Michelle, everything looks beautiful! I love your huge urn in the middle of your potager garden and the Opal Basil is written down (now) for next year's purchasing. Thank you for sharing all the photos!

T.

"the gardens aren't looking too bad." LOL! They're looking wonderful! The centre of the potager blends so nicely with the bench too.

Michelle, they are beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

Michelle, These are just wonderful. I love all your containers and especially that last one with the fiber optic grass. Is that a wire vine in that? Also what is the tall purple plant in that arrangement? It looks like I. 'Purple Lady' but mine doesn't grow upright like that. Anyway, I really love the airy look of that arrangement with the wire frame on the container which suits it perfectly. Brilliant!

The pottager is so beautiful and that long view backed by the eupatorium is lovely. What is that peach daylily in the far background of that photo? It looks a lot like my H. Pastel Classic.

Anyway, everything looks wonderful there. Thanks for sharing. It's making me itch to get outside and start come major cleanup. I've not been able to get to it since my return from CA because the temps have been flirting with 100 degrees all week.

Deanne

Hi Michelle!

The potager is *wonderful*! The pot you placed in the center is perfect and I *love* the way you did the brick. It kind of looks like a mosaic tile flooring under the pot. I love the way you chose your colors and the placement. It must have took a long time to pic which brick to use where? Anyway, it turned out beautifully!

All your pots are gorgeous too. I love dark purple basils too. My 'Purple Ruffles' is kind of a weak grower though and may try the 'Opal' instead next year. Is it a pretty strong grower for you?

Love your "misc."! :-) That blue saliva/daylily/sedum? combo is so refreshing looking and the bed in the last pic is so full and lush.

Well, everything looks wonderful...thanks for sharing this with us! Ei

It all looks great, Michelle! I love the way you used the urn as a focal point in the potager. When the sales start, I'm going to try and pick up a few more "stand alone" type containers. I'll have to keep my eyes open for some purple basil. Monique is going to give me some of her Perilla for a purple accent filler.

The lack of rain here hasn't been much of a problem either except in the parts of the garden that are dry to begin with. Maybe I'll copy Trudi's idea of using large containers in those areas instead of trying to deal with growing stuff in the ground. At least that will force me to water.

Sue

As always I'm slower getting to the sub-threads beyond the idylls...wow Michelle-I'd say things look pretty nice indeed despite lack of rain! The potager garden is looking so great and to think it's in its first year.With all that you saw in IL I bet your mind is going a mile a minute with ideas for the future: )
I love your knack for putting great combos together in containers-that tall urn planting is very rich looking. That basil is a beautiful shade of purple-that would be great in container plantings I'd bet.

I love all the pics you posted!
~Babs

Michelle,
Everything looks great!
Everything here seems to have stopped blooming
except the susans and coneflowers, your garden
still looks so wonderful!

Haziemoon

Michelle: HooZaa!! How glorious! I love the potager and really like that you put zinnias in it -- a constant reminder of my Grandmother's gardens.

You guys are continuing to be a bad, bad influence on my container budget. BUT -- since you like the look of those purple basils, I can't resist adding to the fray and suggesting Red Rubin. It's a bit darker than what you have, but I planted it with a variegated lime-colored plectranthus and summer savory to lighten things up with great results.

Just awesome, and not at all what I expected from "August on the Farm."! LOL

Martie

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Rubin Basil

Michelle, everything is looking so nice. It sure doesn't look like it's been dry there, everything is so nice and green for August. The urn is the perfect focal point for your potager. I love the tropical area with the purple castor bean and the containers have really filled in and look great. I especially like the container and the bird house sitting next to it. Do you happen to know the name of the sedum in the next to last picture? I have one that looks like that but lost the tag. That's a great combo too. Thanks for posting these. I really enjoyed seeing the farm in August.

Eden

Thanks for all the kind comments. Of course you aren't seeing the areas that aren't looking so great ;o)

Eden, the sedum is Sedum alboroseum 'Mediovariegatum'.

Martie, I haven't tried Red Rubin but will have to order seeds next year. Thanks for the link. Now who's the enabler? LOL

Ei, the Opal basil was grown from seed that was planted late. It is doing quite well. I grew purple ruffles 2 years ago and don't remember it being too weak for me.

Deanne, the daylily is 'Catherine Woodbury' which I believe you have also. That is an euphorbia 'Burgandy Wine' with the fiber optic grass and the wire vine.

Thanks for joining me in my garden.
Michelle

Purty, purty, Michelle -- how do you keep everything looking so pretty and alive?!! Your potager is certainly becoming quite an art-form - I love it.

Im feeling a bit discouraged by brown & burnt in my yard -- so this is a very, very refreshing peek into your garden. How in the world have you kept it looking so lovely w/ the drought problems in your area?

Thanks for sharing.
Cindy