May 31, 2012: Update on Deck Plants

I'm planning to do some planting in the front garden this weekend and I'll post updates when I'm done. Meanwhile, my deck plants are doing great. The nasturtiums are coming up and marigolds are getting bigger. This is the view from the dining room:

 View from the deck:

 Close up of one of the baskets. You can see the nasturtiums coming out and the tomato trying to grow up the side of the basket!

 Here are my window boxes: the morning glories aren't climbing yet but will be soon. In the corner are cucumber plants that I hope will go up the middle.

May 7, 2012: Planting on the Deck

This week I did a lot of planting on the deck. Last year I loved the feel of having tons of plants around, so this year I want to have even more. I had a big shopping trip to get supplies for my first two projects: upside down tomatoes, a morning glory wall. 

Upside down tomatoes: 

A few years ago I tried to plant tomatoes in my back garden and they were all eaten by groundhogs. So this year Mama suggested I try planting them upside down in hanging baskets. I did some research online and then made these:

Each has a tomato plant growing out of the bottom and marigolds and nasturtiums seeds planted on top (I have read these are both good companion plants for tomatoes). I used three different types of determinate tomatoes: a roma, a celebrity, and a patio vine tomato. To fill the baskets I used a mixture of organic garden soil and organic cow manure compost.  I soaked the nasturtium seeds overnight and planted them around the outside of each basket. I got two types, a variegated clumping variety (Alaska mix) and a regular trailing variety (Fordhook favorites mix). The baskets even look nice from inside the house and should only get better as they mature:

The morning glory wall: 

I wanted to add a little privacy from the neighbors and make the deck feel more jungle-y. So I've planted two window boxes with a variety of morning glory seeds, and put up a trellis for them to grow up. 

I'll put updated pictures on here as they grow. My next project will be a succulent pot for the coffee table on the deck.