Nasturtiums. Geraniums. Marigolds. Wave petunias. Black-eyed susan vine for hanging containers. Pansies. Violas. Begonias. Dusty miller. Coleus. Lobelia. Just mix it up with colors. I have had spectacular success with nasturtiums trailing down form dark purple petunias, and with dark purple wave petunias trailing down from marigolds and geraniums. Also had some beautiful purple pansies and nasturtiums. Go wild!

This is why the ReptiBark is such a good bet for my application... because it breaks down less quickly, I can go 2 or 3 years without having to re-pot... or with adding a top-dressing only. I don't have to worry that the ReptiBark will decompose right away. I find that if I soak the ReptiBark overnight before using any in a mix, it's much less likely to become hydrophobic. Plus, my pots aren't drying out that quickly... they're indoor, out of direct sun and any wind, as opposed to outdoor containers and the conditions there. Honestly, I haven't had any issues with the small bags, as used for my own applications. When I know a pot will spend time outdoors, I use a different bark in a medium closer to the 511. I found a few bags of some pine mulch at Lowe's or somewhere like that... no idea on brand names or anything... but it appeared a little darker in color, smaller in size, and perfect for using in a 511 type mix. This past spring, we actually added a bunch of composted wood chip mulch to our raised beds and even turned a bunch into the garden for aeration and whatnot... so far, so good! The basic concept is working well for us!

I'm sorry you had to have a setback with surgery and hope you will be ok. Something we gardeners all dread, not being able to work to our full capacity (for us). Is there somebody you could hire to help you? If you got it all planned out and marked, then supervise if you can walk around and watch, it should go fairly fast. I know I feel better if I plant my own stuff myself, but felt fortunate last fall to find somebody to plant my tulips and odds and ends. I could have done the tulips myself but just plain didn't feel like it and didn't want to waste the bulbs. The containers should be fine, but they gobble up so much soil and are getting a little hard to fill; some are a little heavy to lift. Maybe you have help with that. This will mean double planting really. Good luck with it; you know best what will work for you.

We planted tomatoes in "earth pots" that we made using Home Depot 5 gallon buckets and for other plants used plastic bins. We got the idea online. We drilled holes in the bottom of the bucket and took cotton clothesline from Dollar General, cut it into lengths and pushed them through the holes. We knotted the ends so they wouldn't fall out. Sat a brick in the bottom of another bucket that had drain holes drilled into it around the sides at a certain height and then sat the first bucket into it. Filled it with a mix of Jungle Soil and garden soil. Tomatoes went nuts! One place to see directions is www.instructables.com Hope this helps! Good luck! Val