Container gardening is the next best thing to gardening in actual soil, and for busy folks it may just be the best of both worlds. I'll admit my containers could use a bit more love, but I'll wait until the weather cools down a bit. July in Northern Israel can be quite dry and hot, which means that not all the plants in my container garden are at their happiest, while some are quite happy, like this plant, above, which I just discovered is Salvia, which is draught resistant and therefore loves the summer weather, though of course I am watering it. I have grown this same plant, in another location and it became a huge bush, until one butcher of a gardener decided to over trim it and it never grew back, sigh. So now, I'm growing two newish plants in a large container, and just love it.....can't wait to see how it fills out. Okay, lets take a look at some of the other plants that are currently flowering, in my sub-tropical container garden!
This is Salvia, specifically salvii gregii, or autumn sage. I'm pretty sure this is not native to Israel, but was imported as it is unique and so easy to grow. Plus it is gorgeous!
And this beauty is oleander, very hardy and draught resistant as well. I inherited this tree from a friend who passed away and it is in a pot that is way to small, hmmm. Generally oleander becomes a huge bush, and just beware of small children and animals as it is poisonous......as are many plants actually, just this one more so.
More oleander, a plant that along with bougainvillea is planted along side highways in Israel. Due to this I think this plant does not get the accolades that it deserves, as the blooms are really sweet.
These white daisies just keep coming back year after year, it is truly amazing, and that little orange chrysanthemum is also a visitor.
Ah yes, and then there are my white roses!
And this is bower vine, which also does really well in our climate. Not in a container it will really climb and spread everywhere.
My pot of pillar geraniums, that are quite high. And i just love them, plus they are so easy to propagate from cuttings, or you can grow them in water, and they'll even bloom living in water!
Geraniums are often looked down upon as a too basic a flower, but I love my pillar geraniums, fabulous! Plus they are so forgiving and allow swathes of color in so many window boxes around the world. And of course there are many strains of geraniums, so get to know them!And last but not least, this isn't a great photo, but the dwarf bougainvillea blooms in tight clusters that bring so much color.
Hope you've enjoyed my little tour and that you'll include some flowers in your life, you know the kinds in pots, or growing in the garden! My son just alerted me to the fact that one of our canna plants has bloomed again with large yellow blooms, so I must run to capture that!