Friday, June 22, 2018

Bromeliad planters, Version 2.0

About this same time last year I shared photos of changes I'd made in the shady corner, specifically the planting up of two tall metal tubes...

As with everything in this corner I loved them. There was one small problem though. As summer went on the plastic nursery pots I'd stacked inside the tube (in order to not fill the tube with soil) compressed. I looked at the plantings one day and noticed they'd both sunk a little, one a good seven inches or so. Getting them out and back up to level with the top of the tube was not easy.

That fact, plus the sad state of the plantings come spring (ya, I'm embarrassed to show how badly I neglected them, especially the ferns) had me looking for other ideas...

(that's not dead moss, it was once a fern)

Remember the dish — aka trash can lid — I planted the Sarracenia in (shown in this post)?

Well I found two others for the Bromeliads.

I also vowed to plant them up with only things that lived through last winter's growing conditions (no more dead ferns!), so that included Rhipsalis...

The finished project, 2018-style...

I'm all sorts of in love with them.
In addition to an assortment of Bromeliads I also worked in bits from my Fascicularia pitcairnifolia (the tall thin leaves).

The poor plant had been rather root-bound for years, but kept on keeping on like a trooper, until I managed to do something about its sad state this spring. After pulling it out of the pot I hacked it into smaller pieces, which I shared with a couple of friends, then planted bits in the Bromeliad dishes and then put the largest chunk back in the pot with new soil...

I think those bits, along with a few Tillandsia, make for an interesting planting.

I picked up this toothy Bromeliad at May's Rare Plant Research open house.

Not knowing it was fixing to bloom so soon. This started pushing out a few days after I planted up the dishes and took most of these photos. Oh well. I've been assured that Aechmea keep on living for quite awhile after blooming. Hopefully it will have produced a pup, or two, by the time it dries up.

As you know I am a lover of sunny desert gardens, but I swear this shady corner really is stealing my heart.

Other plants in the mix include a variegated Aspidistra elatior 'Variegata' and a Brunnera macrophylla 'Hadspen Cream' (behind the fern-filled stock-tank). The metal disc leaning up against the garage wall was gifted to me by Alison, while I figure out what it's ultimate use will be it's hiding the plug-in I use to heat the Shade Pavilion Greenhouse on super cold nights.

That's the latest in the shady corner...

Weather Diary, June 21: Hi 71, Low 62/ Precip trace

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

23 comments:

  1. I love it. You have such a unique style. The next time you're down here, I'll ask for design help. I've got the plants, just no idea how to do what you do. BTW, the Fascicularia pitcairnifolia you gave me are doing well. One's in a pot now, the other in the ground.

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    1. I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. What about your cool Bromeliad planter/wall? Glad the Fascicularia are doing well.

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  2. What I like (beside the plants themselves and your combos) is that horizontal element the new planters add to the mix. Looking at the first photo I realized it was a bit static but it only seemed obvious once you changed it. I think I tend to leave things or do the same thing too often when I look at how much you re-evaluate.

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    1. Well of course it helps the push to re-evaluate when your original plantings are half dead!

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  3. Wow, that's beautiful. and very inspiring! I've never seen a bromeliad with spines; it's a perfect fit for your garden.

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    1. Thanks Maggie, and those spines are mean!

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  4. You're becomming a shady lady! Aren't we lucky to live in this climate where we can grow both desert plants and fabulous-foliaged, water-loving shade plants? I like this year's version of your bromeliad planters.

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  5. I like the redo. It makes these plants look lush and not smashed together. You can see everything clearly. Wonderful treatment for a shady corner.

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  6. 2.0 definitely looks more polished. Some of my bromeliads need TLC and rehab too - it's unfortunate you're not close enough to call in as a consultant!

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    1. Not that I'd know the first thing about how to treat them when you can grow them in the ground...

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  7. Lovely! bromeliads are one plant I don't even want to torture by trying to grow, but yours look great. Some of my beds really need some vertical elements... Maybe I can adopt your design with something that likes the desert?

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    1. But you've got your great tube planters!

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  8. Looks fantastic, Loree. I love it!

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  9. I'm crazy about version 2.0. Each element would be lovely as a stand alone, but as a grouping they are stunning. I wasn't familiar with Fascicularia pitcairnifolia, or at least I didn't know it's name, but it sure is on my radar now! I'm inspired and need to start discovering the nurseries in my new hood. Thanks!

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    1. Bach's and B&B are the two I remember loving from our Tucson visit years ago. I'm kinda jealous...

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  10. For a shady person like myself... no, that didn't come out right. I'll start over:
    For a shad-loving person like myself there is nothing better then a shady corner done right! I love both versions of the display, but what I like the most is that you are willing to examine and revamp periodically. The variegated Aspidistra is lovely and will be looking for one of those. What is the other variegated plant in the tub? Only two leafs are showing, but it's quite striking.

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    1. That's a variegated lily-of-the-valley. I'm hoping it bulks up a little next year.

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  11. Love your garden style. All of the repurposed items really look great and so funky.

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  12. The shady corner looks great. The tubes to provide height is an excellent idea.

    At lease one Aechmaea here seems to take its time to expire--one purchased in bloom produced five offsets over a couple of years before it was done.

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