Thrills, Fills & Spills
Gardening has always brought me joy. I’m grateful that as a young person I took the time to learn about native plants and the difference between perennials and annuals. As a resident of Wisconsin our planting, growing and outdoor season is somewhat limited. Typically planting in the ground happens after the last frost. I most cases that ends up being Memorial Day weekend.
As a business owner it was important to me to host workshops and class offerings in our business space. We call this area our Creative Therapy space. It’s a wonderful area that allows us room to craft, learn, share, engage and encourage. Recently we hosted a fan favorite ~ Porch Planter Class.
Guests typically register in advance reserving a full sun or shade planter. We ask guests to bring their own planter pot from home either filled with soil or to bring their own planting soil to fill up at our shoppe. Most guests already have a planter pot from previous seasons and this helps to keep our costs for the course lower and more affordable.
Creating a Masterpiece
I take the liberty of shopping early at the local greenhouses to pick out healthy selections for each guest’s planter pot. This year I selected a pink hue of Geraniums and complimentary foliage.
Designing the Prettiest Planter
Each guest receives a variety of plants that offer the thrills, fills and spills. Plants that offer height, a dramatic pop of color and bold patterns make the most interesting options that make your planter stand out and become ever so pleasing to the eye. Our tall dramatic thrillers were Coleus in a variety of markings and colors.
Coleus are mostly grown as annuals and are very low maintenance plants with attractive foliage. These plants work well in both sun and shade and they tolerate most soil conditions. Plant these in spring for lasting color all summer long.
Fillers With the Most Bang
Our choice of fillers this year included a whimsy daisy in a beautiful pink hue and hardy Geraniums. Both options create a plentiful plant that continues to blossom all summer long. The daisies will require some light maintenance to remove the dead flower blossoms and to trim the stem back to the double leaf alignment on the stalk. This will ensure that the plant puts it’s efforts into more growth throughout the summer months.
Geraniums are cared for very similarly with removing the heads that are done blossoming and are turning brown. Each stem can be broken off at the knuckle of the stem. This will force the plant to continue to put energy into creating a stronger, healthier and more vibrant plant. If leaves turn yellow or brown throughout the season, those can also be removed at the stalk.
Daisies and Geraniums tend to be full sun plants so if creating a shade planter a Begonia or Impatient will serve your planter with a beautiful fill.
Spills Add Class
Adding plants that offer spills to your planter will bring more interest to the planter. Spills can attract bumble bees or butterflies. Spills can be just for an additional pop of contrast color. This year I selected Wandering Man and Potato Vine. Wandering Man can be grown indoors too. This plant roots very easily and is extremely hardy. This trailing plant has silver, green and magenta foliage and drapes beautifully from pots and is so simple to propagate so new baby plants can be grown for free!
Potato vine can be purchased in a few different shades. I prefer the Marginata Lime Sweet Potato variety. It’s chartreuse color is so appealing to the eye and compliments the coleus varieties so well.
In addition to the Wandering Man and Potato Vine, we added two varieties of Verbena as they attract butterflies and are very easy to care for. Verbena plants come in an amazing selection of colors and are a moderately fast-growing plant that have a long bloom season. Low trailers with dark green elongated leaves with toothed edges bring some interest to the trailing plant. (This plant is edible for humans, it isn’t very tasty but it is mainly used as an herb).
Community and Creation
Hosting community events at our boutique has generated a full array of opportunities for friends to gather and make memories. Our porch planter class is just one annual offering we look forward to hosting each year.
