Earlier this year, Southern Living Plant Collection contacted me and offered to send over some of their beautiful new blooms for spring. My first thought was “Who, me? The girl who accidentally kills plants?!” I went over in my head all kinds of fake excuses I could use to say no: Florida rain, Swahili lessons, chickens molting, election year, break-dancing workshop, mom deadlines…but nothing was sounding legit.
I thanked them for their offer and politely explained that I may not be the best candidate to share a gardening project, as I have a very active black thumb. They assured me that their plants would be custom selected for the climate I lived in and super easy to plant, even for the humblest of gardeners. They believed in their plants…and me. And I’m so glad they did because this was one fun and rewarding project! We kept things realistic and agreed that starting with planting in pots on the porch would be the safest for a beginner like me.
They sent me Mountain Snow™ Pieris, Yewtopia® Plum Yew and Jubilation™ Gardenia.
Each plant had its own label and was custom selected based upon what colors I liked, my gardening skill level (the order probably read: shipping to plant murderer) and the area in which I lived. Once they arrived, we immediately unboxed and watered them, but the plants had to wait another two weeks before I planted them since my schedule was nuts. Our hens were most helpful in the whole process.
I was so scared that they would die before I had a chance to plant them, but they were super hardy and did exactly what they were supposed to do – grow and live! Champagne, our oldest hen, was a big supporter too.
Soon it was time for the official planting.
I decided to style a fun sitting area on our porch and loved it! It felt so cozy and inviting with the potted plants nestled around the grouping. It was a hit with the family and a perfect spot for a glass of ice-cold lemonade on a sizzling-hot afternoon. We get a lot of those around here.
Only two days after I potted our new gardenias (which smell divine, by the way) they burst with white blooms! I’ve never seen so many blooms on one little shrub. In fact, there are so many blooming that I keep snipping the blooms and bringing them inside to freshen up our dining room shelves.
You can find a Southern Living Plant Collection retailer here. OR you can order online here, which was the other thing I really loved about this process. I didn’t have to drag a gaggle of tired kids up and down crowded nursery isles wondering what would survive best in our lighting and climate, then load up all the plants and carry/load/unload home. Southern Living Plant Collection provides all of that information with a touch of your keyboard – and they also provide cool styling advice, videos, and more so you can tackle your project with confidence.
Favorite feature: enter your zip code on this page and they tell you what works best in your climate.