What shape will work?

Yesterday I did some research and found the perfect planters for the upper deck.  Today I went out there with a measuring tape and realized that my choice may not fit.  I've got some figuring to do now, I'm not certain a corner planter will work. I like the door as a screen idea, but I could also move the corner planters to the railing and lose the trellis.  I think I need to see how these ideas work in plan view.

This photo from an earlier post shows the limited space. I want a corner planter behind the chair Kabrina is sitting in.  I want it to be tall and screen a portion of our neighbor's deck.  But, I'd forgotten the downspout was there (both sides) and it leaves a few inches between the downspout and the window. Pretty narrow, but it could work. We could also build something a little more asymmetrical to fit the space.


I took some other measurements while I was out there. Ones I'd mentioned needing in previous posts.  I've now got measurements for the railing baskets and the 3 hanging baskets. I entered that info in my phone so that when I'm at the store I can find the right coconut liners.  Last year they were too small, so I just went ahead a used them. I ended up with shallow planters. Only one liner out of all them had the  plastic lining to help retain water. This year water retention and alternatives to hand watering will be a focus (later posts ahead.)  I also measured my heavy ceramic pot and will get it a plant saucer with wheels.  


This blog is proving to be helpful in terms of defining what's a priority, searching out ideas, and dealing with some of the details that would crop up later.

Bookend planters with a trellis

The two primary vertical spaces here are the two 1/2 walls at each end of the upper deck. The one to the north is most visible near sliding glass doors. That spot gets a lot of sun in the afternoon and would be a great place for a planter with a trellis. The wall to the south is less visible, but separates us from our neighbors.  We could use a screen that serves as a trellis and planter there. That spot is part shade.


I decided the easiest way to look at trellis ideas would be to create a board on Pinterest called Trellis.  I then did an image search on Google and pinned the ones I liked to my board.  I found some great ideas and will share two here:

Corner trellis from ThisNext.com

The best option for us is to have a corner planter like this at each end of the deck with the trellis along the house and along the top of each wall.  I'll have to measure the wall near the door, otherwise I might end up with this planter in front of the screen.


This option works well for the north side, but doesn't provide any real screening needed along the south wall.  This style is pretty conventional and if we are going to build anything ourselves I would like to incorporate salvage items, maybe a door or window.  I think you could pull off using two doors and overlay them with a trellis.  That would make a nice screen for the south wall.

Wood trellis with wheels from backyardcity.com

I included this planter with wheels because anything heavy that we plant on the upper deck needs to be easy to move.  I've already got one ceramic container that I have trouble moving. (Reminder to buy the saucer with wheels this year). So if you take the corner planter above and add wheels you've got a perfect planter for the north wall.  Add doors for the planter to the south and I think I may have a plan for two planters that will be functional and have their own look despite being in bookend locations on the deck.


I found some really great trellis ideas today, and will keep looking for the fence and lower deck. I'd also like to add a couple of images for the doors I have in mind.  If you'd like to take a look, go to the Pinterest button at the bottom of the page and take a look at the Trellis board.  Each image will have a link to it's source.  

What to plant on white vinyl fencing?

Today I took a good look at the lower deck and back yard. When I moved into the townhouse I boxed up a lot of bird feeders, houses, baths that I'd had at my previous house out in the woods.  This month I finally got around to hanging one feeder and hung up a house on a hook for now.  But that is making a mess all over the deck and occupying space I use for hanging planters.  Time to find a permanent place for the birds along the fence.


The back yard is surrounded by white vinyl fencing.  We added trellises a couple of years ago for evergreen clematis plants, both of which died.  Last summer I put a pot of green beans there and they did well, but it really needs something permanent growing up. The evergreen clematis was my "perfect" choice, an evergreen vine year round with white flowers in spring.  Today I looked at that white fence and white trellises and drew a complete blank. So I guess I need to tally up all the vertical spaces around here and start doing my homework.  I just know there is a simple solution that will look good in each of these spots.


Any suggestions for vertical planting? I'd prefer evergreen, but would like to hear from anyone who's had success with vines in this area. 

Apple Pancake - gluten free version

This morning we had one of my favorite breakfasts, this apple pancake.  When I found the recipe in Sunset magazine (Oct. 2009) I ripped the page out and handed it to my boyfriend, who has more culinary talent than I do.  He made it and we both loved it.  Of course, when you give up wheat and try to eat by a gluten free diet you may think you have to give up treats like this.*  But, he has adapted the recipe to include a gluten free flour and uses rice milk (his choice) rather than milk.


Here is the Sunset recipe (Apple oven cake from Peter Zensius, San Francisco) with 
[our changes in brackets]:
3 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 sweet apple, such as Fuji, peeled and sliced [we leave the peel]
3 large eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup each flour and milk [we used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour and Rice Milk]
1 tbsp. each fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar [the brown sugar is all we use]


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in a 12-in. ovenproof frying pan over high heat.  Add brown sugar and cinnamon, swirling to combine. Add apple and cook until just starting to soften , about 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a blender, whirl together eggs, salt, flour, and milk. Pour egg mixture into pan and bake until puffed and brown, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar.
Please see the original recipe for nutritional breakdown.


* I eat a gluten free diet due to wheat sensitivity/allergy, I'm not recommending this to anyone who eats a gluten free diet for a medical condition such as Celiac sprue.  If you'd like more info on gluten free foods from a Registered Dietician who has Celiac, see my sister's site Balanced Body Nutrition.

