It has been quite awhile since I posted in this category. The biggest stumbling block has been our erratic weather that is the norm this time of year. If we manage to get a day without rain I have to choose between running and yard work, often running wins that debate. But, lately we have managed to eek out a few days with not just dry weather, but some sun to go along with it! Spring is slowly trying to make its way into the Pacific Northwest, so I have finally been able to weed, clean and plant in the yard.

This time last year I custom built planter boxes for our fence line. I described how I made them from small palettes in a previous post, these were stored under our house during the winter.  Now it was time to pull them out, check for damages and fill them up!

The repairs were minor for the most part, a few staples and some cleaning were all that was required. I am fortunate enough to live near some beautiful nurseries, one of which is Flower World in nearby Snohomish County. The selection is enormous and the prices are really good, compared to other nurseries in this area. Which is really important because I need 72 plants to fill these four containers! I also have several large pots that require several annuals each-you can see how the price tag goes up really fast! You can see one of those pots on my home page. So, Flower World was my first stop.

This would be enough for a great start!

When it comes to organizing the plants I have to really pay attention to the height the plants will be in a few months. I try to put the tallest along the top rows, middle and low growers on the second and bottom tier, and some trailing varieties in the corners of the lowest portion. Of course, I try to mix up the colors, but that doesn’t always go as planned.

I started by lining them all up and sorting into height categories, then figured out how to divide the colors among the four planters.

I plant them at the fence, so that they can be lifted into place as they get fairly heavy when full of plants, soil and water.

Everyone is fairly small now but in a few months the boxes will be full and, hopefully, colorful.

So, what about that photography assignment? Well, I have been taking a digital photography class at a nearby college, in their continuing education program. It is 7 weeks and we have completed the third class now. We have had a number of assignments designed to help us learn the various functions of our cameras, I am really learning a lot! One of the biggest lessons for me is how to use the aperture priority function for more control over my compositions. Another big help has been the white balance function, which is usually set on cloudy around here! Our instructor assigned us the task of taking 15 photos of our backyard, and has challenged us to take a different perspective. So, I decided to photograph the fence line where these planters are mounted. Sort of a “squirrel’s view” of the fence when they run along the top, which they do often!

In a few weeks I am heading to the Washington coast to take some landscape shots, complete with tripod. This should be interesting!