A Seasonal Container....You Can Grow That!

Happy March to all and it's time for another installment of You Can Grow That!

Be sure to check out the Facebook page for You Can Grow That! links to other blogs!

So, here we are, the beginning of March and it is time for me to completely change out my front step containers. In the last few years, I've been starting to use plants in my containers that go from season to season. I tend to change them out completely in spring and sometimes in the summer.

So, to recap last year, here's how it went down. Spring saw pansies installed in my front step pots. This particular variety was so pretty with the blues and yellows.

For the summer, I planted cordyline and sweet potato vine 'Blackie.' Some of my peach-y colored annuals didn't make it through into our dry summer, so I raided the bargain bin and planted a red mandevilla and red/white zinnias. The red snapdragons were transplanted from the backyard. I was pleased with how this turned out!

Now, into fall. I kept the sweet potato vine, but added ornamental cabbage, mums and pansies. I also planted a mustard plant, which I loved! The colors and textures on that plant were great for fall.

Here is a pic of the pots with the mums in full bloom and the cabbage showing color. By this time, the frost had killed off the sweet potato vine. I stuck some seedpods in there (not sure from what tree) and had added some small white pumpkins.

Then, Christmas. I kept the cabbage and added fake greenery, twigs, fake berries, lights and pinecones. A little snow doesn't hurt, either!

And lastly, for winter post-Christmas. I picked up these wreaths for a few bucks apiece after the holiday. I added some dried grasses and twigs with pinecones. Had the cabbage stayed in better shape, I would have kept that as well. Last year, I had a white-ish variety that I kept all the way through to March.

And soon, we'll be starting over again! 

So, how can you do this yourself? Choose plants that can go from one season to another. Consider the color of the plant, too. The maroon of the sweet potato vine works well for summer and fall. I love how the kales and cabbages look for fall, but you can use them for holidays as well.

Seasonal containers? You can grow that!

You can grow that!

Good morning and happy Sunday. Kind of amazing that we are just one week away from the big time change to Daylight Saving Time. This always lifts my spirits considerably! I have been noticing that it has been staying light until about 6:30 or 6:45....what a nice change from 5:30 in the dead of winter.


Today I am posting in honor of "You Can Grow That Day," a new group I have joined on Facebook. On the 4th of each month, garden bloggers will be posting about something that you can grow in your garden.


So, here goes!

In honor of the first mass posting, I am choosing lettuce and greens.

We are getting really close to sowing lettuce seeds at my house. I am in zone 6b (old zones, not sure if I'm the same) and I typically direct sow seeds in mid-March.


I must be honest and tell you that I first did lettuce seeds in containers and it worked beautifully. Really, you can grow lettuce anywhere and containers are perfect as well. We love fresh salad greens at my house, so I buy a few packets of different varieties and go to town. If you're a novice gardener, start out with a container with some potting mix.


Here we are sowing last year. My kids like to help...

Once you have sown your seeds in the ground or the container, water them if needed and wait for them to sprout and grow. You may need to think the seedlings a bit so they won't be crowded, but I typically am a bit lazy and don't worry about that and let them grow right next to each other.

By the end of April or so, you should have some lettuce leaves big enough to eat. You can harvest them by taking a bit of each plant (so it will continue to grow).....or you can chop off the whole plant and use all of the leaves on one plant.

I bought an inexpensive salad spinner at IKEA to clean up my leaves.

One of the great things about growing a cooler weather crop like lettuce is that it's not going to last into the hot summer. Just in time to plant something like tomatoes!! Lettuce will go to seed when it gets too warm, so you can pull it up and plant a warm weather crop. Spinach is another cool weather green that you can plant soon.


My recommendation? Plant more than you think you will want! Lettuce? Spinach? No need to buy it in the store in the springtime.....you can grow that.