Friday, June 17, 2016

My new garden bulletin board – part of the Aeonium Challenge

I love a garden project, especially when it gives me a new place to put plants! Let's look at the "parts" that make up this whole...
Part 1: I first fell for these round disc planters when I visited Sky Nursery north of Seattle – but they were expensive so I didn't make the purchase.

Then last fall Cornell Farms had a sale! I ended up with two of the smaller ones, or maybe they're actually the next size up – I've lost track.

Part 2: Do you remember this piece of expanded metal I picked up at Earthwise Salvage? I had no idea what I'd be doing with it when I made the purchase, but once I had the disc planters in my possession it became clear. After all I knew I wanted them to hang on the side of the house, but I also knew there was no way on earth Andrew would be up for putting holes in the siding. Somehow this was going to be my solution.

Part 3: Then when the Aeonium Challenge started kicking around in my head I finally knew what would be going in the planters. I bought 2 different kinds of Aeonium at Cistus. These are A. 'Blackbeard' – the other (shown below) is A. 'Embarcadero Red' (a Cistus introduction). A couple of Dichondra argentea 'Silver Falls' will complete the picture.

Part 4: It all comes together! Planted up and awaiting final placement.

Oh ya, and that little issue of putting holes in the siding? Well there was a compromise. It turns out keeping the garage water-tight isn't as quite as important as the house – still behind each washer is a nice dollop of silicone.

I wanted a mounting method that would allow me to easily remove the metal panel, Andrew came up with this solution.

I think it rather handsome.

Ta-da!

I also must credit him with designating this new addition the garden "bulletin board." The disc planters are just wired in place, so easily removed if I want to try something different (Tillandsia perhaps?)...

I love catching glimpses of it from around the garden.

Although the shadow play makes getting a decent photo difficult. The colors look so flat here.

When really they're not.

The Aeoniums get just about an hour of direct morning sunlight. Hopefully that's enough to keep them happy but still looking good in the heat of the summer.

Two weeks after initial planting the Dichondra is starting to "fall"...

I do hope you're scheming on what to do to answer the Aeonium Challenge. To enter just send me an image of your Aeonium original by July 4th (spiky plants at gmail dot com). You could win an Aeonium collection from Cistus Nursery as well as have a lot of fun getting creative!

All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

31 comments:

  1. Nicely done! I like the mounting method. And I love hardware! So much you can do if you just play around with all the different parts.

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    1. You should have seen us in the hardware aisle at HD. So many options!

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  2. AnonymousJune 17, 2016

    A good idea, and a good job!
    John(Aberdeen)

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  3. Another brilliant idea. Eventually there'll be a Danger Garden book, and a line of garden accessories. I'm sure of that :-).

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    1. Ha! You're funny -- but I appreciate the confidence.

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  4. I'm convinced that learning to weld is a good idea. Cool planters--they are steel? You've arranged them beautifully.

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    1. I think they are steel, and yes...welding would be a very good thing!

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  5. Really great! Nice mounting solution too Andrew!

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    1. I'll let him know. Funny when we got done with this he said "and I've just lost the respect of men everywhere..." (because he put holes in the wall)

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  6. Genius & beautiful! Love it!

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    1. Hey thanks -- and I hope you put your talent to work and come up with something for the challenge!

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  7. what a great idea, and how creative! and just imagine all the other things you could hang on it. I can't wait to see how the silver falls looks at the end of summer!

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    1. I've had mixed results with 'Silver Falls'...it never seems to look as good in my garden as it does in other peoples. Maybe this is the hear for success!

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  8. I'm quite impressed with your creativity. Looks super. It's fun to have things lolling around in the back of your mind and then having that 'aha' moment. Having the metal grate set slightly away adds a nice extra touch.

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    1. Thanks Tim, and I agree about the lolling and really like the fact it's away from the wall...as a design choice. I think for Andrew it was a decision based on what was best for the garage!

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  9. I feel the same way about expanded metal, just can't pass up remnants of it. I love this!

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  10. I love the containers with or without the Aeoniums and Dichondra. I've been seeing them around for the last year and their simplicity is perfect for a contemporary design. I'm also excited that you are using Dichondra. I love that plant and have been using it for years, but I'm always amazed that I don't see it around that much. Your containers will be drool worthy when it reaches maturity by the end of the summer!

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    1. I hope you're right. I see others with a thick luxurious bunch of leaves and mine always looks a little sad...

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  11. Your Aeonium subjects are new to me. I hope your challenge helps encourage growers to experiment with Aeoniums - they do so well in my climate and I could use some new varieties to play with. I went shopping in my local area for new prospects but came up almost empty. I may have to work with what I already have on hand for now.

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    1. I doubt I have that much influence but I like the idea!

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  12. You, my friend, are a wizard! The creative things you do with planters is inspiring!

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    1. Thank you Peter. Hope you're participating?

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  13. Love, love, love it! I wish aeoniums would survive here. I suppose I could just treat them as annuals but I hate to somehow... Anyway, I love your wall-mounted planting :)

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    1. It's kind of the same here, only seasons flipped. They never look great after winter.

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  14. Love it - it looks great! I have a similar solution for a big ol' metal screen that will be mounted on a wall this summer - as soon as I finish painting. We'll see if it holds - it is so heavy. Fingers crossed... As for the Aeonium challenge, I'll probably send you a photo of a few little perished scraps, as that's how they usually end up looking when I'm done with them. Sadly, I have NO talent for keeping Aeoniums alive. :(

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    1. Ah come on...maybe as a nice summer feature? And I can't wait to see your screen and what you do with it.

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  15. I love it!! A wall art that ties in nicely with the rest of your planting and so contemporary too. Hmmm, might borrow this idea, we have space for something like this and was just talking about it earlier...

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  16. I think you have the talent to turn just about anything you get your hands on into a piece of tasteful garden art - you have a great eye. Can't wait to see that dichondra once its 'falling' really gets going. I wonder if it will try to weave into the metal?

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  17. Another winner for the Loree/Andrew team! I'm trying Dichondra for the first time and, would you believe, found it at Freddy's in Scappoose (guess it isn't exotic any more).

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