Getting Deck Garden Ready for Summer

My little deck garden ready for a hot Missouri summer - sort of.

The official beginning of summer is my cue to make sure my little deck garden is ready for the growing season.

I have been growing herbs and favorite vegetables in pots for many years. Trying to grow anything on a Missouri limestone hill is enough of a challenge without teasing plants trying to find soil in hot weather conditions.

My herbs, mostly in the center, grow quite well in pots as long as caterpillars don't find them. I keep an orange tree, left, grown from seed for about 20 years as a butterfly smorgasboard. Last year, black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars denuded the tree late spring.

Cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, onions and tomatoes are in pots along the perimeter. I tend to end up with more tomatoes than planned because i keep finding volunteers. Not having the heart to kill them, I transplant  them to their own growing spots, including some of my pots full of flowers. At one time, tomatoes were grown as ornamental plants.

And yes, that's a banana tree in the corner, an office auction win. It's still a juvenile so I don't expect to see any fruit any time soon. It spends winters in my dining room, just in case.

Charlotte