Friday, May 2, 2014

Just hanging around...

As I've mentioned before, finding tasteful hanging containers is not easy, I treasure the ones I have. On the left (below) is an old IKEA offering. For years it had been planted up with a mishmash of succulents, all of them struggling to survive. I finally got rid of them (okay not really, they were salvaged and will be planted out, elsewhere) and potted up the Selenicereus chrysocardium I purchased at Portland Nursery last January. Such a beautiful plant...

Although it is suffering a bit of sunburn, I've been ever so slowly introducing it to the full power of that orb in the sky but it's a power to be reckoned with...

In the orange ball (also from IKEA) is a poor agave, planted in this container when it was just a tiny thing. Now there's no way I could remove it without breaking the container, which of course I don't want to do.

The favorite of the lot, my Circle Pot from Potted. It has always hung from a branch in the wall-o-privet, but since that's now gone it needed a new home. Clifford (our big leaf magnolia) was a natural, but I worried about the weight, not wanting to damage his branches. Out with the planted succulents and in with Tillandsia Usneoides and T. xerographica. No extra weight from soil and I can easily dump any water that accumulates in the pot, since I've been fearful to drill this one for drainage, lest I break it.

Once Clifford fully leaves out it will in a happy dappled shade situation.


The newest hanging container in my collection was purchased at Portland Nursery last January, when they had their 30% all containers sale. I'd had my eye on it for awhile. I believe it's a product of Gainey Ceramics before they shut down.

It's bright apple green...

Just like our front door...

So of course it's hanging on the front porch. Planted up with Dichondra argentea 'Silver Falls' and a single black Ipomoea (Sweet Potato Vine) it should develop a nice long bit of foliage trailing downwards as summer progresses...

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

38 comments:

  1. Love the color combinations, especially the lime green and black. Niiice. I wonder if Ikea still has those pots...I'll check next time. Do you like the quality?

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    1. Oh yes, they are both fabulous...but no, not at IKEA any longer. Those are from 5, 6, 7 years ago. They do have a couple of nice big heavy pots this year, but white only...and no hanging ones either (when I was there).

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  2. Your hanging baskets are all so beautiful! Mine are, well, about as crappy as you can get. I think I'm too worried about breakage, and I usually forget to bring them indoors before it freezes.

    Are yours all hanging from wires, or is some of it cord? If it's cord that has been out in the weather for a year or two, check that it's still strong and shows no signs of damage. I've had cords fail before, although it's usually a plastic hook or the plastic pot itself that cracks (UV damage).

    I really do wonder how those single-cord baskets connect to the pot...
    (I can picture them spinning around from wind during a good storm too!)

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    1. They are all wire, I've had a couple in the past that were connected with cord and yes they failed. The white one in the top photo had black nylon cord that I thought would last longer than it did, took me forever to find a metal replacement.

      As for freezing I lost a second one of that little orange ball, forgetting to bring it in and it basically exploded. Lesson learned! Now they all come in, or get cleaned out, in the fall.

      As for the single cord it's a heavy wire with a crimped clasp at the end, last year when the circle pot was heavier (with soil) it didn't move much at all, but thanks for the reminder to keep an eye on it. Being so light now a good windstorm (which we have all to often) might be damaging.

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  3. IKEA seems to be changing their designs much more often now. I wish they still had this hanger. It's perfect.

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    1. In my experience (I worked for them, briefly) it's only the really popular stuff that gets brought back for a second, or third season. It's too bad as there are somethings people would buy year after year if they could.

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  4. Great pictures of your back yard (hi, Lila!) and your entry. I really like how you've styled the porch area. Beautiful!

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    1. Lila appreciates the call out, and I appreciate your kind words.

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  5. I like your hanging baskets, they fit in really well with your garden.

    I think I am also slightly jealous because there is no way that I could try anything like that in my garden because it is just too windy up at that height :(

    ZOMG! I have just noticed your Syneilesis under Clifford. Are you feeding them steroids because they are massive?

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    1. Yikes you guys have me worrying about the wind now!

      I know right? I have no idea why my syneilesis are so insane this year, I've done nothing.

