Finding a balance between rusty rust and delicate, colorful flowers
Before and after… junk gardening at it’s best, I think… I sure am getting a kick out of these violas this Spring. ‘Blueberry Thrill’, they’re called. The wheelbarrow we found out on a back road,…bullet hole drainage works, I guess…
Violas are frost and snow proof, and can cheer up your patio pots all winter into Spring! These will last until June! Planting them in rusty rust sweetens the ‘pot.’
Read how the wheelbarrow was found…
Before- Found discarded and useless on a back road
After, all blooming and picture perfect
The key to success in ‘Flea Market’ or junk gardening is that you don’t have too much of any one thing. Mix in a little rust or galvanized containers as an accent on a patio or in a flower bed. Then add the sparkle of glass or ceramic for whimsy.
Last April, I planted it with petunias, they lasted until November. I used landscape fabric to line the barrow and two bags of garden soil.
Violas and pansies are winter-proof!
February snow covered all….do you believe me? It’s true!
In your face,..with their little faces…they popped right up again!
Placed at the edge of the patio to greet guests…
Tip: Save tags and tuck them into the side of the wheelbarrow or any container. You’ll remember what you planted
How cheery is this?
Violas,…’Blueberry Thrill’ ..thrilled me all winter. Blue goes with rust, don’t you think?
Blueberry Thrill…unbelievable!
14 Comments
such a cute idea, however, the flowers are pansies, not violas. I know you know this
You are so right, Sandy, … the multi-colored, larger ‘Blueberry Thrill’ are pansies. I guess I’ve been calling them violas so much because I usually plant the smaller, single-colored ones that I call violas. Latin for both are violas!
‘Blueberry Thrill’ …definitely lives up to it’s name!! Love, love, love you salvaged that non-bullet-proof wheelbarrow into a thing a beauty to enjoy all yr round! Makes me 🙂 this morning! TFS, Sue L!
Thanks, Jeanne, I sure am ‘thrilled’ with them!
Wow they are something!! So bright and happy looking! Good job on the old wheelbarrow, it’s beautiful!! I’ll be planting mine soon!! Now… where to place it?
Pansies and violas are my favorite cool weather flower. So pretty and happy! Your wheelbarrow looks adorable. The area you have set up looks very welcoming to those arriving at your home.
Thanks, Kim,..this is the first thing people see when they come through to the back door. All our friends are ‘back door’ friends!
It is beginning to warm up here in Mississippi and soon I will have to replace my pansies (insert sad face here) with something that will withstand the heat. I am thrilled you saved the wheelbarrow from the dump and turned it into a gorgeous work of art.
I too planted pansy’s and violas in my wheelbarrow. It gets really cold here at 7,000. I wonder if they will come back too???
I’m not sure about that altitude, Bev,…it must be challenging, but one of my favorite garden websites in High Altitude Gardening http://www.highaltitudegardening.com Let us know with a picture if they do!
OK, I will water them when the growing season starts and see if they come back. Thanks for the High Altitude Gardening FB site. Love learning and that is right up my mountain!!!
I love the Blueberry Thrill. Pansies and Violas are so happy and a favorite of mine.
Glad to hear that you’ve grown them, Julie,…this is the closest to a mass planting I’ve done and they have just been so cheery ever since the first of the year..
Pansies & Violas really are such cheerful flowers. I live in South Carolina where we plant Pansies in the fall and leave them until it gets too hot in the spring (May). After growing up in Indiana I love having these and flowers like Camellias for lovely winter color.