Plant Containers

I got a natural love for flowers from my parents as I was growing up. One of the things that was unique to my style of growing them though was the plant containers I began to use after I had worked with them for a few years . My parents had a wide variety of flowers that had been shared with them from friends and family. Dad once got permission to tear down old barns from an area that was to be used for a large lake and dam. He was told that anything he wanted was free for the taking. Needless to say, many of the old flowers ended up being transported to all of the yards in our family. Old roses, shrubs and bulbs of many plant species have helped to beautify acres of our properties over the years. It was enjoyable to cultivate the flowers and bulbs over the years.
As our families grew and moved from home, some of the old flower varieties found themselves once again being taken to a new garden spot. I have often wondered where some of the gorgeous old species of hollyhocks, lilacs, roses and irises originally came from.
My husband and I both enjoy the flowers that have bright colors in their blooms. Each season we square off to see which side of our walkways can out-do the other. It has been a beneficial game of sorts, because our sidewalks are spectacular with color through the long growing season we live in. He likes yellow and orange flowers, and I have not met a blooming flower I didn't like! I also enjoy throwing in a little humor among my blooms. Folks often spy odd containers in my flower beds. A worn out old leather tennis shoe, with a couple of holes where sprigs of hens and chickens resided, has won me blue ribbons at our county fairs several times over the years. I have put clay pots together in graduating sizes, with hemp rope, to make pretty little flower girls who sit among my posies too. I even used doll hair that I found at craft stores to give the girls a more glamorous look. I would paint a face on the top pot that had been turned upside down, plop the hair on top with some glue, and crowned them with a pretty straw hat. To make the dolls even more stylish, I used a few small silk flowers and strands of ribbons to match, and glued them to the side of their hats. My cute little flower girls usually lasted through about six growing seasons before the rope began to rot. I also like to use a miniature table topped with an inexpensive tea set in a flower bed or two. I glue the pieces to the table and fill the cups with nectar for butterflies and humming birds to dine on.