outdoors
IN THE GARDEN
POTSHOTS
Above,
clockwise from top,
Adenium, Kalanchoe
blossfeldiana,
K. thrysiflora,
and
dusty miller form
a neighborly group.
Laura,
right,
treats her
pots with deck sealer
and stores them
indoors during winter.
So they poured a generous 22xl4-foot
concrete slab near the back door, then
designed and built structures to embrace
the patio. Privacy walls, an arbor, and vine-
draped trellises create the sanctuary the
couple wanted.
The patio also gives Laura a place
to show off her containers and plants.
Her collection of terra-cotta pots—
accumulated over
2 0
years—is filled with
annuals, summer bulbs, and an assortment
of beloved tropical foliage and flowers.
WINNING
WISDOM
fr o m L a u ra B eytes
How To O verwinter
Tender Plants
Indoors
■ Summer bulbs
Laura recom m ends
cutting o ff foliage in
late fall and leaving
bulbs in their pots.
“ We take them to
the basem ent,
w here they stay
dorm ant all winter,”
sh e says. In spring,
sh e plants them
in larger pots if
needed, adds slow -
release fertilizer and
w ater, then m oves
them outside.
■ Tropicals
Laura’s
favorite plants g et a
spot at the living
room windowsill,
and she puts the
others under
fluorescent lights
in the b asem en t In
spring, the B eyteses
rem ove any
unhealthy foliage
and prune aw ay
som e o f the
crow ded roots.
Then they repot the
plants, fertilize and
w ater, and return
1 0 4
SEPTEMBER2008 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
