Absorb This

I've been away for a while.  Three weeks.  I wish I could say it's because I've been so incredibly busy, but really I've been somewhat busy and incredibly tired.  Mixed in with that (but only a dash), a post I wrote a while back caused some trouble, and to honor the person it hurt I took it down.  But, when I reread it, I see only me attacking myself.  So I feel misunderstood.

Hopefully, someone out there reads this and finds it entertaining and/or helpful. That's my goal...

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I was invited to a flower planting party for Saturday.  The hostess, my friend Kris, has a large yard which includes an embellished forest full of gorgeous perennials. She loves to share, and often tells me not to buy plants, she'll just share some of hers.

The plan for the party was lunch in the garden, a perennial swap (I had none to dig up), and an annual swap--we each brought a flat of annuals and a pot to plant.

Let it be said, I live in a townhouse where space is limited and we are NOT supposed to plant things in the beds. I do, but only because I want color.  Shame on me, eh?  Let it also be said I know little about plants. 

I was way out of my league, but I still wanted to go, so I called the hostess and asked if I could bring a friend.  That friend is hugely into gardening, and I knew she'd fit right in.

Lunch for 12 was delicious:  cocktails, cold cucumber soup, chicken salad, and lemon cake.

The plants were gorgeous, and Kris dug up and gave me a fern.  It's been replanted and in a few weeks when it's taken, I'll take another photo. Until then, here it is worse for wear:

On to the helpful part of this post.  I learned when planting a pot, one needs, "A filler, a spiller and a thriller."  A plant that spreads, something that grows tall, and flowers or vines that will grow out and over the edge.  I think I'd been doing that with some pots without knowing I was meant to, and I like that little chant.

My pot from Saturday:

The coleus and verbena will thrill, the petunias with spill and the impatiens will fill. (I cannot remember what the fuzzy magenta things are called, but they will fill too.)  Chances are something will choke something else out in time, but right now I love how plush it all looks.

I also learned that when planting in coco liners, putting a "sanitary pad" in each will help them hold their water.  Having had a necessary and successful ablation in December (contact me if you want information, it's the best "woman" medical move I've ever made and more women should know about it), I had some unneeded extras, so I...

 I will tell you, the 12-year-old in me found this pretty funny.  

The finished product, one a spiller and one a thriller, but both less leaky:

Here are two small pots I filled just days before the party:

Turns out the one on the left has all three elements and the one on the right has two.

Like how I rinsed the dirt off the porch for you?

I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm willing to learn, and I sure don't mind playing in the dirt.

What have you planted this year?