Here we go…the first of a series of container ensembles for 2020. If you’ve followed our postings from previous years, you may remember that our goal is to plant up containers in June which will be easy to maintain and still look fabulous in September.
Start with the pot. When I design a container I try to select plants that work well with the chosen vessel. Consider the container’s shape, color and texture. In the design above I have used Melianthus major, hardy to zone 9, as the main feature in this multi-hued green drum pot. I tucked in Golden Jewels of Opar and Helichrysum ‘Limelight’ to add light and drape, and the petite form of silver Tradescantia sillamontana. This container is located in a spot that gets 6-7 hours of sun.
This Iron urn gets dappled light most of the day. I’ve used Oxalis ‘Iron Cross’ to pick up the tone of the urn, plus Oxalis ‘Copper Glow’, Helichrysum ‘Limelight’ for lightness and Begonia ‘Ebony’, which will give height as the season progresses. Note the Begonia has the same coral pink flowers as the Oxalis ‘Iron Cross’. I had hopes for the golden Moses- in-the-cradle (Tradescantea spathacea), but it is beginning to dissolve…and I don’t know why.
This large Grecian urn is in shade most of the day. Plants featured are Begonia thurstonii, with its glossy bronze foliage and pink flowers, Oxalis ‘Zinfandel’, Ming Fern (Asparagus retrofractus) in the back, which you cannot see much of yet, golden Moses- in-the-cradle in the foreground and Plectranthus ‘Limelight’ which will hopefully trail to disguise the iron stain on the vessel.
This urn gets the first hours of morning sun, then dappled shade the rest of the day. It’s a variation on what I did last year, with a few updates. For height I’ve used Blue Rabbits-Foot Fern (Phlebodium aureum), accented with Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’, little Cuphea hyssopifolia lutea, Tolmeia ‘Cool Gold’ and Jasmine ‘Fiona Sunrise’.
Playing with contrasts here: white and black, rustic and elegant. A rustic hypertufa bowl in dappled shade has Sansevieria ‘Moonshine’ adding a vertical thrust along with smaller Liriope ‘Okimo’, and to spill over the sides Pilea glauca, Thunbergia alata alba (Black Eyed Susan Vine) and Dichondra argentea.
This gorgeous pot with its salt-crackle finish of turquoise over bronze called for succulents. A tall Aeonium arboreum adds height, with additional rosettes from tawny toned Graptoveria ‘Fred Ives’ and Echeveria ‘Autumn Flame’. Senecio talinoides picks up the blue tones. For sun to partial shade…
Just potted up hours ago, this 28″ brown terracotta bowl showcases my new fav, iMangave ‘Desert Dragon’ , in the center. Sticks on Fire (Euphorbia turicalli v. rosea) adds height, with Graptosedum ‘California Sunset’, Pachysedum, Haworthia, Sempervivums, Crassula lycopoides and Echeveria nodulosa acting as fillers. Small leaved yellow Sedum mackinoi ‘Ogon’ is repeated around the container’s edge, where it hopefully will spill over the sides.
A new version of a seashell planter with Echeveria ‘Dick’s Pink’ in the spotlight. Pale sea green Graptoveria ‘Moonglow’ fills either side, with bronzy Sedum tetractinum and Senecio ‘String of Pearls’ cascading down.
This tall lightweight gray cylinder pot is in area that is seen by everyone almost daily. It’s important that it looks good and needs little care, so of course succulents come to play. In the past I’ve used a lot of silver and blue toned succulents…this year I’m playing with green, bronze and gold. The tall green succulent is a large leaved form of Portulacaria afra that we found at a specialty shop in LA.
You may wonder, and the answer is yes, I do like flowers, but I do try to avoid flowering plants that need constant deadheading or are very thirsty. This pair of freshly planted white ribbon pots (for a client ) have 3 easy long-blooming tender perennials that will give a show all summer: Blue Plumbago, Gomphrena ‘Fireworks’ and Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’, with a variegated ivy that will spill over the sides.
Check back in late September when I post the end of season photos in the final review of which ensembles worked well and which did not. I do have more pots to do, and if time allows I’ll post images. Click this link for previous years results.