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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Getting Ready for Old Man Winter

As our nights get cooler, it's time to start bringing in some of the tender plants that have had a summer vacation outside.  It's easier to do a few at a time than rush around and try to get them all inside when the weatherman announces the possibility of frost. Like it or not, old man winter is on his way.

These images are of two of the four faces on a pot that recently came home with me from Henry Hardware.
Moving the brugmansias inside leaves empty pots by the back door and we simply can't have that, can we?  I've been collecting a few plants for winter interest at the recent plant sales at local nurseries to fix the situation.  Here are some of the combinations I'm thinking of.  Notice that nothing is actually planted yet.  We're still having mix and match fun.

I love looking at heucheras but they usually get lost in my garden.  However, they do well for me in pots and are beautiful all winter long so why not?
The purple undersides of the leaves work well with the blue conifer and orange Carex testacea.  They also echo the color in the ornamental cabbage in a pot next to this one.

Maybe a deep purple heuchera would work better than this one.  I'll have to try that tomorrow.

Another pot, another option.  Loving that orange carex this year and this one looks nice mingling with the black mondo grass above it.

 Speaking of black and orange, This Libertia ixioides 'Tricolor' looks great with the mondo grass.  
We're very fortunate to live in a climate where we can have colorful plants in pots year round!  Do you do seasonal pots?  I know Linda does!  See her beautiful pots here.  Happy fall planting everyone!

15 comments:

  1. I welcome the changing season and wonder when to bring in my tubular begonias into the garage. No surprise, I love orange Carex and happy for its volunteers. Sometimes they look a bit shabby after the winter, and it's nice to have a few fresh starts, just in case. Libertia ixioides 'Tricolor' is very pretty and new to me. It goes on my wish list right away.

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  2. Yes, I need to get a move on with sorting out the tomatoes in my greenhouse. I realized I also need some more metal racks, so I'll be ordering those from Amazon soon. I'm wondering if a really dark Heuchera like Obsidian might look great with that orange Carex. I've never done pots over the winter outside. Hmmm...something to think about.

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  3. I'm so worried about where I'll be overwintering things this year, as I want to use my garage/workshop too. Unfortunately in our climate there's not much you can do to make empty pots pretty after removing their tender occupants, which means there's no incentive to move things early. Hooray for last-minute plant scrambles! (Your pot with the blue conifer is really pretty!)

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  4. Your "Old Man Winter" pot was already crust and aged looking when you got it? That's cool! I like him. I wish I would demonstrate more tenacity for taking care of winter pots--they just end up sad and bedraggled.

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  5. Aaaack...this means I need to get my butt in gear and move things in. Not ready not ready! Like Danger Garden says, I'm not ready for summer to be over....**sigh**

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  6. Your post is rather timely Mr. Outlaw, perhaps you'd like to consider "the challenge" while designing those containers?

    http://www.thedangergarden.com/2015/09/the-2015-ornamental-cabbage-and-kale.html

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  7. Old man winter looks grumpy! Uh oh!

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  8. You have the makings of a good entry for the DG challenge. I like all that orange and purple. A well meaning customer once advised me that the Orange Carex I was about to buy was dead. Nope, it's supposed to look like that.

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  9. I do like that pot - very somber looking!

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  10. I usually leave all that til October...oh wait! It's almost here. How did that happen?

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  11. I just pulled a couple of plants in today. I don't bring many of them in, but the Walking Iris, Lemon tree, potted succulents, English Ivy, and Cyclamen will spend the winter in the sunroom. Several pots with spring-flowering bulbs will winter in the garage. That sculptured pot is nifty!

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  12. I have another month before I need to start moving stuff out of harms way. It's bittersweet- I want to see some rain in the worst way, but do not look forward to being cold and damp !

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  13. I just started doing winter pots on the patio last year. I really like having them to look at during the winter since they are right outside the kitchen and eating area.
    I always do a little something on the front porch in pots that held geraniums. More heucheras out there this year.

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  14. We might not need to move things in , El Nino …mild winter ?

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  15. Old Man Winter looks plenty grumpy. Maybe he needs a quick trip to SoCal where he can warm up a bit (and maybe drop some rain).

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.