Well, a little bit green, anyway. Time was, I had a lot of plants growing in pots and planters on my deck, but over the past few years, for reasons circumstantial (my landlord tore the deck off to fix the leak in the ceiling of the flat downstairs and it didn't get rebuilt for nearly 18 months) and whimsical (I had no energy for it), I've let it languish. Seeing all those pots out there, many half-full of bone-dry planting soil, began to get to me, and I've been promising myself that I'd get something in them soon.
Today was the day. I went to Davis Lumber and picked up little pots of basil, parsley (curley and flat-leaf), chives, oregano, and mint; a pony pack of Blue Moon lobelia, and two 4-in. pots, one holding a salvia, the other a lavender plant, along with two bags of potting soil. The herbs (except for the mint) went into a strawberry pot I've had for years; the lobelia I stuck in the small places around said pot. The mint got its own pot; ditto the salvia and the lavender.
This doesn't sound like much to plant, and if you just think about the number of plants, it's not. But I had to empty dirt out of each pot into a big plastic tub I brought upstairs for the purpose (being upstairs has its drawbacks), mix new potting soil in with some old, refill the pots after cleaning them up, shlep unused pots to a less conspicuous spot on the deck, sweep up dirt and other various bits, move the newly filled pots to where I want them, move them again when I decide that's not the place, after all, fetch water from the kitchen sink in a gallon milk container (no hose upstairs), repot a couple of languishing succulents and hope for the best, futz with decorative fountain that seems to be clogged (probably by pine needles) and will need to be taken apart, just not today, sweep some more, haul excess dirt downstairs and dump in alley . . . well, you get the idea. Luckily, the Giants-Phillies game was on, and my portable radio had fresh batteries, so it was pleasat, if tiring, work. Would have been more pleasant if the Giants had managed to win, but so it goes.
By the time I was done, it was time to shower and get ready to go to the Woodland Chamber Singers spring concert in Woodland (it was terrific!), so there wasn't time to take any photos. But I'll do that tomorrow and post them then. Tonight I'm just uttering small prayers that it all survives.
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Oh what fun. They will really cheer up your deck!
I finally transplanted all the surviving tomato plants into the soil. Didn't give any of them cages so I'm hoping the cat that's been yowling outside (and gotten me out of bed) manages to pick off whatever gophers Charlie and Diego haven't found yet. Strew some marigold seeds around with the tomatoes. Discovered a volunteer scarlet runner bean from last year which is extraordinary and cause for some celebration...
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