Winter Pansies

Winter Pansies

The only thing the upper deck has going for it right now are pansies.  For some reason I always thought of primroses and pansies as being the first flowers to plant in late winter.  Last fall I noticed pansies at the grocery store and would come home to see my empty hanging baskets and bare deck.  I wasn't sure they would live through winter in a shallow coconut husk lined basket, but I really wanted the color.


Before Thanksgiving I decided to go to the nursery and look around.  I ended up buying several pansies in various shades.  I planted them in the hanging baskets on the railing, but worried that they were too exposed. I found an old bag of florist moss and covered the top of the basket soil. 


Since then they've done just fine. We haven't had a lot of snow this year, but have had below freezing temperatures. People commented on the flowers at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas. At that point the railings had garlands and lights as well. 


Today I noticed them with the afternoon sunlight behind them.  I thought about taking a picture, but missed my chance when clouds rolled in.  Once again the simplest of flowers are making the biggest impact with me.  

Kabrina's spot

Kabrina on the upper deck

I should introduce my cat, Kabrina as well as her favorite outdoor spot, the upper deck.  When we moved to this 3-story townhouse Kabrina basically hid in the bedroom for months.  Our previous house was a single-story and she was an indoor cat only.  But here we have a deck on the 2nd floor and another with a tiny yard on the 1st floor.


 When Kabrina finally dared to go out on the upper deck she relaxed, realizing she loved to be outside.  Plus, she can be outside without my having to worry about her.  


Since then she likes to hang out with us, watch birds, roll around, supervise me, and eat cucumber leaves.

Blue Morning Glory

That photo also shows the upper deck as of spring of last year.  Lots of beige and gray with very limited space. Thus, my new interest in vertical gardening.  This area later became much more colorful with a container and topiary planted with some morning glory seeds.  These vines eventually climbed right up the downspout. 


Earlier, I mentioned that my showiest flowers were simple old-fashioned flowers like these morning glories.  While I started these from seed, the others (nasturtium and sweet pea) I bought as starts to use in my window box planters.  


The upper deck has two 1/2 walls that could use a trellis or an espalliered plant. One gets sun and the other shade so I have some options. The wall shown above separates us from our neighbors' deck.  I'm considering building a taller screen that is decorative, but useful as a planter. I've seen some creative ideas online, but that's still one for the drawing board. 

Something New to Try

I saw the greatest photo on Pinterest using lettuce in a fruit basket and I definitely want to try this out. This would be a great way to add some other vegies and herbs to one basket. This will look nice and I like that there are layers in various sizes so that you can grow more of some things and less of others.

Herb garden from Pinterest

One of the features about Pinterest is that you can see where the image was found, usually.  In this case the picture is listed as being found "From Google.com." But if you actually click on the image it takes you to Google images, listing the website for this image as telegraph.co.uk.  Follow that link and you find a gardening advice  newspaper article in The Telegraph, titled "Thorny Problems" by Helen Yemm. 


Sometimes images have been repinned too often or were not credited when added, but you can usually follow the trail to the original source. This basket is included on my container board, just click on the Pinterest button below.

Lettuce Begin...

Lettuce mixed with annuals in a basket

Last year was the first year I tried mixing vegetables with flowers in containers.  The window boxes on the upper deck were my favorite with lettuces mixed with nasturtiums and sweet peas.  All were starts from the nursery. I could walk out on the deck, pick some clean lettuce and use it in salads.  I will do this again this year adding some more edibles upstairs.

At my mom's house, we used lettuce as filler in some containers, but it rarely got picked and ended up leggy.  Lesson learned was to only use the lettuce near the kitchen and in a spot easy for picking.  Perhaps this year her containers should be veggies with a flower accent.  That way they are grouped together and easier to pick.


Sweet peas and lettuce are only good early in the season, so I need to come up with a replacement. Last year "left-over" annuals didn't look so good. Also, the coconut husk liners are great, but this year I must only buy the ones that are lined. This would be a great year to figure the size of the baskets and hanging planters and keep that info in my phone so I'll have it when shopping.

Birthday before blogging

Today we celebrated my dad's 82nd birthday with football and sub sandwiches (yes, Subway has a gluten-free roll now).  While I intended to continue with a post on last year's successes it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Try to Keep It Simple

It's January in the Northwest, which means lots of rain and gray skies. I'm someone who's happiest outside in the yard, or better yet shopping at a nursery.  While I prefer not to be stuck indoors, now is the time that I can review last summer's plant choices and decide what I'd like to try this year.


My yard consists of an upper and lower deck, so my focus is on container plantings that include flowers and vegetables. Hanging baskets have worked in the past, now I'm ready to investigate more vertical options.

Last summer I was most impressed by the success I had with simple, old-fashioned flowers and vegetables.

Nasturtiums and Morning-Glory were both colorful and long lasting and my green beans produced more than expected.


Maybe this year's theme will be to keep it simple.

Gluten-free gardening

I know, 'All-Purpose Flower' is a little corny.  I chose this name because it made sense in a very literal way and it has a bit of irony.  I'd like for this blog to be my journal and scrapbook for plant and garden ideas that are practical and multi-purpose. Ironically, I decided to cut wheat from my diet and have spent a lot of time trying to figure out a gluten-free diet.

I'm hoping to meet other gardeners or plant lovers who want to share ideas and resources.  I welcome links to your blog or pages on Facebook or Pinterest.