Container Gardens

I have always been interested in container gardens, but have never found the combination of flowers that I liked. While visiting our local hardware store recently, I spied this Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera hybrida). It is a beautiful two-toned flower, with yellow outer petals and orange inner petals. It is sitting in a large aqua-green pot, waiting to be officially planted. This is the first thing I see each morning when I open the front door to get our morning newspaper. What a cheery sight!

Gerbera Daisies are suppose to be planted in full sun, but with our super-strong sunshine and high temperatures during the summer, they will do better with some shade, especially shade from the afternoon sun. They come in many gorgeous colors, grow 12"-18" high, and bloom from late spring to fall. For optimal flowering they need to be dead-headed regularly, and fertilized monthly. This Gerbera is located on my front porch, which faces the east, and gets early morning sun.