Anna's Window Boxes

Years ago (not sure how many), Roger, our good friend and former landlord, gave Anna hooks, frames, planter boxes, and planting soil so that she could have a mini flower garden out our living room window.  At the beginning of each of our visits, she plants flowers in the boxes – typically geraniums. 

This year David and Anna picked up four very inexpensive geranium plants on a bargain table at our local Carrefour store.  David hefted the boxes in to the kitchen counter so that Anna could remove last year’s dead plants and install the new ones.  As she was removing the dead stuff, Anna noticed a tiny leaf on an old geranium root.  She very carefully cleaned and trimmed the root and replanted the tiny leaf’s plant and the four “new” plants.

Two geraniums died rather spectacularly fairly soon.  That left two “new” geraniums, the rescued leaf and its plant, and two large vacant spots in both planter boxes.  So, on market day we headed over to our favorite flower and plant stall at “our” marché.  We came home with two nice lobelia plants that continue to thrive.

Notice the very happy lobelias.

Soon a third geranium began looking quite unhappy.  Why?  Who knows.  David did some research on the web valiantly hoping to find a cure.  He even carted the planter box back into the kitchen and tried flushing out anything nasty that might be lurking in the soil.  Anna continued to speak to it and encourage it.  But, it refused our good intentions and actions and died.

Very sad-looking geranium.

So, we were back to an empty spot in the planter box.  We went back to the marché and this time purchased a small petunia plant with bright red buds.  That plant seems to be thriving and rewards us with lots of lovely red flowers.  (The neighborhood bees are very appreciative of the lobelia and petunia flowers and visit regularly.)

The planter boxes now. 
(Notice the geranium leaves between the
lobelia and geranium plants in the left basket -
that's the rescued geranium.)

So, here’s our current plant census: one very healthy purchased geranium plant, one small but growing rescued geranium plant, two very happy lobelia plants, and one very healthy petunia plant.