Bloomin' Beauties

.

One of last year's beauties. Oh wait - not from Country Way, now that I think about it. But still beautiful and it was a good survivor.

Last year or maybe the year before I discovered Country Way Garden Center, just a couple of miles from our house. (It's the opposite direction from where we do most of our driving.) It seems like a real Mom & Pop organization and I just love it. Everyone is friendly and knowledgeable and all their plants seem happy & healthy. I admit I was also swayed by the fact that they had handcrafted greeting cards for sale in a basket on their counter the first year I shopped there. (I haven't seen them since but that's what gave me the idea to create a brochure of my flower related cards and do a mailing to all area garden stores. I haven't had time to execute this idea other than to start collecting names of area nurseries.)

Another one from last year - definitely from Country Way. I love this one, perched on one of the two stools I picked up off the side of the road. The other stool holds a giant aspargus fern in the family room.

I received a postcard from Country Way in April, offering "Spring Bonds", where you can buy a $50 gift certificate for $40. Great deal - so I bought two. And so far I've only spent half. I have two window boxes and a big enamelware pot on the deck to fill this weekend.

And I'll probably end up replacing a coleus I bought last year. It was absolutely gorgeous and I even wintered it over inside just beautifully. I cut it back quite severely about a month ago because it was starting to get a little "leggy" and I thought that would promote a nice spring growth. I put it out on the deck last week, careful not to expose it to too much sun, too quickly. It rained quite a bit after that so I don't know if it's drowning or I just need to root some cuttings and start over but it looks pretty pathetic.

Here's what I bought yesterday.

Boy, do I love a sweet potato vine! I had a purple one in the aforementioned enamelware pot last year and it just about took over the lower deck. In fact I had it coupled with a spike, not unlike this hanging basket, sans geraniums. Never would have thought to put a spike in a hanging basket but I like this.

I was so pleased with the fullness and colors of last year's baskets, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find something to live up to my expectations. I stand corrected. Ain't she a beauty? The teenage boy who carried this one out to the car for me said he counted 7 separate colors. Not shades, colors, he specified.

I love combination baskets!