When we moved in 6 years ago, I brought a few terracotta pots I'd formerly had positioned on top of a wall that separated our property from that of a next door neighbor. With no idea where to put them, I dumped 2 of them on a metal plant stand just outside the back door - and proceeded to ignore them. Filled with small succulents, they didn't need much attention but they deserved more than they got, which amounted to little more than an occasional splash of water. Replanting the pots was one of those easy projects I never seemed to get around to, until now.
I failed to get a photo of the sorry-looking things in-situ but I did photograph them when they were seated on my potting bench as their rehab was underway.
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| I'd already pulled some sad Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' and some of the small noID Aloes when I took this photo |
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| I took cuttings of the plants that were still usable in both pots |
The identity of the small orange Aloes included in both pots is a mystery. My best guess is that they're some form of Aloe haworthioides. Their perennial orange color may be due to the stress created by my ill treatment; however, their persistence in the face of adversity warranted recognition so I took cuttings for use elsewhere in the garden.
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| I cleaned up the dead leaves on the Aloes and rescued a few green pups, collecting more than 2 dozen tiny plants to add to the garden |
My local garden center had a 20% off Memorial Day sale on 4-inch succulents, which gave my rehab effort a boost.
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| This replanted pot contains 2 Rhipsalis neves armondii, 2 Aeonium urbicum 'Salad Bowl', and one Kalanchoe thyrsiflora 'Flapjacks' |
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| This one contains 2 Echeveria 'Serrana', 2 Sedum 'Blue Spruce', and 1 Kalanchoe tomentosa nigrum |
I put the 2 replanted pots back on the back patio but wasn't really satisfied with the way they looked.
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| The large gap between the top and bottom shelves bugged me |
I had one more of these terracotta planters sitting on my potting bench (with a few succulents that got watered even less often than those by the back door), so I decided to pot that up with cuttings from elsewhere in the garden and add it to the mix.
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| Cuttings used to fill this planter include Aeonium arboreum, Senecio vitalis, a few of the noID Aloes, and another noID succulent |
Here's the completed assemblage:
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| Assuming I do a better job of watering the plants, the Rhipsalis in the top planter should grow and hang down and the Senecio in the middle planter should grow taller and fuller, both helping to fill the space |
Pleased with how the 3 planters looked, I also planted up a pot I'd recently purchased as a gift but replaced when I realized it was too big. The black pot doesn't match anything else in my burgeoning pot collection but I found a spot for it by my potting bench.
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| The pot contains Aeonium arboreum 'Purpureum', Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' and Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Lime Versa' |
Voila! Easy projects that made me feel as though I'd accomplished something and a temporary distraction from the political news that continues to send shudders down my spine. I don't tweet but, in solidarity,
#Make Our Planet Great Again, #Paris Agreement, #DumpTrump. I'm proud that I at least live in a state that supports constructive action on climate change. Kudos to
Governor Jerry Brown!
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
