Mother's Day Baskets: Potting, Planting and Pampering

For anyone who has been on Mars or some other exotic place, Sunday is Mother's Day, a day when some grit their teeth while others revel in honoring the woman who gave them birth.

The last year I had a momma I could physically celebrate was 1987 so I observe the day through fond memories.

As the middle child of 11, needless to say our celebrations did not include much cash expenditures, but the day still was filled with fun.

After returning from church, we grabbed old scissors and headed out and invariably we returned with huge armfuls of fragrant lilacs, white and old-fashioned purple.

The lilacs came from the backyard while a trek across the road and into the woods gave access to branches of graceful white dogwood and gentle pink honeysuckle.

Memory serves that we also picked something we called Arbutus, sort of a wildflower growing close to the ground. But three decades later, we siblings are prone to think we had the plant misidentified.

Heavens knows what we were picking and dragging down the hill to a mother who always acted surprised and enthusiastic.

What a glorious time of year we are in.

It's a struggle to resist storming the greenhouses and garden centers and loading up on all things green and growing.

For those who have resisted the urge to do a lot of serious shopping, you might want to brace yourself and your pocketbook before heading out.

Inflation and sky-high gas prices have impacted everything and many gardeners are suffering from sticker shock.

Be it veg plants, annual flowers or perennials, be prepared to dig deeper and expect to get less for that higher price tag. Some places I visited last week have yet to offer vegetable and flowers plants in standard four packs and while a lot of plants are available, many are being sold as single plants, each in their own little pot.

"The price of everything is up, that's true. But they can still grow cheaper than they can buy the (harvested) produce," said Clay Shriver owner of Potted Memories just outside Williamsburg.

Any plants purchased over the next couple weeks should be covered at night with newspaper, light fabric, even old sheer draperies, just in case the temps drop below freezing.

The cold and wet spring in Morrisons Cove should have gardeners giving pause lest they work in the soil too early.

As the days stay warmer and things dry out, take a handful of garden dirt and squeeze it into a ball, old time gardeners recommend. If it crumbles like a piece of cake, it likely is ready for planting. If the soil stays firmly packed, it might be best to wait a bit.

Digging and planting too early can result in compacted soil and poor aeration resulting in stifled growth.

Now jumping back to Mother's Day, for those receiving one of those glorious hanging baskets seen at garden centers and box stores, keeping them looking glorious can be a bit of a task.

If the flower varieties are not familiar, check the tag. Hopefully, there will be a suggestion of the sun/shade preference.

Many baskets on the market today are flooded with Calibrachoa superbells, a variety of petunia that trails and provides hundreds of blooms from spring to fall.

Alyssum, such as carpet of snow, is a good filler with perhaps dusty miller adding silver-gray interest and silver falls Dichondra spilling over the sides.

These full sun lovers will likely take more care, especially watering and more frequent feeding with a diluted water soluble fertilizer.

Shade-loving pots filled with impatiens, wax begonias and coleus will thrive on fewer waterings and feedings.

While the old trick of sticking an index finger into the soil an inch are two is acceptable, growers urge lifting the pot slightly into the air to determine its weight. If it feels lighter than it should, given all of the plants and soil, chances are it needs a drink, maybe a number of them over a period of time.

The peat in the commercial potting soil dries quickly and shrinks from the sides of the container bringing on rapid flower wilting.

Slowly add small amounts of water until the soil and roots begin to rehydrate.

If the basket is manageable, soak it in a water-filled laundry or kitchen sink. After a few hours pull the plug and allow excess moisture to leave the pot before rehanging it.

It's best to give the basket an inspection a couple times a week, removing spent blooms and yellowing foliage.

Putting together a planter or basket on your own presents a good time to do some experimenting.

An asparagus fern houseplant has taken center stage on a medium-sized pot sitting on the middle of my deck table.

To one side is a medium pink trailing petunia gifted to me on Easter by my dear friend Heather Ake Dibert. Trailing down the side is a vibrant purple annual salvia.

New on the market, is a large Bodacious Hummingbird Falls salvia, which I'm hoping will creep in and around the petunia and fern.

I'll let you know how that works out.

I watch the weather and will bring the pot indoors at night at least until mid-May.

Plans are to spread the houseplants into outdoor pots a step further. Starts from a Boston fern are going into two porch boxes with yet to be determined shade-loving annuals.

Spider plants, those variegated light and airy indoor plants that are profuse in shooting out new plants, have been rooted and will be popped into a host of outdoor annual pots.