Welcome!

I want to welcome you to my new and wonderful blog! This is a blog about container gardening, mostly. I rent my house, so I don't have the option of adding a garden, or doing landscaping! I am newish to this craft, so join me as I play around and learn what is best!
I have gardened for a few years in my back yard. Plants like tomatoes, lettuce, weeds. But last year I decided to change some things up. I bought blueberries! Yes I did! And no, they do not grow in water. They are very specific with their needs. I turned a wine barrel into two containers, filled with peat moss and an acidic soil, and planted two varieties of  blueberries. Because I felt they were lonely, one was planted with cranberries and the other with an azalea.  As a mulch, I covered each container with Hydroton (grow rocks made of special kiln-fired, lightweight aggregate) purchased from Desert Bloom Hydroponics.
None of these plants are native to Colorado, let alone the Grand Valley. I think I wanted to try them just because "they" said I couldn't. My first blueberry I bought at Lowe's. Just a standard Elliott blueberry. This is the one planted along with cranberries. I ordered my cranberries from Stark Bros. Nursery. I think I planted this one outside sometime in April, but I am not sure. The second blueberry I also got from Stark, it is a Pink Lemonade. My niece had just given me a beautiful azalea, so I decided to plant those two together.
In August of last year I had to move, luckily just across town. But in the process I did lose 2 of the 3 cranberries. One managed to hang in there! The blueberries had suffered from spider mites, and were recovering from the Floramite I had to spray them with. They got these from a local garden infested with them, *sigh*. Wow! The Floramite was rough! But it worked! Through the rest of the growing season the blues managed to recover and prepare for winter.
I was so nervous about the winter! It can get rough here! But, it was not rough, unless you count having to water in January rough. It was too warm and dry! Finally this Feb we actually got snowfall! Poor peach farmers!
Well here we are to the present, March 10. It has been 3 days at 60 degrees! Nights have not gotten below freezing in that time. It is still WAY too early to start planting, but I have sewn seeds for this year. Lemon Cucumber, Genovese Basil, Cilantro, Thai Hot Pepper, Mini Bell Pepper, Kumquat, Gourds, and Strawberry Popcorn. The only plants I plan on adding to this collection are Brussel Sprouts, Thyme, and Garlic. A few days ago I received my ...   LEMON TREE!!! Oh she is beautiful! They can grow here, outside in the summer and inside in the winter, in a container. It has not gone into much of a shock, so there is hope that it will be fine. Of course the day it arrived it was snowing.
Because of the warm days, I have been taking my seeds, and my lemon outside. I purchased another cranberry to attempt again, and this is acclimating. The blues have buds, and some new growth appearing. I think spring is here! Yes, I realize this is Colorado, and March. I know we will have one more big snow storm... but all you can do is go with the flow and protect your babies from a freeze when it gets here.
I do indoor gardening also. I have a bonsai (that my cat loves to eat... some kind of grass...), a cymbidium orchid, and a phalaenopsis orchid. The phalaenopsis is blooming again! So excited! I have never had that happen before!
So here is to a productive season!