Some Favorite Photos from the Past Couple of Seasons

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was reorganizing some photos from the past couple of seasons, and here are a few favorites.  As always, click on them to enlarge.

This first is one of a pair of containers I purchased last year.  They are concrete and new, but I love the finish on them.  They are made to resemble rusting cast iron containers, and I really like the sense of age they bring to what is a relatively young garden (12 years old).  I don't even know the cultivar on the pansies.  I purchased the containers in late winter, and these pansies were what was available at Lowe's in a large-enough quanity to fill the two containers.  I particularly like the contrast against the Spanish bluebells, which have naturalized in the bed on the upper level (these containers are on a ledge at the top of a small staircase).

The gazebo at the pool is mostly shade throughout the day, so it's the perfect place to put some of the houseplants for the summer months.  We have these four containers on wheels, so they can be moved a few times during the course of the season to grow more evenly.  This colocasia (elephant ear) is called "Elena," and is an awesome chartreuse that lights up every container combination. 

The gate into the walled garden cuts through the center of the (mostly) white border. This is early spring, with variegated boxwood and violas in the urns, and white peonies just about to open.  The sago palms on the pillars stay outside except in the coldest weather, as do the potted ivy topiaries.  (I only know the date because we flip the containers to summer flowers April 15, which is generally the last frost in metro-Atlanta.)

 The fig in August is literally dripping with nectar; we manage to pick whatever the birds and squirrels don't beat us to!

The front entrance explodes in July, and these Hydrangeas will stay until we cut the blooms off in October.  We replaced a clipped holly hedge with the Limelight Hydrangea a couple of years ago, and cut it back to about 2 feet every spring to control its summer height.  In the containers on the porch is Colocasia "Elena" again.

(Please feel free to borrow any ideas you'd like, but please don't "borrow" my photos and claim them as your own!  Thanks!)