Pre-Purple Leaves

My Zebrina Spiderwort (Tradescantia), more commonly known as "Wandering Jew" is thriving outdoors.  This was the first year I put some in an outside planter and am pleased with the results.  I realized today how much this plant and its leaf colors remind me of Fall.  The dark purple/burgundy of its year-round leaves look like the turning leaf colors of some of the trees.  I will be bringing this new, flourishing plant indoors soon and will bring it outside again next year since it did so well.  This plant is the result of one small shoot that broke free from my indoor specimen.  Amazing how easily they get established and how well they adapt.  A perfect house-plant for the beginner; and now a perfect outdoor plant for shady areas!

Birdbath Plant Stand

Do you have an old birdbath that has seen better days?  Use it as an outdoor plant stand.  You can invert them as I have done in this photo so no water collects in the basin.  Or you can drill holes into the basin to allow for proper draining.  I have done this with numerous old birdbaths.  It looks great with a trailing and draping annual.

Impatiens and Creeping Jenny provide "no-fuss" beauty and color.

For more information on Container Gardening, or to see more images of birdbath planters, visit
http://www.frugal-interior-design.com/container-gardening.html

Chimney Top "REPURPOSED" As Planter

In case you missed my earlier posts on this subject at the frugal website and facebook page, here it is again.  My chimney was redone back in October of 2010.  I saved the two toppers, knowing they would function somehow in my outdoor living areas.  I decided to use them to disguise and bulk up the look of some plain ole plastic planters that are concealed within.  Perhaps I'll repurpose them differently next year.  A fire pit idea crossed my mind.

Excellent complementary colors of purple, red, lavender and yellow.

Showy Fushia

A fushia full of bright blooms was near my entryway for the past couple of weeks.  I have it placed in an inverted birdbath so it "spills" over the sides.  Quite a neat effect.  For more info on repurposed birdbaths, visit this page.

For some reason, my planter fushia always seem to lose their blooms and get "straggly" looking.  It is rather odd as it is in the perfect, shady location and they supposedly love shade.  They are also rather messy, dropping dead flowers and leaves everywhere.  I have since moved it to my wishing-well planter, also shaded but in a bed where dropped blooms won't create such a mess.  I replaced the fushia with a planter full of Creeping Jenny and Impatiens (my favorite, no-fuss, annuals.)  I'll share some of my Impatiens images soon.  For now, the bright green of the Creeping Jenny sure looks vibrant in an otherwise dull, shaded corner.  Hopefully it does o.k. there as they prefer sun.  It's a game of hit or miss.