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I like pink flowers, so we have pink begonias, and pink vinca (flowers not vines). They are annuals. Neither of those plants needs maintenance and do well over the summer. I generally don't care for white flowers, BUT, I bought a small pot of white sun patiens. They really are popping on the gray deck with white railing. Nice and bright. I also bought some red sun patiens. They look good, but not as good as the white. They don't seem to tolerate the sun as well. I also bought a nice begonia plant to put on the back table near the dark green shrubs. That one is really popping against the green and the blooms are nice and big....hold on, I'll go take a couple pics....
I assume that is why Begonias are so popular? (less maintenance). I know they are extremely popular around us. The nurseries seem to have more of them than just about any other flower. And our agent when buying our house was off to go buy 300 of them one day! lol.
I know far less about flowers and decorative plants than I do food plants. I let my wife tell me what flowers to plant where and just do what she asks in that regard!
Know what I just learned though? Holly leaves all start off smooth edged until something like deer start eating them. They then regrow spiky to deter the nibblers. After that, the higher up leaves will still be smooth edged and the lower leaves will be pointy and spiky. Nature is a cool thing
Begonias and impatiens are popular around here if you have shady areas. We had the issue with mold/fungus in the soil that wiped out our impatiens for a few years. By mid July the flowers were dead. So we moved on to begonias. If a begonia has a darker leaf, they can tolerate more sun,
We have other flowers as well, but we prefer the ones that don't need dead heading and fussing over. Rick spends a lot of time growing annuals. We don't have a lot of luck with perennials. I sometimes find them too leafy for the amount of color they provide. We have had some luck with cone flowers and the butterflies love them.
Once the annuals get going, we have color until the fall.
He also grows cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and zucchini. Last year the soil for the veggies had issues Hoping that is not the case this year. He works so hard on the garden.
Begonias and impatiens are popular around here if you have shady areas. We had the issue with mold/fungus in the soil that wiped out our impatiens for a few years. My mid July the flowers were dead. So we moved on to begonias. If a begonia has a darker leaf, they can tolerate more sun,
We have other flowers as well, but we prefer the ones that don't need dead heading and fussing over. Rick spends a lot of time growing annuals. We don't have a lot of luck with perennials. I sometimes find them too leafy for the amount of color they provide. We have had some luck with cone flowers and the butterflies love them.
Once the annuals get going, we have color until the fall.
He also grows cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and zucchini. Last year the soil for the veggies had issues Hoping that is not the case this year. He works so hard on the garden.
It really sucks to have issues like that! Cause you typically do not know until it is too late to replant. I was worried about a few of our items in the veggie garden but things have taken off pretty quickly and are mostly looking good so far. Eating tomatoes from the garden in early June is pretty good for me! Seeing lots of various peppers starting to produce and our squash and cucumbers have flowers now. Potatoe plants are HUGE as are the onions and we have pole bean vines that have crawled to the top of the trellises already, so for now, looking like a decent garden!
Nice looking coleus. My wifes is not doing as well this year for some reason. One is ok but the other looks like it is not going to hold on. Last year they grew like crazy. Her petunias are diong great though.
I focus on the food plants, she focuses on the aesthetic ones
I had been worried that our potatoes were showing signs of blight but they are still going pretty well. Watching for signs that the yukon gold plants start fading so I can stop watering those. They should be near harvest by now since I planted them mid April.
Have managed to fight off squash bugs so far. Have been diligent on looking for and removing eggs and so far so good!
Our next yearly plague is the hornworms. Going to spray some Bt solution on them before we visit family soon as that is about when they appear here. That stuff is natural and supposed to do them in. In the meantime just inspecting for eggs to stay out in front of them.
06-11-2024, 11:48 AM
