Last year I didn’t do a lot of flowers. I tried a few things in the existing window boxes and they didn’t work. The box was the problem. Not enough drainage holes so the flowers were either dry or overwatered. Out ye damn boxes.
This year, after the deck was done, I splurged on new boxes and an old standing planter that I had at the old house. Things are flourishing and everything is beautiful.

Verbena with a few vincas mixed in. You can see the canna lily in the background and my one tomato plant on the side.

This canna lily is from last year. Wintered in the garage without much light or love. The window box has verbena and torenia.
Ain’t summer grand? We could use some rain. Most of the rain coming east in the past few weeks has missed us. Yesterday we spent the day watering all the new plantings. We are lucky we can that. We are lucky that almost all of the new plantings were done in April. They got a good start and are doing well. A few were planted in the last few weeks and we are working to make them happy. The deer did a little pruning but not much.
Those plants look lovely on your new deck! I hope they are doing okay in this heat – and that you are staying cool as well.
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I am watering them twice a day. So far they’ve been ok. The heat should break sometime next week…hopefully!
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Your space is beautiful!!!!
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Thanks. It’s taken work to get it there.
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Beautiful flowers and I like the Canna. We used to have them in the planters box when we lived in Canada and I remember we could see the hummingbirds dancing around them from the living room window. My father didn’t want them when we moved here so he planted Yucca plants instead, which were beautiful but took a while to bloom. so looked a bit boring ’til thy got going. Is that your shed in the background? We have an all-day rain today, mixed with storms throughout the day, so I’m seizing the opportunity to try to catch up here before I shut down once it begins storming. Like everything else these days, the rain will not be normal, but multiple deluges. We just had one of them.
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I’d take a canna over a yucca any day! I have been noticing hummers lately. That’s not a shed. It’s the sunroom attached to the neighbor’s house.
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Yes, the Yuccas took forever to bloom, then a windstorm or heavy rain would send the blooms flying. Hummers love Cannas so you likely will be seeing lots of them. OK, I thought it was a fantastic-looking shed – no wonder.
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It is pretty fantastic-looking. I’ve seen the inside. That’s really nice too! 🙂
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Your deck is beautiful! Worth the wait????? (okay, you don’t have to answer that!). – Marty
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I remember the pain and picking up cigarette butts in the grass. Too soon but happy now!
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Your outside living room looks gorgeous!
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Thanks! Finally!
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Your flowers look great! And so does your new deck 🙂
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Thanks. My deck flowers didn’t do well last year. It must have been the window boxes. There wasn’t enough drainage. This year new boxes and all is good!
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Flowers. They are so fussy!
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Yes and they don’t tell you why they are not happy!
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No, they sure don’t!
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Hi, Kate – I would LOVE to send you some of our rain. We’ve had way more than our share this year…and I hate to be selfish. It even rained today. Our summer continues to be elusive!
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I would swap you out some of our heat! Next week will be in the 90s! Yikes! It is summer though and I don’t have to worry about snow.
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They really are flourishing. Lovely. Their location on the deck is perfect.
We don’t get much rain in July and August, so I need to do a lot of watering.
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Because we did a lot of new shrub/tree planting this year we have to watch the rain carefully. Late spring and early summer we had enough natural rain but the last week or two has been dry or a sprinkle that doesn’t even wet everything.
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Such beautiful, vibrant colors. I think your deck looks very inviting. Adding plants and flowers always makes space more comfortable. 🙂
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It does. Everything else is basic colors. It’s the flowers that spark it up!
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Very nice Kate! I love the black boxes – I saw them on sale this spring but they sold out fast. Everything looks very green and vibrant.
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Thanks. I was worried that by the time the deck was done all the boxes would be sold out. There were only a few black ones left and I didn’t want the green or white. I was fortunate that there were some great flowers left too. Those get picked over. Last year the supply wasn’t great and we were in mums by mid-July. This year there are beautiful summer flowers still available.
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Everything is beautiful. I am not a fan of summer though; I can’t wait for fall. 🙂
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I’m not a fan of the oppressive heat but I do like summer. Fall isn’t bad. Still great flowers and the weather is comfortable but it always comes with it’s sister winter of which I am not a fan. Too old to deal with snow and ice.
