When your Yucca is finished blooming…

I have a confession to make…I’m a tidy gardener. I wish I were the type who let things go to seed, left leaves lying about where they would break down and feed the soil, let it all just naturally happen around her. Maybe it’s the modernist in me? I like clean lines and sharp edges. Wow, glad that’s off my chest. I feel better. You had no idea right?

So why am I telling you this now? Because for years I’ve been admiring skeletal old Yucca blooms left to age in place, they look so regal and yet menacing. I’ve tried to leave mine…I last about a week, tops, and then I’m out there cutting them down. Not this time! I had an idea! And since this involved buying plants you know it actually had a chance of being successful. Let me backtrack a bit….remember the fabulous about to bloom Yucca recurvifolia 'margarita' I bought for the front of the house? Well it bloomed, and then faded, fast. Gone. A skeleton left in its place. I was determined to just let this one be… Then one day at New Seasons Market I saw them, small and inexpensive Tillandsia… and I thought, why not! Now my Yucca bloom skeleton is a home for a few Tillandsia… I foraged for a little moss and tucked them in, then secured it all with just a tiny piece of wire. Oh this makes me happy! I think I might just be able to leave this bloom skeleton for quite awhile…