The Annual Struggle

 It seems to me that each year I struggle to decide what annual plants I am going to put together for my planters.  I always grow Marigolds, Dahlias and some Celosia and either Zinnias or Snapdragons from seed.  These plants I tuck here and there around the garden and landscape, filling in blank spots and adding color in areas where the perennials are more subtle.  But when it comes to the five or six combination planters, I try to come up with something new, and I want to use plants that will grow well together.  I get tired of the same old Geraniums and Begonias that are tried and true and predictable.  Petunias are another dependable "go to" annual.  The old fashioned kind require regular deadheading.  Several nurseries stock the newer, easier to care for Supertunias but the colors available are always unpredictable from one year to the next.

This year I planned to go with a patriotic theme in honor of the Semiquincentennial.  I figured that it wouldn't be too difficult to find nice red and blue Petunias.  Some people like to point out that blue Petunias are really purple, but how blue do you need them to be to get your point across?  If you really want true blue, there is always Lobelia.   I don't mind dead heading a couple of planters of Petunias, but I refuse to plant old fashioned white Petunias.  Rain ruins their appearance immediately.   I actually picked up a couple fo packs of them at the greenhouse and carried them around for a few minutes, but the dried up flowers on them were brown and yucky and I just couldn't do it.  So I used Euphorbia for my white.  For the two planters that flank our deck steps I went with the Dreams series from Ball.  They were very affordable at $2 a four pack and they are looking beautiful.

For the fire pit planters, I splurged on Supertunias, using the Decadent Patriotic recipe but substituting Black Cherry Supertunias instead of Pomegranate Calibrachoa.  I had to mail order these to be sure to get what I wanted and the plants were quite small and bedraggled when they arrived but they are finally hitting their stride.

When I was at the fancy schmancy greenhouse two weeks ago, looking for odds and ends, I came across about a dozen trays of “black” Petunias (actually deep red or purple) called Black Satin Sweetunias.  They were stunning.  When I laid eyes on them I said "Wow" out loud.  I couldn’t get them out of my head. It was obvious that no one else had seen their potential because there were a lot of them sitting there with seemingly none purchased.  I suppose that it can be a bit of a challenge to figure out how to use black flowers.... After several days of thinking that I really needed them in my life somehow, I suddenly saw a spot where I could use them.  And I had the perfect container.

I wanted to pair them with silver (either Helichrysum or Dichondra) and a splash of bright red to bring the burgundy tones out and downplay their blackness. As I was collecting up options to pair them with, I also accumulated several greenhouse employees who asked “are you going to plant those together? That’s GORGEOUS!” And I agree, it is a stunner. I placed this planter in a spot where the background is afternoon shade and it really stands out. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in another week. If I do this again next year I may substitute a white Salvia (which has silver stems over silvery sage leaves) for the center instead of the Rediculous Coleus that I chose this year.  See - I need inspiration when it comes to putting together annuals.  I don't want the same old thing over and over.

Here is a promotional photo of this variety which captures their true color better than my phone does. They look like black velvet.

The Proven Winners recipe of the year for 2026 is "Pixie Powder".  I have had my eye on it for a couple of years.  I believed that the east side of the garden shed would be shady enough for it but I'm not sure it really is.  This wall gets about four and a half hours of morning sun then full shade.  The Impatiens have not been happy about the night time temperatures in the 40s.  I started covering them each evening with a heavy frost cloth and they still haven't been too happy, but we are finally getting night time temps in the fifties so they have stopped shivering and turning blue.  I am trying giving this a little water each morning and the Impatiens have been opening up better.  They sure are full of buds.  So far - underwhelming.

In keeping with the orange/pink theme along this wall, I bought some Peachy Keen Superbena plants to put at the foot of an extra Dahlia.  I used a trellis that will support the Dahlia which will get four to five feet tall.

A couple of years ago I was trying to get the hard to find Bloomquist Pumpkin Dahlia.  I fibally bought a tuber last year and I also ordered a pair of cuttings from a different grower.  The grower had cutting crop failure and said that they would try to ship this spring instead.  I completely forgot about it but the cuttings showed up back in early May and were really nice.  I have another one out in the landscape.

