Contained gardening.

As the sky darkens and the forecasted afternoon storms begin to roll in, I think for a moment about the welfare of my plants out on the back porch and hope that high winds or torrents of rain won't tip or drown any of them. I have to be careful not to place them directly under the edge of the eave, as there is inevitably a waterfall when the rain reaches a certain strength. Waterfalls are not good for little flowers.

The other day during my trip to Saving Grace Salvage Co., I found an old wooden crate. It is very small and weathered, with two handles and a patina that makes me think of earth. I wasn't sure what to do with it; it's old, but I didn't want to risk rotting the wood out underneath by putting soil directly into it and using it as a planter.


It has now become home to my two gerbera daisies, pots and all, as a way of keeping them contained and looking cute as ever. My porch is currently strewn with individually potted plants: flowers, succulents, vegetables and herbs. It's hectic-looking, and I'm trying to make it seem a little less crowded and a little more adorable. This was step one! A baby step, but it's amazing how much of a difference it made to have these two together.


It would also be very cute with three smaller containers of herbs or little flowers. I imagined putting three different varieties of basil in here, but alas, I only have two! I also wanted to avoid putting the container in a place where it would get rained on constantly, so it had to go into the shade a little more, beneath the roof overhang. Gerberas like partial sun, so it turns out they were a good fit.


I couldn't resist a shot of this beauty!