One of the places a person could still find the joy is in container gardening. Even containers can suffer, but at least you can watch a few of them and give them extra care. The rest of the garden can pretty much go to hell as you devote the wee bit of energy the weather has not totally sapped from you to those containers… Containers you thoughtfully place near the house so watering and other chores are easily accomplished. This would have been a great year to have used those water-holding crystals. Alas, I did not. Wait, they probably would have caused everything to rot during the rainy season anyway. And it’s a little hard to incorporate them when it turns dry two months after you planted your pots.
Our containers at the IMA look very good this year despite the weather we have experienced. I did a quick tour of them this morning and took some pictures so what you see is in real-time.

Patty tried one of  the new trailing vincas (Catharanthus roseus ‘Cora Cascade Magenta’) for her pots between the Formal Garden and Lilly House.

I think this group has a lot of potential. I’m always looking for good flowering trailing plants.
In her pots at the front of the Formal Garden texture reigns supreme over color.

Katie created a hot tropical scheme with flowers in oranges, yellows, reds combined with burgundy foliage.

I love these colors of course.

Jim showed the elegance you can have when using a single species in a container. Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) is one of the best for this. In front of Lilly House is ‘King Tut’, a wonderful slightly smaller grower.

In the planters behind the house are my favorite of all, just plain old papyrus. Stunning, elegant, beautiful, and yet, tough as nails – if only people were so grand.

Even from below they are gorgeous.

In front of the Deer-Zink Pavilion I placed a single giant variegated Agave americana. They thrive on heat and require very little water so it was great for this summer.

As an added bonus for using a single species – all the plants require the same care.

You can do the same by using multiple species having the same requirements like I did at Garden Terrace with several different succulents.

Around the Sutphin Mall I selected a purple and silver palette this year.

I really like this Tibouchina grandiflora (princess flower, glory bush) with the hot pepper ‘Purple Flash’.

The hot peppers are fabulous plants for sunny situations whether in containers or in the ground.
It’s delightfully cool today, maybe it could rain too? Or am I just wishin’ and hopin’?

I know I try to grow too many things but what are you gonna do? There’s so much stuff out there. Eggplant, cotton, sedges, magnolias, peppers, bananas, elephant ears, lantana, variegated corn, and cannas. Ooooooo, my, my, my. The cannas. How can I deprive myself of the pleasure of knowing them all? Dahlias. Give them up? I don’t think so. And my Agaves. Sweet Mother of Succulents. How could I not surrender myself to these thorny muscular spears of the plant world? There’s so many of them but it’s hard to beat the straight species Agave americana.

You know you shouldn’t touch the tip of that leaf. But every once in awhile. That little voice in your head tells you “Go ahead. You know you wanna”. You just have to lick the tip of your finger and feel that hard sharp point. Oh yea. Hurts sooo good. They are not even high maintenance.  And their cousin Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ – no spines.

Or their half brother the XMangave ‘Macho Mocha’.

Okay, some now say this is just plain old Manfreda not a hybrid of Manfreda and Agave but I like the word Mangave.

I usually don’t plan to buy as many plants as I do each year. But they keep introducing new ones. I have to have the new ones. When you think about it really it’s no different than the folks in MIS or IT here upgrading their software or equipment. They don’t use the same stuff year after year. Admittedly there are times when the plant upgrade amounts to a downgrade. Like in the technology world, sometimes new things in the plant world get introduced before enough testing and evaluation has taken place. But, when you are a plant slut you’re not always worrying about a long term relationship with your purchase. It merely has to satisfy your need at that moment. Like the oil fern I bought this summer, Microsorum steerii.

I think it’s going to be high-maintenance. And that’s going to lead to problems. I’m going to forget to water it and it’s going to whine and carry on about how I just don’t care anymore. Well, la-dee-dah. When I said I loved it I didn’t mean I wanted to marry it.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not all about instant gratification or a one-season stand. There is permanence within plant sluttiness.  I added several woodies to my collection this year.  I’m trying two Magnolia grandiflora (that’s southern magnolias, y’all) cultivars that are supposed to be hardy to zone 5 – ‘Kay Parris’  and ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’. Or was it ‘D.D. Blanchard’? Anyway, the important thing is I have them. I also purchased two cultivars of Sciadopitys verticillata, Japanese umbrella pine, one of them chartreuse of course. Continuing the group of 2 theme, I got another Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’. See, I’m all about pairing up.  Sometimes though, three is even better than two. Like the triangle I’ll create with my Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Fernspray Gold’, XCupressocyparis lawsoniana ‘Gold Rider’, and the new Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’. Yes, each is different. But they are also all three upright pyramidal (more or less) chartreuse evergreens, giving the eye that repetition it craves so badly. And I get to add three more plants to my collection.

Now it is coming to that time of year when we do our major designing for next year. I’ll be looking at dozens of catalogues and websites searching for those perfect plants that solve all my problems at the IMA. And looking at all those perfect plants that cause my problem at home. Sing it Ado Annie.