Last summer I was working difficult hours and didn’t have the inclination to do any gardening at our house. With the big change a month ago came the desire to spruce up our concrete with a little color.

Yes, concrete. My wife and I live in a townhome with very little garden space. What little space is available gets planted and maintained by our homeowners association. We do have a fair amount of concrete between the home and the garden space, and that is what I use to add color to the otherwise drab gray.

With the exception of last year, each May I have my mom over and we plan what we’re going to plant. We make a trip out to Al’s Garden Center and then come home with a few treasures that are aching for quality soil. It’s a fun mother-son outing, and she enjoys it quite a bit. Mom is a green thumb and always has helpful advice.

The front porch gets morning sun and the back of the house gets hot afternoon sun. There’s little room to plant much in the back, but I do grow a tomato plant there with excellent results.

Mom and I got together on May 18 to plant this summer’s color bowls. Below are a few pictures of what we did followed by progress photos taken yesterday, June 29. Everything is looking good, but I caught a few of these plants between blooms:

We’ve had a fair amount of rain over the past six weeks. We’re currently experiencing some sun and heat, which will help growth. I’ll post more pictures mid-summer.