Bloomqist Pumpkin

Also along the lines of shipping issues.  I was shipped half a dozen Blue Tiara Supertunias instead of the Blue Velvet for the Decadence recipe.  I felt they were too purple to use in those planters, but I've planted them in a row, alternating with my extra Vanilla Cream Marigolds.  These are the plants that the racoons dug up.  Twice.  But they are determined little plants and I think they will end up looking really nice.  Since the company refunded my cost, these are free plants.

So that is the gist of my annual struggle this year.  I have a few other annual plantings that I will reveal later when the plants start to look really nice.  Sometimes it takes awhile.

Early June Update

Just some snapshots to record progress this year.  The peas look lush and full and the leaf lettuce at their feet has filled in well.

Pea Plantings 1 and 2

Pea Plantings 3 and 4 as well as lettuce

The first planting from April 1st is finally blooming.

The cole crops look good.

A couple of the broccolis and cabbages are forming heads.

Tomatoes, Onions, Basil

Pole Beans

I have a tray of Durango Marigolds ready to plant beside the pole beans now that I am done covering them.  They are hardened off and are going to have to deal with hot weather this week as a transition.

Durango Marigolds

I planted out the cucumbers that were ready.  Two picklers and two slicers.  The later sown plants will be ready on a few days.

It is amazing how fast things pick up when given room to grow.  The zucchini plants have tripled in size in three days.

The direct sown cantaloupes are sluggish, but now they have a row on sunflowers down the middle to set a good example.  Because the sunflowers were a little leggy I gave them some wind deflection.

The Vanilla Cream Marigolds and Apricot Profusion Zinnias are beginning to show some nice color along the Dahlia bed.  All of the Dahlias are up although I did have to take one out and put it in a pot in the cold frame to get it going.  It was a Bloomquist Jean which did awesome the first year but lagged way behind and never flowered last year.  I will have to remember to give it a head start next year.

After I get the rest of the Cucumbers and the Durango Marigolds transplanted, everything will be in the ground and I will be in the Weed Water and Wait stage.

The Grape Arbor

 We have spent the past few days constructing a grape arbor.  We did a little each day.  Digging the holes was the hard part.  We got about 30" down and at that point we hit the shale ledge that runs under most of our yard.  And that's as far as you go.  Even with an auger on a tractor.  You get to the ledge and smoke rolls out of the hole, but no soil.

Day two we set the posts, perfectly plumb, all the same height, and in a perfect line.  Then we tied them together with a 2x6 board along the top that will help stop the posts from pulling towards the center.

Because the cables are under tension.  We put turnbuckles on the end so the cables can be tightened.

Then I spread shredded bark mulch on the soil to keep the roots cool, retain moisture, and discourage weeds.  That makes things look nice and tidy, and the grape vines will be fine with that.

One vine has put on some nice growth.  The other vine, which was sending up growth from below the soil line.... I finally dug it up, rinsed it, scrubbed it and determined that the growth was coming from the root stock, not the variety that was grafted on top.  Which was not what I wanted.  So I replaced it.  I got another Himrod white seedless so both vines are now the same variety.  I kept it in the cold frame for a week, and it has begun to break dormancy above the graft line so I planted it out and we are on our way.

The first vine, which was planted the end of March, is doing well.  I am looking forward to pruning and training it.  It is putting out three shoots.  Two will go along the lower cable and the middle one will be trained up to the next level.

The Bushel and Berry Raspberry Shortcake plant that I potted up last spring is putting out a few little berries.  The plant itself is quite healthy so I am pleased that this experiment it working out.  It just takes time.

It's the Great Pumpkin [Patch] Charlie Brown

 Last year I planted six pumpkin seeds in a far corner of the raised beds, got six pumpkin vines they produced six nice sized pumpkins.  This year, my husband said, since we have all of this room, why not just plant them in the field?  So we asked our friend to bring his tiller up and till a space for them.  We will reimburse him in pumpkins.

