Lisa enjoys gardening without gloves and creating landscapes that look natural, with chewed leaves and disturbed soil. Her backyard contains a variety of plants that attract pollinators and provide food for butterfly larvae. She has created several container gardens, including one with red flowers and materials to attract hummingbirds, and recycled containers featuring tomato plants underplanted with herbs and flowers.

1. a n d s c a p e o n t a i n e r s P L A N T S a t u r e d i b l e s

2. I enjoy the sights and sounds of nature and the restorative powers of GLOVELESS gardening -- getting my hands directly in contact with soil and plants! My backyard landscape is not picture perfect. I enjoy seeing chewed leaf edges, broken stems, disturbed soil …. It’s an indication of nature’s give and take relationship. Lisa K. Schlag

4. Trailing Snapdragon ‘Deep Purple’ Dusty Miller ‘Silverdust’ Heuchera ‘ Harvest Lemon Chiffon’ Ornamental Pepper ‘Piment’ Garlic Chives

7. Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’ Fall-colored Mum ‘Cecilia’ Hedera helix ‘Glacier’ Ajuga repens ‘Burgundy Glow’ Hedera helix ‘Eva’

9. Eucalyptus Dahlia Calibrachoa ‘Peach’ Coleus ‘Florida Sun Rose’ Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’ Lantana Hedera helix ‘Yellow Ripple’

12. Bronze-leaf Begonia ‘Gin’ Licorice plant ‘Lemon’

14. Chasmanthium latifolium Impatiens walleriana Curly Parsley: host plant for the black swallowtail butterfly larvae, Papilio polyxenes. I’ll gladly add more if eaten!

17. Torenia fournieri Burgundy Impatiens walleriana Sweet Potato Vine

19. Bronze Fennel ‘Rubrum’: host plant for the black swallowtail butterfly larvae, Papilio polyxenes. I’ll gladly add more if eaten! apricot colored Verbena Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’ Dahlia Calibrachoa ‘ Apricot Red Eye’ Calibrachoa ‘Bright Red’

22. I wanted to create a texture-rich hummingbird-oriented container. I included tree limbs, hummingbird feeder, and red flowered plants (Begonia and Cape Fushia, Phygelius capensis). The Thymus ‘Silver Posie’ echos the Cornus alba ‘Ivory Halo’ foliage variegation. Phygelius capensis Thymus vulgaris ‘Silver Posie’ Daisy Cornus alba ‘Ivory Halo’ Dragon Wing Begonia

25. Thymus vulgaris ‘Silver Posie’ Petunia ‘Hulahoop Red’ I LOVE this red and white bicolor petunia!! Dwarf Pepper plant

29. Recycled Containers: Various Tomato plants were underplanted with a variety of herbs and flowering annuals, providing nectar and pollen for beneficial insects, and foliage plants. If you have kitties, kitty litter containers can pile up overtime. I drilled holes for drainage, sponge painted, and used shredded newspaper to mix with soil and for moisture retention.

31. Painted Container: Planting pink Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, and Ajuga ‘Burgundy Glow’ in the container enhanced the feel of the landscape bedding plants in the background: Kniphofia, Poker Plant; Echinacea, Coneflower; Gaillardia, Blanket Flower; Rudbeckia subtomentosa, Sweet Black-eyed Susan,; and Chasmanthium latifolium, Northern Sea Oats.

33. I adore Cupid’s Dart, Catananche caerulea. I really enjoyed the texture, color, and wildlife benefits this combination of plants provided. Rudbeckia subtomentosa Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ Achillea millefolium Catananche caerulea ‘Amor Blue’

34. Thank you for viewing! Lisa K. Schlag created on 11.11.11 all images copyright Lisa K. Schlag