Planter Mania!

It's sometimes dangerous to be my friend. For instance, last weekend, I called up my friend Janette in Madison and asked if she wanted to come visit and help me pick out plants for my new patio planters. "Sure!" she gamely agreed. Little did she know she was in for a day of mild sunstroke and spontaneous sledgehammer use.

We started our day innocently enough with a leisurely breakfast at Le Rêve Patisserie & Café in Wauwatosa (highly recommended, by the way!), but the next thing you know, 12 hours have gone by and we're sunburned, exhausted, and covered in dirt. At some point we ended up eating McDonald's and using a sledgehammer to destroy some immovable objects, without waiting the requisite 30 minutes in between. Befriend me at your own risk.

I've blocked out most of the other details, but I did have the presence of mind to take a few snapshots of our handiwork.

All four planters. Most of my other garden experiments so far have been more controlled, with just a few varieties of plants at a time in a given space. With the planters, I decided to go wild. Tropicals mixed with native plants, perennials mixed with annuals, crazy textures, plants that will grow to 5' tall...it's planter mania!


Close up on the largest planter. Caladium, calla lilies in light yellow and deep red, purple lupine, orange coleus, hens & chicks, and celiosa.


Close up on the second largest planter. Some giant Australian flax, caladium, orange coleus, hens & chicks, and something red.


Close up on the second smallest planter. Kalanchoes, hens & chicks, another alocasia, and celiosa.


Close up on the smallest planter. Black sweet potato vine, Gerber daisies, some other vine I don't remember the name of.


I haven't picked a favorite yet. What do you think?