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So pretty. Looks awesome on your well-deserved new desk. We were dry the whole month of June. Had to water just about every day, as we were getting dry spots on the lawn. Now, in July, we’re getting rain – a little too much now. It’s either all or nothing. 🤷♀️ Have a nice weekend, Kate.
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Sends some rain east. We could use a few days of nice steady rain!
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Hah. When I read your response to my comment, I saw I typed your new “desk.” (Or may spell-check typed it, at least that’s my excuse.) Of course, I mean your new DECK. 😉
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🙂 we always blame it on spellcheck!
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Beautiful. I would love to plant flowers all around our house, I just don’t have a green thumb. But I think next spring I’m going to give it a go and put them everywhere! We’ll see. Beautiful deck with all the flowers!!!
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I’ll post pictures of the front of the house. I have two beautiful planters (so easy to water) and I did a front row of hot pink flowers in front of our pachysandra. Pretty pleased with it but I will downsize it a bit next year. Part of the area got more shade than I expected. The pots on the deck take less than 5 minutes to water but they need to be watered every day because of they are in the sun almost all day. Worth it though.
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The flowers are so very lovely! What a wonderful spot to sit and enjoy the beauty. The deer have been helping us pick blueberries from our bushes this year. 🙄
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Deer are like that. We had raspberries for many years until they discovered them!
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It really is so very pretty, Kate! I knew you would pull it all together. I could be happy there!
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Except for today when a critter (squirrel?) took down my only tomato plant on the deck. I lost almost all the tomatoes on it. Next year I won’t bother. I’ll see if it’s worth it this year. Boogers. Other than that it is nice. We have decided to put awning fabric under the pergola to make it cooler in the mornings.
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Such beautiful photos Kate. The colours are fabulous.
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Thanks. It’s so much better than last year when didn’t have much and what I had wasn’t happy.
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Your deck is lovely… a beautiful oasis on a summer day. I can’t even remember when we last had rain here. It’s a bit scary.
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That is scary. At least it would be for me. I love a rainy day!
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So pretty. What a lovely spot to relax and enjoy.
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It is although we are going to put awning fabric under the pergola to get more morning shade. The pergola helps but it is still hot until around 2.
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What a beautifully serene place to rejuvenate one’s spirit. Well done.
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Flowers do that all by themselves!
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NICE! Do you have a spigot at deck level? We have one on the deck which helps us keep the deck free of bird (and lizard) droppings.
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Yes. It’s one of the first things I did. Have an outdoor spigot installed on the deck. It was pricey but I don’t regret it.
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It looks colorful and inviting! I noticed this morning I have my first Canna bloom setting on.
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They are so beautiful! I did nothing all winter except a splash of water once a month. I am lucky it came back.
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Your view is lovely and the deck adds to it. No rain here though the weather folks keep saying it’s going to. It is cloudy and gray do maybe today will be the day.
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It’s cloudy but “they say” no rain for at least 5 days.
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Summer is grand, and your plantings are looking so very beautiful! Thanks for sharing,
Deb
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Yes. The watering has been a bit overwhelming but it’s always that way the first year. After that it’s up to nature.
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Your area looks so lush! I love all the trees! They are a beautiful backdrop to your lovely plants.
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Thanks. I love trees. We have planted 3 on our small plot and plan another one. I grew up in a shady yard and it feels like home that way.
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Looks fabulous. Not much rain in the forecast, unfortunately. We could all use a bit.
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I saw that. A tiny chance on Tuesday and then nothing. It’s a little early for no rain but then again, it’s almost August.
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July and August…not my favorite months. Give me spring and fall.
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I’m finding as I get older, the heat bothers me more. Maybe it’s because I used to work all day when it was hot.
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the eck is wonderful… the best place for summer… and I love that your plants are such troopers… I’ve got the whimps they all say mimimi and end as something like tobacco LOL
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My plants from last year were like that!
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Looks beautiful…….I love things that come back year after year like the canna lily and outside of a few pots of impatiens, a fern, and a mandavilla on my front porch everything else is perennial. We are either in feast or famine with rain here so far this summer. Sadly the rain usually comes in the “violent storm” category – we lose power/internet, etc. Nice summer rains like I remember from years ago would be JUST PLAIN WONDERFUL!
Hugs, Pam
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I’d love a soft rainy day!
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