This reminded me why we converted to raised beds.

When the soggy clay mixes with the chopped vegetation, you get sticky cob with which to build a house.  We tried raking it, but there was no raking.  We ended up waiting for a dryish day and stomping it flat with our feet to the point where we felt we could get the small tractor with the turf tires on it.  After we stomped it, drove over it, then rolled it, it was manageable again.  I just wanted it flat enough to put landscape cloth over without creating puddles.  If we had left the vegetation untilled, it would have grown under the mat and lifted it.  Ask me how I know.

We have a large roll of road stabilization mat that goes under a gravel base when you want to create a driveway on soft ground.  We can reuse this later.  We rolled out two fifty foot lengths, leaving a 10" gap down the center and tacked it down with large spikes and washers.  Then I planted my pumpkin seeds that I have saved from last year's pumpkins.  Those pumpkins were grown from seeds I saved from a store bought pumpkin the year before.  I think I planted about 78 seeds.  Today when I watered I counted 76 sprouted plants.

I wanted to protect the seeds from squirrels and chipmunks and racoon.  Now that I have sprouts I need to protect those from the crows and ravens.  After that, I will want to protect the small plants from deer.

Once they get about a foot high, they are on their own.  Deer shouldn't be too interested in fuzzy, prickly pumpkin vines.  I plan to train the vines across the twelve foot expanse in either direction.  They should like the warmth of the soil under the black mat, and I won't have to worry about weeds making a mess and competing for water.

Since we will be able to reuse the mat and the seeds were saved, the project is virtually zero cost.   Now I just need them to grow.

Cukes and Zukes

 The pickling cucumber seeds I sowed on May 20th had some poor germination.  I resowed them and they came up well.  This is the end of my old seeds and next year I will start with fresh seeds.  I am hoping for some rain on Saturday, and if we get it I will go out and transplant them so they have better transition day.

I potted up my summer squash, two varieties (Dunja and Clarimore) in each pot.  One will grow left and the other right.  I will keep these in smaller pots until I plant them out when the peas come out.  From the 4" pot they will be bumped up to gallon pots.

The Coleus that I accidentally broke off on May 20th has put out beautiful roots.  I potted it in soil today.  I will leave it under a grow light for a few days before hardening it off to be planted out.

I also filled in gaps in the sweet corn seeds.  Again - older seed.  

Pole Beans

 The last few years I have had a battle getting beans sprouted and growing.  Everything from the seeds disappearing completely (mice?) to the growth points above the cotyledons being chewed off before the leaves get very big.

Gardening is, in large part, an engineering challenge.  I finally decided that if the mice weren't stealing the seeds, then the little brown locusts were munching on the leaves as soon as they opened up.  So I brainstormed a better way to exclude these pests.  I threw a floating row cover over the whole thing and pinned down the edges, hoping that there were no little critters being trapped inside with my beans.

Underneath the chicken wire cloches that hold the row cover in place are rings from a croquet set to elevate the material up off of the bean sprouts.  These rings fit under the cloches just perfectly.  The cloches hold the fabric down and lengths of conduit seal the edges.

It worked pretty well.  Despite being difficult to water through, it seems to have excluded most of the pests.  I plant two thirds green Seychelles, and one third yellow Monte Gusto because the Monte Gusto out produce the Seychelles by a lot!  I plant in two stages, from the outside to the inside of the bed.  That way when the older bean stalks are done producing I can start pulling the row out from the ends towards the middle.

In about a week I will sow the middle of the row and protect that section the same way.

Gggrrrrr......

 When you look out the window in the morning and the flowers are no longer in a neat and orderly row.  

 I deal with this in one spot or another every year.

The plants should be OK, but the coons will be back for another look.

They always want to make sure.

I'm just glad they haven't done this to the main Dahlia beds (yet).  Or the combination planters.

Or the tomato plants.  I'll sprinkle some Repels-All to see if that helps, but coons will eat any nasty thing so stinky stuff isn't much of a deterrent.