Planter Inspiration

Now that I have a community garden plot I feel free to use my mostly-shady patio to grow beautiful things. Inspired by my friend Camilla, who recently started a rooftop garden in Montreal, I hit up the garden centre on the way home from Fort Langley and bought some beautiful geraniums and dahlias for a box that had swiss chard in it last year. The flowers have really brightened up the patio during an otherwise pretty bleary spring here in Vancouver.

I also planted this big, lush hosta. I'm not a fan of variegated varieties (when the leaves are speckled or streaked with other colours or tones), especially in such a small space. I simply wanted some greenery to further brighten things up. The sunflowers and nasturtiums will also bring some much-needed colour to the space. Of course, I still have some herbs, tomatoes, and squash growing out here.

June 28, 2009: Garden Update

Blueberries! Full sun to part-shade and growing on my patio thanks to my friend Jacqui, a local garden designer. This is a very exciting addition for me as there is hardly anything I enjoy as much as fresh blueberries. I'm hoping this particular variety, Patriot Blueberries (USDA Zone 3) will bring me back to days of picking wild blueberries in Nova Scotia.

AND another fabulous addition to the garden: a little pot of succulents that love full sun. Thanks to Sara for contributing these lovelies.

Here's how everything else is shaping up:

Peas are climbing.

Tomatoes are flowering and fruiting.

So are the patty pan squash!

The patio is lush and productive these days.