I.Love.Plants.
Three inches of snow fell last night (3/30/15) in Michigan, my home base, and we are weeks (and weeks?) away from planting our pots.
Yet back on March 9th in Seattle, Spring was in full swing! When I see cherry blossoms like this, it's hard not to think gardening.
So I decided that a window box for our apartment balcony would make sense. Herbs for cooking and flowering plants for color. I will certainly add pots and plants when I am in Seattle later this Spring, but this type of planter should be able to thrive while I'm away.
I bought a wonderful black plastic window box (with drainage holes and a water tray) at Home Depot, a bag of Miracle Grow Moisture Control Potting Soil and a collection of plants.
I crumpled a few strips of paper grocery bag to help support the plants and make up for my shortage of soil. I needed about 5 cups more to truly fill the planter properly - hopefully the paper will help with drainage and circulation. Some of the plants were potted in disintegrating pots, which I love, because you plant the herb right into the soil in it's pot and don't have to disturb their roots removing a plastic pot.
I chose Miracle Grow "Moisture Control" potting soil because it contains fertilizer and a component that retains water (from rain or intentional watering) and then releases the water to the plants as the soil becomes dry. I figure that the rain in Seattle will help naturally water my garden and the science in the soil will help keep the plants happy.
The plants I chose are:
- primulas (pink, yellow, apricot)
- violas/pansies (lavender, violet/orange)
- Cinnamon Basil
- Pineapple Mint (it's risky, but I kept this mint in the pot when I planted it. Mint has an aggressive root system and I didn't want it to take over and stifle the other plants)
- Sage
- Lemon Thyme
- Dill
- Rosemary
The photograph at the top shows my little garden just after planting. Here it is, two weeks later and still doing well! Miracle Grow indeed.
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