. . . and spent $160 on some things to put around the patio. Now that the furniture is more open with the teak chairs and coffee table gone, and now that I can walk pretty well in shoes, I wanted to dress up the patio a bit.
I got a big pot of blackeyed Susans, big and bloomy. I never could get them to grow in the ground for me, but in a pot it should do well. The tag says Rudbeckia fulgida, which is what I had tried to grow, but it doesn't look the same.
It is actually Rudbeckia hirta, based on my research. Denver Daisy.
It should be nice and bloom well in a container, but it's a short lived tender perennial here I think. I'll see if it overwinters.
I also got six little bellflowers that are compact and sweet. They're in the two small terracotta troughs in front of the slider and I added a bowl of ajugas that I dug up. It's bright shade all day until late afternoon when they're in direct sun for a bit.
It looks a little staged, but the plants are colorful and nice enough.
These too are tender and may not come back. They are Campanula medium Appeal Deep Blue.
I got four. I'll put a couple with the ones I have to make a fuller planting, one as an upright accent behind the bench with the blanketflowers and one in a pot by the deck.
The ones I have already are 'Texas Violet' and that is a hardier cultivar, although still a little iffy for here.
The Lowe's plants did not have a cultivar name. I'll plant them in the ground and see if they are similar to what I have or at least as hardy.
Finally, a tropical for the brown urn in front of the fence. Crossandra Orange Marmalade. No idea, but I liked the clear orange flowers.
This one won't winter over of course.