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  6. Love, love, love your style! Come for a visit and leave some of it here, please.

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    1. Ah, you're too kind Vicki. But let's wait and see if you feel that way after you been here and seen it all in person...

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  7. Those are shower curtain hooks?! That is the best idea, so much better than S hooks. I've got to dig into these photos and see how you crimped the wire. It's such a clean look, nothing to distract from the planter or the plant.

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    1. Yes, good eye! I wondered if anyone would notice. When I bought the metal hanging parts they just had a crimped end which wouldn't fit through the hole on the planter. I had those hooks left from another project (nope not a shower curtain) and they worked fine. At first they kind of bothered me, screaming out "shower curtain hook!!!" every time I walked by but now my eyes have gotten used to them.

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  8. Nice front door light, too.

    Looking like spring in your area--you must be happy. Tummy rubs to Lila.

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    1. It is! Although with a high of 89 yesterday it feels more like summer. Lila says thank you...

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  9. The plants and placement you chose for the green pot are perfect. I wasn't quite sure the orange circle pot had Lila's approval since she turned her back on it - or is it a matter of the pot and Clifford getting attention that should rightly go to her?

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    1. Oh yes, she's had quite enough of having to fight the plants for attention. Plus she's fulfilling her role as guard dog, notice she's facing the gate into the back garden.

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  10. Great new planter and combo.

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  11. Love the tillandsias in the circle pot! And all the colors. You have a great eye for color combinations.

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    1. Thank you! I'm kind of heavily invested in the bright colors, I hope I don't suddenly one day decide I need to tone things down. I've been known to have rapid and thorough changes of taste.

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  12. Amazing, Danger! I love your circle pot. The tillandsia look really sharp in there.

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    1. I love my circle pot as much as the day I got it, yay for that!

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    2. That is happy! You know it was a good investment when you can say that. I keep telling myself I'm going to buy one, but a couple weeks ago I got a hover planter from Pot Inc! YAY!

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  13. Your hanging pots have inspired me. All those fun colors! I have a new one up myself.

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    1. I love your new Pot Inc. pot Pam, and it looks great hanging in your entry. I tried to comment several times on your blog post yesterday but my computer was having issues.

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  14. Fabulous containers - all of them. They bring such great pops of color to your garden. You’re right - it’s not easy to find nice ones and that’s why I don’t have many. I think a trip to IKEA is in my future when school lets out. My daughter (who plans to be an interior designer) loves that place so we’ll make a day of it because it’s about 45 minutes from our house. And we’ll eat Swedish meatballs for lunch!

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    1. You're brave eating those meatballs, they kind of scare me! Hope you find some wonderful IKEA treasures.

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  15. Your garden is really quite beautiful. I'm very impressed. I love the orange circular pot. The lack of drainage is inconvenient. But I suppose it was meant to be a vase. I've grown Juniperus conferta. It can be quite dense. Prune it often & early in its development, or it may overwhelm the other plants.

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    1. Thank you Jordan! They do offer to drill the container at Potted, the store it came from. My husband just didn't think to ask when he ordered it and although I've done it myself many a time that one is just to precious to risk it with.

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  16. I adore the color of your front door. And the new pot...is perfect! Your pot choices are really fun and inspiring!

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    1. I see people walking by who look at the front door with a but of horror. I guess that green isn't for everyone but I love it...

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  17. I've always admired your selection of hanging pots, very stylish they all are especially the orange one which makes a statement where you've placed it at the moment.

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  18. Lila is very forgiving of your taking credit for all her work on these hanging pots! She's really outdone herself this year and I especially like how the tillandsias look in the circle pot. Great minds (or addicted ones) think alike. I got a Selenicereus chrysocardium on sale at Molbaks. However, mine is still in the tacky white plastic hanging pot.

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    1. So tell me how much sun your Selenicereus chrysocardium is getting. I am starting to think I'm going to have to move it to a shadier location.

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  19. Beautiful!! I didn´t know your front door was green!! I like it and I like how the pot matches it!
    Love tillandsias...they die here where I live because there is not enough humidity in the air...
    It will be interesting to see how that agave develops.

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