Begonias and Calibrachoa

Begonias and Calibrachoa

Tonight the heated heavy wind is tossing the trees, pushing them, bending branches, turning leaves inside out.

The sky has gone dark; the way it does when something is menacing, slowly moving in—maybe rain? Or a thunder shower?

There is a smell of rain in the air, so I’ve taken my tuberous begonia baskets down from the pergola at the back door, and sheltered them safely on the deck.

Because I didn’t do that last time, I lost one of my hanging baskets.  It became too heavy with the rain’s additional weight and dropped, plummeted straight down, smashing into three pieces on the deck.

I rescued the deep red begonias, picked off the damaged blooms and dug the plants into the flower bed that borders the driveway.  Now, these showy, large blooms are safely seated in the earth.  There was no saving the hanging basket’s shattered husk!

Then, there was the dilemma of three spaces on the pergola to hang baskets, with only two baskets to hang.  Returning to the nursery didn’t help, as tuberous begonias were sold out.

Solution: I bought a basket of bright red calibrachoa and hung it between the other two.  Calibrachoa is a trailing petunia with smaller blooms. It makes a great hanging basket plant as it spreads and cascades, and is a healthy bloomer. 

I chose bright red, though it comes in many other shades, because I love red and because the red calibrachoa will attract hummingbirds.

Now the entrance way is cheery with vibrant scarlet flowers in all three baskets—a welcome greeting for all!

The images of begonias are mine.