Of course I asked for the backstory, I mean how does one come to have a crevice garden in the back of their truck? Kenton wrote: "Our local extension agent for Colorado State University hosted a "Demo Days," where institutions and professionals offered small educational programs to the public at the master gardner's venue. No amount of talking or waving of arms can really beat actually building a crevice garden at a workshop, so I copied the idea from my crevice-garden building Canadian counterpart, Paul Spriggs, who has a wooden box and a pile of rocks he uses every year that fits in the back of his work pickup to take to workshops. I've been part of workshops with him up there in Victoria, and it sure is good idea. The event area here was vehicle inaccessible, so I did my demo in the parking lot and didn't even take the box out of the truck, electing to build it right in the bed. It weighed almost a half ton, but took less than an hour to deconstruct after I drove it home."
In case you're curious that stunning Agave is A. parryi v. couesii.
If you're a lover of crevice gardens you should definitely check out I Need A Cup Of Tea, Kenton shares great photos and the knowledge acquired by building these gardens all over the world. This video (here) of Kenton giving a presentation at the JC Raulston Arboretum also fantastic.
Weather Diary, June 18: Hi 79, Low 58/ Precip 0"
Photos by Kenton J. Seth and used with permission. All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
It does look like it's weighing down the back of that truck quite a bit. I like the idea of a crevice garden - just not the thought of toting home another large pile of stone.
ReplyDeleteWhich is why you should hire a professional to install it for you! Then you can just plant it up at your leisure.
DeleteA great idea! Can you imagine seeing this in traffic?
ReplyDeleteMost people probably wouldn't even notice. Where as I would get in an accident if this passed me.
DeleteAt first I was thinking he always has this garden in the bed of his truck! Would be great advertising : ) I do like the idea of a crevice garden. Might work here for succulents. We have the heat just need good drainage. Tucking this away!
ReplyDeleteI thought that too, when I first saw the photos.
DeleteIsn't that blog incredible? Panayoti Kelaidis highly recommended Kenton Seth and his blog (and a couple others whose names I've forgotten!) when he spoke locally about crevice gardens last February. Another fascinating rabbit hole to fall into...
ReplyDeleteI wrote a story on crevice gardens for the Oregon Assoc of Nurseries (I'm too insecure to link to it here) and Kenton was extremely helpful and gracious. We had a long conversation and he followed up with answers via email. He's an amazing human.
DeleteThanks for the reminder about Kenton's blog. I haven't visited for a while. Great ideas and lots of plants that can work for me in my gravel garden!
ReplyDeleteIndeed...I can see the structure of a crevice garden being incredibly successful in your garden.
DeleteThe truck looks like it's been in its own crevice too! lol
ReplyDeleteNice job, I'm intrigued by working with small cracks and crevices. My front garden has lots of small spaces between the rocks, though not as tight as this.
It's a working truck that's for sure!
DeleteKenton is an incredibly talented crevice gardener. I have seen his work at the Denver Botanic Gardens and met a woman who had him create a CG dream come true in her back yard. A couple of years ago I contacted him to chat about him creating one of his masterpieces in my garden. Financially it didn't make sense but our conversations about crevice gardens continued for weeks. He is a wizard when it comes to rock work, and a very thoughtful teacher.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous you've seen his work in person, I hope to visit the DBG in 2019, and maybe even another crevice garden location or two!
DeleteThat looks fun actually, it must get the curious looks whenever it drives around. Clever idea too for demonstration purposes. If I was going to do something similar, a mobile demo display I'd probably pad the base with styro just to make it a bit lighter to shift around.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to watch people as he drove by, must have attracted all sorts of attention — especially with the huge Agave at the top.
DeleteHuman ingenuity!
ReplyDeleteRight? Love it.
DeleteBrilliant! And an excellent conversation starter.
ReplyDelete