The Hanging Gardens Of Betsy's Gap

All these raggedy pots on the deck and stairs are here for a purpose. Come summer time a whole other garden is planted.



The decks around the house are where the annual bedding plants and a mini-vegetable herb garden - because the roadside vegetable garden kept getting further away - take up residence for the summer.



A few other things will swing from the rafters and hang from the walls of the resident gardeners fancy garden shed. Really, the only reason they have a house here is so they can garden.

(If you click to enlarge this picture, there is a hummingbird on the feeder.)



After watching them do this the last two years, usually too early and there is a period of in and out with the freezes, I have a good idea of what they like. I waited. Gardey don't tote things in and out.



Coleus and double flowered wax begonias go on the wine tasting deck. The tropical alocasias will join them soon.



Coleus and ivy geranium on the sunset viewing deck. The larger perennial pots with veronica and lamium with some carnation survived the winter just fine.



The herb and mini-vegetable garden is right outside the front door. The big white square pots were seeded with leaf lettuce and spinach. A large pot for a cherry tomato is ready when the roadside vegetable garden tomatoes are purchased.



I need more potting soil to top off the herbs. Right now they are planted high. I will use the fresh soil to act as a weed seed free layer and fill the pots to the proper level.

You see I emptied every pot, broke up the soil and pulled out any weeds. I also used an entire bag of new potting soil in the process. I discovered much to my dismay a while back that someone believed the old wives's tale that putting a layer of gravel in the pot would aid in drainage. It is a lie people. The exact opposite effect is the result. The soil must reach 100% saturation before it will drain past a layer of gravel. As a result, it had been common to lose plants to drowning. This situation has now been corrected in all the pots.



About these pots. Read up brothers and sisters. Planting the hanging gardens of Betsy's Gap and then looking at the pictures is a stark revelation that this is the most hideous collection of pots possible. Here is a gift idea for anniversaries, birthdays, mother's, father's, and Christmas. The person with the best taste can go to the Lowes or the Depot and pick a nice line of pots. Then each of you could buy a couple from the same line and there would then be a nice matching set of all new pots for the hanging gardens instead of this scruffy rag tag collection.

Plastic is good. Ceramic could freeze and crack in the winter. There is no garage to store them in and even if there was, Gardey don't tote pots into the garage. I have my limits.

The hanging baskets are yellow lantana and blue lobelia. I think the hummingbirds will like that. The two new hanging baskets they recieved for Christmas last year were put to use. Very good choice from someone.



I like order. There are three hanging baskets of yellow lantana and two baskets of blue lobelia. The wall baskets have heliotrope that smells divine with purple calibrochoa. Pots of diascia line the steps and and highlight the mini vegetable herb garden and the wine tasting deck.



I didn't see any freezes out there in the diagnosis. We should be good to go.



Oh good grief. I just looked. A recalibrated diagnosis shows lows of 35 and and 38 are headed our way for Sunday and Monday morning. The tropicals can wait inside a bit longer.

Happy Mother's Day Mom. Your hanging gardens are completed for your arrival back to the mountains.