Oh, finally!  Spring has taken over, and I am able to do some  planting.  Even though our last frost date is still over a week away, I feel confident that we won’t have one again this month.  So, I went to the garden center and picked up my torenias, along with a few other pretties.  If you are local, Raymond’s Garden Center on Kanuga has a lot of these beauties in several varieties. Go get some, the hummingbirds love them.

My lettuce is coming along now that it is planted in a larger pot.

The iris blooms are coming along, too.  Although only four or five actually are blooming, the ones that are blooming have multiple blooms on each stalk.

Tomatoes, parsley and thyme are coming up, and the day lilies are getting ready to bloom.

The hydrangea is leafing out beautifully, and I hope it blooms this year.

This tip was on the internet some time ago, and it is brilliant – use coffee filters in the bottom of your pots to keep the dirt in while allowing excess water out.

I did that with the torenias, using the green hanging planters.   These purple ones are Summer Wave.  I love how they attract hummingbirds.

I start with one plant spreading the roots over the bottom soil as I go.

I put three plants in each hanging pot, making sure I add enough soil around the plants and in the center.

All planted up and hanging up.  A hummingbird found one this next morning.

I did four for the veranda.

This yellow torenia is called Gilded Grape.

DH thinks I have too many pots, so I thought to use a couple as a stand for a longer planter. It adds some height and interest to the collection of clay pots. More Gilded Grape torenias are here.

A sunny corner will have a pink geranium along with a white lobelia. I cannot wait for those to bloom.

I set this pot on its stand, and planted a yellow and white striped variety of Superbells.  I had these last year too.

The large pot next to the front door is planted with double begonias in a bright yellow, and some tiny pansies in purple and white.

Below are two pots, one with more tiny pansies, and the other with an orange star flower that was a gift.

The staff at Raymond’s is always so helpful. Today, a lady recommended this variegated leaf New Guinea impatiens,with leaves of yellow and green.  I planted those in clay pots to put in the bottom of my little tile top tables. They add much needed weight to the bottom so the little tables don’t tip over.

Impatiens do beautifully in the shade.  Most years I put white ones in the table pots, but this year the flowers will be pink.   The tables are set by the rockers to hold a drink.

I found a green planter to use in a tall stand. These pretty, intense blue flowers will trail over and down.  I didn’t manage to get one with an information tab, but I’m pretty sure it is another variety of lobelia.

I have about half of the pots planted with something, I didn’t show you the jump-ups or the other bulbs.  This post was long enough as it was, LOL!!  My experiment with the bakery boxes wasn’t the best, it was hard to get the seedlings out to transplant.  I’ll rethink that idea for next winter. In a couple of weeks, I’ll go to the bargain bin and see what I can find that is new to me.  Remember my bargain hibiscus from last year?  Who knows what can be found this year!

What are you planting now?