In addition to my garden borders and raised beds, I also have quite a collection of containers I like to fill with annuals. In fact, the collection gets a little bigger every years (thanks thrift stores), so it took a full day while I was on vacation to get them all planted up.

Here’s a look at some of them.

I’m not a huge fan of Geraniums. But this year I bought a full flat.

You may recall that last year, I discovered that they can be used to help control the dreaded Japanese Beetle. The beetles are attracted to the leaves… but eating them stuns the beetles. It makes them easier to pick and dispose of, and often the beetles never recover and dry out in the heat.

I had a handful of plants last year and while it didn’t make a HUGE difference to the overall damage across the garden, it did kill quite a few beetles. So I decided to go wit a full flat (18 individual plants) and planted up a pile of containers which I’ve placed throughout the gardens. I added in some petunia for interest as well.

Another thing that I learned last year is that small pots dry out FAST. And I have quite a few small pots. To help with this, I bought SEVERAL flats of portulaca

Portulaca can take being hot and dry for much longer than many other annuals, giving me a chance to get out and water them before they dry up. The petunias I planted in small pots last year were definitely a fail.

This was especially true for the pots in stands I have at the front door.

The portulaca should be just as colourful and fare much better.

And I’ve added a pile of new small pots!

Like this large candelabra we found a thrift store last year. They will look fantastic when they fill in a bit.

Thrifting has also provided me with a nice little collection of decorative bird cages

This is just two of them (there are six total outside) and they also have portulaca. I think they are going to look amazing with the stems start falling a blooming through the bars.

Another things that does well in pots…

Hens and Chicks! The first two pictures are new “Collector Chicks” apparently. They are “Chocolate Mint” (Red), “Appletini” (green with dark tips}, and “Gold Nugget” (yellow). the third picture is a pile of babies from other hens that broke off.

Established containers include…

My pump half cask with “Blue Fountain” salvia and white bacopa, and my cauldron, with celosia flames, bubbling over with a white dahlia and alyssum.

And last…

Because of the cooler spring, my porch pansies are absolutely THRIVING! It will interesting to see how they last once the weather really heats up. I may pot up some marigolds and set them aside to fill this is the pansies give up.