Summer Containers

Container gardens thrive this time of year in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's hard to beat a container or group of containers of bright summer annuals in the dead heat of summer. With daily watering, a little deadheading, and fertilizing periodically, you can keep your containers fresh and blooming for weeks!

Containers in the early morning

I planted these petunias a month ago in preparation for my sister's visit to the Bay Area (see Two Sisters, 48 Hours). Supporting the white and pink petunias are purple salvias, white alyssum, and an unnamed purple "Annual" (the milky fluid it produces when deadheaded reminds me of milkweed).

Petunias, salvia and alyssum

The variety of pots provides extra interest, including several lovely terracotta pots with white patina, a blue glazed ceramic pot, and a deep green plastic pot.

The simplicity of white flowers in a terracotta pot

I enjoy the morning ritual of watering, deadheading, and looking for tiny green petunia budworms that love to eat their way through the petals. Nature!