My Potted Garden - Edibles and Ornamentals

Red lolla lettuce with Lobularia 'Blushing Princess' and
Lobularia 'Frosty Knight'

I have a lot of container gardens. It's not my fault! Because I blog for Proven Winners (see that funky badge on the right side of my blog? It will take you to my posts), they send me trial plants a year in advance so that I can test out (and write about with confidence) the soon-to-be-released plants..

This year, I had already potted up about a dozen medium sized pots, planters, window boxes and hanging baskets when the Proven Winners plants arrived.. I had to scrounge around for more containers (I'm a frugal (aka, cheap) gardener, so I wasn't going to spend big $$$ on more pots) and now have a back deck that is home to about 18 containers, a few window boxes and 2 large planters.. yikes!!

Of course, I like to combine my ornamental plants with edibles, so tucked in many of my planters is a variety of leaf lettuces, 'Bright Lights' swiss chard, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants (the like the heat of the back deck) and peas. I love the way leaf lettuce really fills out a container, plus, it's only a quick jaunt to the deck to pick a few leaves for my lunchtime wraps and sandwiches..

But, I love my container gardens and they really add a lush look to the back deck.. Plus, they attract hummingbirds and butterflies like crazy! So, I just popped out and took a few updated photos of my pots, as well as a shot of my tomatoes underplanted with arugula. Thought I should document that before I start harvesting tonight for supper!!

Happy Summer!

Another shot of my lettuce and the two 2013 Lobularias.. Also,
note that electric reddish-pink Supertunia called 'Watermelon
Charm' in the back of the photo.. he's coming next year too!
If you look super close, you'll also see some green leaf
lettuce at the top of the photo too.. 

A mini sweet pepper combined with Lobularia
'Blushing Princess', Supertunia 'Watermelon
Charm', Superbells 'Lemon Slice' (another 2013
introduction) and various tidbits..

Another shot of the pepper.. can't wait to try the sweet
fruits - some are about 1-inch already!

Here's a new 2012 petunia called 'Pink Lemonade'.. It's not as low
maintenance as the Proven Winners Supertunia because I need
to deadhead the spent flowers, but I do love the colour combo!

A bit sunny out, but here's a look at my tomatoes (and a rogue borage)
that are underplanted with a thick layer of arugula - 22 days from seeding.
Time to eat!! :)