Mother's Day Treats

Make that Mother's Day Weekend...

Which was awesome because I had both of my moms- the one that screamed at my fat head for hours while she tried to push me out of her body, and the one that let me marry her son, my Hubby- one on each arm, frolicking with me through Amish country celebrating the Rhubarb festival, albeit unknowingly at first, and maybe a bit sceptically as well, but once they started throwing rhubarb colored beads and drove the rhubarb race cart around the corner, we were hooked. Or maybe it was the 60 year old ladies on segways dressed as rhubarb fairies... Old ladies rock. And speaking of which...

I gave my Mommy her gift weeks ago, a planter filled with fun flowers bought at a garden show were we spent the day together, learning all manner of yard and garden things. But my Mom, I had given nothing, knowing we were going to have the following weekend together.

So I made her this little thing....

First I bought an old seed tray (you can get them for $2 or less at some antique stores)...

I got some marigolds and coleus at a greenhouse for cheap...

I cut some plastic netting I had on hand...

And I stapled it to the box...

And then I stuffed in some of the flowers and coleus...

And kept filling until I was out of plants...

But I didn't fill it TOO full, since the plants should spread out a bit and grow as they settle in and get nice and hearty. I filled it in with a mixture of potting soil and added a sprig or two of viney ground cover, weaving it in around the edges...

Which should also hold the plants in a bit until they spread their roots back out a bit. And then I watered them and propped them up against a stone wall to enjoy until they were in my Mom's car.

I've found with most plants that of tied growing vertically, that once left alone after being propped up, they will stretch toward the sun and not look so droopy in their vertical planter. So if you try this at home and think to yourself, "Yuck , they look like they are falling over and dying!" Don't worry; they'll perk up again. Keep them watered though. And if you are going to hang them up at a 90 degree angle on a wall, I would leave them flat for a little while to let them spread the roots out a bit to make sure they hold all that soil in place once they are fighting gravity for you. Or use tighter netting, though I imagine it's harder to get plants in the smaller you go. And I am sure there are a million other ways to do this, but this is what I had on hand and it seemed to work well for me.

Ever tried vertical gardening? What do you think?

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PS:

I LOVE you, Mommies!