Curb appeal

Every year I plant something new in the three wrought iron baskets hanging off the front porch railing. Every other year, I plant the “this is the summer I will learn to cook, so I must have an herb garden close by” combo planters. The next year I’ll sheepishly admit that while I enjoyed the greenery, I once again did not learn to cook and so the herbs were not utilized. Last year was the futile “learn to cook” scenario; this year I’ve reverted back to stuff that’s just plain purdy to look at. My color scheme this year is bright green, red, gold, white, and purple. Very graphic, very high contrast.

After a series of “why didn’t I measure the boxes before replacing the liner” repeat trips to the nursery, I finally got the right size (note to self: pretending to plant invisible plants in an insert at the nursery is not a good way to measure how wide an insert to buy; measure first!). I then planted the baskets with marguerite daisies, marigolds, red and white verbena, purple and green sweet potato vines, and white allysum. Note the shot of the baskets with the car going by—see the passenger looking up? It’s because I was making a spectacle of myself by straddling two pots planted with stargazer lilies, feet planted on two separate walls, leaning a bit over the railing…all just to get that perfect shot. Oh, the risks I take for my viewers!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.    www.cindydyer.com/GardenPhotos