I have dozens of containers of all types that I look forward to filling each year. Some go on my large backyard deck in full sun, some go on the shaded concrete patio, one or two go by the front steps.

 

I buy dozens of bags of top soil – probably 500#s or so each year – to fill these pots. I add in some organic matter and sometimes some water retention additives.  

 

Many of my fellow gardeners create gorgeous containers filled with colorful annuals and tropicals using the old “thriller, filler, spiller” formula to create stunning displays. No question, this formula makes for pretty pots.

 

But I tend to use annuals sparingly, preferring to fill my pots with shrubs and perennials that I can transplant into the garden somewhere at season’s end and enjoy for years to come. I spend the same amount of money as my friends do, but the long term benefit – I think – is greater!

 

Inevitably, there are the plants I want to grow somewhere in my garden, but I’m not sure if what I want to grow can thrive in that site. So I buy two closely related varieties and plant each in a large pot. Then I watch them up close for that first Spring/Summer growing season to determine what they can handle.

 

This year, for example, I have two panicle hydrangeas: Sugar Puff and Little Lime that I’m watching. Hopefully one will do well in a sunny, dry site where I want a hydrangea. Early indications are the Little Lime is more drought tolerant than Sugar Puff, so it is likely to go in the sunny, dry site and Sugar Puff will be planted in a less sunny area.

 

I have a place I’d like to grow about five Goldmound Spireas, but I’ve never grown this plant and my instinct is that it needs more supplemental watering than I can give this site. So, I have a lovely Goldmound Spirea in a pot on the deck that I’m studying and enjoying. It is gorgeous, but it does drink ferociously to keep those pretty lime leaves looking lush.

 

I also have one of the new black leaved crape myrtles (Black Diamond Blush) growing in a pot. It is underplanted with a Miss Huff lantana that I’m assured is perennial here and a couple of pretty salmon geraniums I picked up for 75 cents each on sale.   Both the crape myrtle and the lantana are looking like they will become favorite plants for hot & sunny locations. Neither require much supplemental water.

 

 

On my shaded patio, I have pots of astilbe and a few hostas. Well, to be truthful I have a few new hostas in pots EVERY year. I love hostas. I love the endless variation of green, white, gold, blue, yellow that their leaves offer. So I always have a few new hostas in pots every summer that will eventually get transplanted out to the garden. One can never have too many hostas.

 

There is also an Endless Summer hydrangea macrophylla that is currently blooming in a big pot on the same patio. I’ve much admired this hydrangea, but have never had a place to grow it. But my ever-patient hubby is ripping out a bed on the side of the house because it is the one place that is ideal for big leaf hydrangeas, hardy gardenias and camellias. The new hostas, astilbes and Endless Summer will be planted in that bed in the Fall.

 

A new rose often finds its way into one of the containers on my sunny deck. Roses can be so finicky.

 

My husband loves bright colors and the gorgeous orange of the new “Anna’s Choice” Downton Abbey rose really captivated him. We brought it home and put it in a huge glazed ceramic pot on the deck. It is showy and very fragrant.

 

It bloomed heavily in early June and then I deadheaded it. Well, it bloomed even more on 4^th of July. It was covered in flowers – at least 25 big peachy orange double blooms. I’ve deadheaded it again and powdered it a few times with Sevin dust to rid it of Japanese beetles.

 

The leaves are gorgeous and blackspot-free – the only damage is from the pesky beetles. It likes a drink, but it doesn’t wilt in the heat. We’ve given it a bit of 10-10-10 – but not much. If it buds up again and blooms as generously as it did in June and July, I’m going to be in LOVE with this rose.

 

In addition to shrubs and perennials, I plant my herbs in pots and then transplant them into the garden in the Fall. Many inevitably make it through the winter and come back to grow as perennials year after year. But I love the convenience of having rosemary, thyme & lavender growing in pots on the deck near the kitchen during the summer.