Meet Our Pink Pot Ambassador for May: @flippinthelou!
Describe your garden.
We just moved to our current home a year ago and the landscaping had been sorely neglected. With just under a 1/2-acre, last year we had the opportunity to completely re-envision the space. With many established trees, the backyard is primarily in shade. Around and on the deck in containers is where I have the most fun with my sun-loving plants, like my Wave Petunias! I love to make that area feel like an outdoor, tropical living room!
We love your flower basket recipes. What is your current favorite recipe?
I like to mix it up and never do the same look two seasons in a row. I have collected well over a dozen ceramic pots of different sizes, and I like to layer them on the porch - some with elaborate designs following the “thriller, filler, spiller” technique, and others that are more understated with a single plant (a geranium or majesty palm, for example). I pick my big pots to be the “stars” and then everything else coordinates and supports that vision. A pot with a Tidal Wave Petunia looks beautiful beside a big pot with elephant ears, Easy Wave Petunias, and Creeping Jenny. I might add some calibrachoa in a contrasting color, too. A third pot with a variegated hosta will tie all of the green foliage together and spotlight the bright Wave colors!
Tell us about the first time you ever gardened.
I started with houseplants about a decade ago. I didn’t realize I had a deep need to nurture something until I started to tend to my plants. The fun really started when I began to garden outside at our first home about 7 years ago. Outdoor plants are way more exciting, and supporting my local ecosystem became the grander purpose. Learning about plant needs (sun/water/soil conditions, zones, etc.) is like a scientific experiment - trial and error, finding the perfect plant for each area of my garden. Supporting a garden from infancy to maturity is such an honor. Nature knows exactly what to do, and my only role is to occasionally provide a little TLC.
What is your favorite combination using Wave Petunias?
I LOVE Wave Petunias in a container garden. White and green gardens are very on trend right now, but as far as I’m concerned, the bolder and brighter the color palette, the better! I subscribe to the “thriller, filler and spiller” methodology with my containers. Elephant ears, hibiscus and canna lilies are my go-to “thrillers”; Wave Petunias make the perfect foundational “fillers”, and I often used Creeping Jenny or Vinca Vines as my “spillers”. Wave petunias set the colorway, and everything else plays a supportive role.
Give one suggestion for what a gardener can do with the Wave Pink Pot after they take the petunias out of it.
I cannot stand clutter but the one thing I allow myself to “hoard” is nursery pots. I nest two Wave Pink Pots, one inside of the other, and fill with seed or fertilizer. I then sprinkle the contents wherever I need and can adjust the flow rate by aligning the holes between the two pots. I leave two of these pots in almost every bag of garden amendment I have in the garage.
Share your secrets! What’s the best gardening hack you know?
I spent many seasons in the garden breaking my back using just my hands/body or super cheap tools that barely functioned. I enjoy working hard in the garden, so I didn’t think that better tools were necessary. Over time, I’ve acquired some high-quality garden tools and the truth is… they make the biggest difference! Now I’m a bit obsessed with trying new products. A few tools I wouldn’t be without are my Radius Garden Root Slayer shovel (will cut through anything, and it’s so satisfying); my ProPlugger for planting annuals (can plant a Wave Petunia 6 pack in under a minute) and bulbs; and my stirrup hoe for removing weeds.
My other favorite gardening hack is what my husband refers to as my “cardboard gardens,” otherwise known as “sheet mulching,” which is a popular permaculture technique. This hack is used when creating a new garden bed in an area with grass or weeds; it’s the easiest way to create a new bed and it’s so good for soil health. First, I edge the bed and create a significant channel between inside of the bed and the remaining surrounding grass. Then, I layer cardboard over the new bed (remove any tape) and water it down… the cardboard will compost over time. It’s important to leave no gaps. It’s better to overlap the cardboard. Once the cardboard is positioned, I add compost or topsoil and then mulch. I prefer to plant after the cardboard is placed to make sure nothing is planted too deep once the compost and mulch are added.
Tell us 2 things that are true and 1 thing that’s a lie about you.
I am in the process of becoming a certified Master Gardener (graduating in May!)
I’ve never planted a full traditional veggie/fruit garden before this year.
I planted 500 bulbs last year.
(Take a guess at which one is the lie in the comments!!)
Tell us about the inspiration behind “Transforming 1990’s --> timeless”.
We bought our home in January of 2022, and the inside and outside both needed a TON of work. I found a whole community on IG that shares the same interest, so I created “flippinthelou” just for funsies.
I started inside through the cold winter months and then immediately jumped into the more rewarding work: updating the garden. The interior is now in a reasonable place, and the garden brings me so much joy.