Exuberant Summer Container
Debbie Teashon
What do you get when you mix a banana with perennials and annuals in a beautiful ceramic container? A bountiful container with such exuberance the spilt plants hide the container and steal the show. That is exactly what happened to this container. By July, you couldn’t see the large pottery at all.
Container plantings include:
- Musa ‘Red Tiger’ (banana)
- Lophospermum erubescens 'Bridal Bouquet'
- Cuphea 'Firecracker'
- Petunia 'Keilavbu'
- Verbena 'AKIV571-1'
- Gaura ‘Passionate Rainbow’
The banana grew tall and the rest filled the understory below. The Gaura's tricolor foliage was stunning and I trimmed it back until July. And true to any Gaura's growth, when it began to flower the stems grew long and lanky. Next year I plan to keep the foliage trimmed through the summer and let it flower towards the end of the season. I grew it for the luscious foliage so keeping it pruned to encourage more leafing out might lengthen its beauty. The white Lophospermum was exquisite draping over the side of the pot. Either way it is a beautiful tender perennial I will also grow in my garden.
My one disappointment was the Petunia color. The photo tag depicted a darker blue purple than the lavender flowers that grew instead. I would have chosen a darker hue, since the Verbena and Petunia were almost identical. No matter! It was what it was, and I still enjoyed the planting.
The next time I use these plants, I will choose a simple container. The beautiful plant combination stole the stage from the ceramic container I used and the scene melted into the surrounding garden.
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Wendy Tweton and Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners)
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