so easy to implement. I can hardly wait until next year!

I'm betting you start from seed given the number of plants you are putting down. Do you have a greenhouse?

 

I wish I had a green house and grew my own annuals from seed. I buy them from a local green house and pot them up myself. It costs a bit but I feel it's worth it. It really adds a lot to the overall landscape.

The fertilizer program really works well.

 

I agree... I'm not happy without flowers and veggies growing. It suits my Cape-Cod style cottage quite well. I want more flowers but buying transplants breaks my sensibilities knowing I could probably start from seed with a little effort. This is going to get time-consuming real quick...

 

@wardconnor are you getting ready to do this again? I was going to try it this year. What thought process do you put in to which plants go in pots together?

 

Is there any type of soil mixture you like to use?

 

@Rackhouse Mayor
@ABC123

Yes. I definitely plan on doing the pots and hanging baskets again this year. It adds so much color and beauty. I love the annuals. They are definitely some work but I think the look is incredible.

I paid a guy for 2 years to plant and decide what to put in my pots. He did the arrangement and did the planting. He chose some nice stuff. He included the flower tags with the pots so I know what he planted and this year I just plan to replicate what he did according to the tags that I saved.

If you are wondering how to arrange them I suggest going to a greenhouse or nursery that sells annuals and ask them how to arrange them. They will give you some good ideas. I used this tip last year for some other pots he did not plant up for me.

My wife is pretty good at arranging them as well. I plant them according to what she says. This is what I'm planning on this year. I will be changing it up a little bit this year but still plan on doing the baskets and pots.

I use regular potting soil that you can can buy anywhere. The miracle grow stuff is good because it has fert in the soil mixture.

A tip if you have very large deep pots is to put wood chips, bark, or old milk cartons in the bottom of the pot to take up space. This helps so you don't have to add sooooo much potting soil.

A general rule is to have something tall in the center then something shorter and then something that hangs down over the rim of the pot.

I have a late last frost date. I won't be able to put my pots outside for good until around memorial day. Kind of sucks in that regard. I will however plant everything up early may in my garage where it will not freeze. This will give them a jump start.

I want to see what you guys do.

 

I want to see what you guys do.

Funny, because we're waiting to see what you do. Guess we'll figure something out collectively :lol:

 

Anything that you recommend that I could put in some hanging baskets that will drape down over the sides? I plan on 4 hanging baskets on the front porch this year.

 

Thanks @wardconnor. I googled it yesterday afternoon and stole some ideas from this gallery. I noticed the pattern of "tall in the middle, short around the sides, and hanging off the pot".

Anything that you recommend that I could put in some hanging baskets that will drape down over the sides? I plan on 4 hanging baskets on the front porch this year.

Looks like the internet says potato vines and various types of ivy work well. Check that link out above for some ideas.

 

Do you have any suggestions for plant/flower pairings? We have a lot of pots around the yard and they do "ok", but looking to kick it up a notch this year!

 

Do you fertilize every other day/water every day all season long? I never knew they could handle that much! Got an easier schedule I can realistically keep up with? 😆

 

Do you start from seed or buy all grown-up from the nursery?

 

Got an easier schedule I can realistically keep up with? 😆

This. Or can we premix the fert?

I'd love to have some great flowers like these!

 

Wave petunias hang down. Potato vines hang down. Creeping Jenny hangs down. Alyssum hangs down, get the one on steroids.

I buy all my stuff from green house. I don't have a green house so I do not grow from seed. Some day I will get there.

Pre mix the fert? It's not too much work. I mix mine in 5 gallon buckets with the hose right before I dump it on. Sooooo worth the effort. If you want awesome you've got to put in the time. Just like anything in life.

 

Out of curiosity how are you watering hanging baskets using a 5 gallon bucket?

 

I use several buckets. I mix up five gallons and then I pour about 2 or so gallons of mixed water fert solution into an empty bucket so it is easier to pour and it is lighter in weight.

Side note. On days that I only water using clear water, I have a drip irrigation set up that waters automatically according to my timer clock for my underground sprinkling system.

 

Interesting, I'm going to have to try this out or at least a similar program. Do you only do this with Annuals?

 

Interesting, I'm going to have to try this out or at least a similar program. Do you only do this with Annuals?

I will dump the solution on other things like my small trees and other perennials when there is extra. I prefer to only use it on the annuals because it costs and the granular lawn fert is easy to throw in the beds when I'm fertilizing the lawn. I bought a bunch of the water soluble stuffy mentioned in the original post on a super going out of business sale but I'd prefer to not have to buy a bunch more.

 

@wardconnor, when you run out, you cold mix your own in any proportion you like using urea 46-0-0, MAP 11-52-0, and SOP 0-0-50. They are all water soluble and inexpensive in 50 lb bags.

 

Anything that you recommend that I could put in some hanging baskets that will drape down over the sides? I plan on 4 hanging baskets on the front porch this year.

Alyssum and petunias make an awesome and easy combination.

 

FWIW, I made a new planter today, and got some new flowers for my hanging basket. I ran out of daylight, but am going to take some pictures tomorrow, weather permitting.

 

I am not sure if I already said this or not but if you want hanging draping petunias you need to make sure you get the "wave" petunias.

Yes CK let's see it.