Container Gardening 2

I just came in from giving my outdoor plants their ceremonious drink at twilight. Sometimes they receive water at sunrise, but not today. I had to tie up the cilantro and rosemary with coated green wire as they were starting to get 'leggy.' And of course I spent a minute or two plucking off dead leaves from the orange patio tomatoes and lavender, so that they could concentrate their stem power on the areas that were thriving and producing. By the time I was finished, again, I had those lovely fragrant oil essences on my hands from these plants...what a divine gift of scent they leave!

This year, as the picture shows, my Kenilworth Ivy decided it wanted to 'branch out' in to the non-container world. It is the type of plant that, after the flower stalk is fertilized, it tends to retreat away from the light in to any crevice it can find. Therefore, the ' Ivy-leaved Toadflax' as it is also called, found it's way in between my ornamental brick corner with its tendrils cascading past my little toad garden statue. Rather fitting, I should say. But it didn't stop there...it firmly positioned itself in several other areas underneath a rather large, shaded area. This plant must like it here and I welcome the delicate lavender flowers it produces throughout the spring and summer. This dainty, yet robust, little plant makes an excellent ground cover or looks exquisite in a rock garden.

Thanks to this ivy wanting to 'explore,' my container garden is 'contained' no more!

 ©2013 Debbie Ballard