Pot Party Friday!

I like using potted plants in the garden. I'm pretty happy with how mine have worked out this year.

Unfortunately I prefer large pots but I live in an area with freezing winters and there is a limit to what I can carry. I have two of these. They are plastic and were cheap so if they freeze and crack during the winter it's not a big deal. I like the way they look but I may need to do something different next year - the palms are getting sunburned.

My driveway is just a little bit wider than it needs to be. Not wide enough for two cars but definitely room for a car and a motorcycle to park side by side.

We don't have a motorcycle.

So I potted up a variety of herbs and lined the driveway. I've done this for the past few years but I'm finally starting to feel like it's getting "there." I like the large number of different sized pots and the different textures and colors of plants.

Well, maybe it could use a few more pots next year...

Lastly, the front porch pots. I have two of these, one on each side of the front door. I wish I could take credit for the mix of plants but I bought them as a pot grouping from White Flower Farm. 

I'm just starting to experiment with mixing plants in pots. I've seen plenty of bad combinations, where one plant outgrows everything else. This combination is growing together nicely.

The Ritual of Rosemary

Today I began the annual Ritual of Rosemary.  The timing can be tricky since it's based completely on the weather but the weather here is turning really cold and we're supposed to have a couple of days this week where we don't get above freezing so it's time.

The first part of the Ritual of Rosemary involves bringing my two pots of Rosemary in from outside.  The larger pot will spend the winter in the shelter of the garage.  Rosemary isn't hardy here but the garage provides enough protection that it will stay alive and dormant (provided I don't overwater!).

The smaller pot will spend several days in the garage, then it will get moved into the cool breezeway and finally, in the last part of the Ritual of Rosemary it will get placed on a stand in front of one of the windows in the kitchen.  There it will join with a pot of chives and possibly some oregano for a winter supply of fresh herbs for cooking. 

Herbs in the Garden

Gardening in a hot climate I had great success with herbs and I discovered something - not only are they great in the kitchen and easy to grow but they can also be ornamental. Now that I'm in cool New England I'm not sure how they will over winter but I'm trying. I planted parsley as an edging plant (it's attractive, I've even grown curly parsley as a houseplant, and it's food for swallowtail caterpillars), two types of thyme and golden oregano in the narrow strip between the sidewalk and the road, bronze fennel (also good for swallowtail caterpillars, and what neat architectural structure!), and I've let my dill go to flower for the bees (and what happy bees they are with their full sacks of pollen). I hope you enjoy today's photo essay of herbs as perennials.