Or maybe it’s your fingers that will get the most satisfaction!

All the plants here can be grown successfully in tubs, pots or window-boxes. They are also sturdy and can be cared for without seeing them.

 

Pleasing your fingers

Your hands and fingers will be doing a lot of the work with not much help from your eyes, so you want plants that are vigorous and grow on strong stems, while your fingers build new pathways in your brain.

When you need to check for moisture in the soil around the plants, stick your finger into the soil. If you need to water, keep a finger tucked over the rim of the pot as you fill it so you‘ll know when it’s full.

Choose   plants like geraniums with their big bright flowerheads and sturdy stalks which snap in a satisfactory way when you deadhead.

Don’t choose plants like petunias with their delicate blooms and stalks which get slimy as the flowers fade.

 

Pleasing your eyes

Besides geraniums with their excellent contrast of white, pink or scarlet against the dark green leaves, tuberous begonias also come in brilliant colors and will bloom for months with almost  no care except watering and not too much sun and wind.

Impatiens – the new Guinea variety – has big bright flowers on strong branches with large shiny leaves. They also comes in brilliant colors. I found one called “electric coral” and it is!

Pleasing your nose

There aren’t so many fragrant annuals. The really scented plants seem to be large, but here are a few:

Heliotrope has a delicate smell, a bit like a butterfly bush, and is said to attract butterflies. It has tall purple flowers as well as the nice scent

Rosemary, lemon verbena and scented geraniums all have perfumed leaves, which smell lovely when you rub them between your fingers. The scented geraniums are also called pelargoniums and come in lemon, peppermint, old rose  and many other scents.

Jasmine is a creeper which you can buy in a big pot. It has tiny scented white flowers on curving branches. It’s wonderfully fragrant but definitely pricey.

Pleasing your mouth

Well you already have those potatoes in a bucket right?  (Check out last week’s blog post Porch Potatoes.)

Basil for tomato sauce and pesto is easy to grow and very vigorous. You could ask whether the plants are suitable for salads or whatever you especially like.

You can also grow mint, thyme, oregano and chives in pots, and they qualify for nose pleasers too.

Tomatoes can grow well in pots and tubs and even upside-down. You want to buy a variety that is small and intended for containers.

It’s most enjoyable of all to sit in the middle of all your gardening successes, and relax!

What do you grow on your porch or in your garden?  Please tell us about it.