Pools demand some sort of adornment around the edges and although I am not a container person, I do have a couple. These are plastic buckets from the box store last year and I have filled them with some little tomatoes, peppers and a lantana.The vegetables are from a line of container bred hybrids and they are all doing quite well. I am trying Tumbling Tom, a yellow cherry tomato; Patio Princess, a red tomato and Fairy Tale mini eggplant and all are performing very well. The lantana is from Proven Winners and called Luscious Berry Blend and from a distance, it mimics the tomato colors too.

The tomatoes drape over the side of the containers while the eggplant is a very compact upright plant. Right now the little eggplants are about an inch or so in length, but they will retain the slightly mottled skin tone which makes it very attractive too.

The tomatoes were the earliest to mature and although little cherry tomatoes usually ripen before the full sized tomatoes, the little Patio Princess has also produced some close to full size, very even colored tomatoes. Most of the heirlooms are still growing but there are plenty there and it will be a much better tomato year than last year.

The beans have been a disaster this year – between ground hogs, rabbit and deer the whole garden has been under attack and the beans took the brunt of the assault. Couple the animal attack with some little bug that refuses to show itself yet is skeletonizing the leaves - the harvest has been drastically affected. Maybe fall crops will do better for me this year because the beans will be ripped out as soon as I need the space. Unlike summer crops, the fall crops do not need pollinators so they can spend their time under a light insect/animal cloth. Next year, the area will be surrounded and groundhog/rabbit/deer proof.

Up until a day or so ago I had always thought of miniature iris as reticulata and blue in color. Last year though I purchased a mixed bag of miniature iris and the colors are far from dark blue. Mine include a burgundy/maroon color and a delicate pale blue.

When I went back to the catalogue and checked my order, it seems that the pale blue are a variation of the reticulata and, although the page does list an I. histrioides which looks definitely like my little guy. Matching pictures is the only way I can assess this because I have not idea how the it is different from a reticulata except in color. 

After a few cool to cold days when I didn't get out to the garden very much, we have had a couple of lovely mild days and the crocus watch is finally over! Since I first noticed the crocus leaves, to that first hint of color , I have been patrolling the area tow or three times a day - waiting for them to open fully. Today they did!!

The first crocus fully opened March 7th, 2012

While I was waiting for the crocus to open though the rest of the garden was also coming to life. I almost missed the little snowdrops that are now in full flower in the perennial bed. I am not sure how I missed them as they are in the same area as the bird feeders, so I have to pass them every day, but I was just not looking maybe. The other surprise was the little iris reticulata which was off in the new perennial bed. These tiny iris bloom very early and look wonderful with either yellow crocus or the small Emporor tulips. Most of the time I do not grow tulips as they are eaten by deer, but this year I seem to have forgotten both yellow crocus and tulips! If they do not show up soon I will have to put them on the order for next year.

Iris reticulata