The desert heat is finally subsiding a bit, so it is time to listen to the call of your backyard—and go out to smell the flowers.
Clean off that bench, and make sure it is positioned in a shady spot so you actually will go out and sit. Take out your coffee, tea, wine or cocktail, as well as a favorite book, to just sit and be.
The main goal is to make your bench more than utilitarian. If your bench is hanging out there with nothing to keep it in your focus as a place to stop for a while, add a large pot to each side to “bookend” it as a full vignette. Fill those pots with colorful fragrant flowers—and you won’t be able to stay away.
Some flowers that meet the requisites of color and fragrance that do well in our warm winters include:
- Alyssum
- Dianthus
- Nasturtiums
- Stock
- Sweet peas
You can find additional winter plants listed in my newly published book, Getting Potted in the Desert.
If your bench is colorful as the one in the picture to the right, use a simpler planting such as the yellow bells shrub and coral fountain perennial.
You can also repeat the colors of your bench’s cushions in the flowers as pictured below, with the red crepe myrtle trees and red cushions of this iron bench.
Marylee Pangman is the founder and former owner of The Contained Gardener in Tucson, Ariz. She has become known as the desert’s potted garden expert. Marylee’s book, Getting Potted in the Desert, has just been released. Buy it online at potteddesert.com. Email her with comments and questions at marylee@potteddesert.com. Follow the Potted Desert at facebook.com/potteddesert.
