Each time I open my garden for a tour, a different plant seems to be the "it" plant, the one everyone asks about. When 50 people came through on June 1st it wasn't a plant that got all the attention though, it was the metal.
For starters everyone wanted to know where I got my dish planters, and they were surprised to learn I made them, no welding required! The other metal pieces around the garden were also remarked on, one person even asked if I was a metal worker. I couldn't help but laugh at the trouble that would get me into! Answering their questions it occurred to me to do a "where are they now" update on my haul from a visit to BBC Steel last September. To refresh your memory (or keep you from having to click on that link), here's what I purchased all laid out on the scale for weighing. Three expanded metal panels, three metal tubes, and a welded together series of 15 short tubes; total cost...$27.
I'll start here, although that metal piece on the wall didn't come from BBC Steel, it came from a salvage shop in Seattle. But it was my mental jumping off point for what I ended up doing with the panels from BBC (more on the making of this piece here, and yes, I was playing with tillandsia placement when this photo was taken, that long one on the right didn't stay).
Just around the corner is the first BBC panel...
It's just leaning against the garage, and I've added a planter of Clematis repens ‘Bells of Emei Shan’ and a tillandsia. The planter's shape echoes that of the trashcan lid full of bromeliads to its right.
The other two panels are against the fence behind the shade pavilion, one leaning, one mounted on the fence.
The "danger" planter is a piece of ducting I bought years ago at Portland's Rebuilding Center, the danger sign a gift from the lovely Laurin Lindsey of Ravenscourt Gardens.
These, of course, are two of the dish planters that got so much attention. They're filled with Billbergia nutans and Dichondra argentea.
Let's take a closer look at the expanded metal panel.
The planters came from Garden Fever. I wanted something simple that would be easy to hang. I should probably go back and get a couple more while they still have them. In the planters are...
Rhipsalis pentaptera
Aechmea recurvata v. recurvata
Rhipsalis baccifera subsp horrida
I decided the other panel needed to be hung, luckily Andrew was willing to make that happen.
Are your eyes drawn to that sexy bromeliad on the left, under the circle planter? Mine are.
It's one I purchased from Dick's greenhouse, on, I think, my third visit there.
The subtle variegation has gotten stronger since I moved it outside.
Okay, let's look at the plants on the panel. The planter at the top holds Neoregelia Hannibal Lector 'Governors Plea', Vriesea rubyae, and a couple of NOID cryptanthus.
Cryptanthus bivittatus 'Crimson Star'
Quesnelia marmorata 'Tim Plowman'
And more Rhipsalis, this one maybe R. campos-portoana.
Rhipsalis ewaldiana (on the right).
And because more plants is always the right answer I added a vine at the bottom, hoping it will grow up the panel, even though it's in a little more shade than it really wants.
The vine is Holboellia coriacea 'Cathedral Gem' (aka Cathedral Gem Sausage Vine).
Monrovia sent me a few plants to trial, and this vine was one I asked for.
Funny thing. When I bought the metal panels last fall I pictured them going here, on the fence at the back of our property. I'd already asked for the sausage vine and planned on putting it here, growing on the panels.
The fence is mostly hidden by the bamboo, but when you can see it...
It's not very attractive.
However since Monrovia didn't send me the plants until just a couple of weeks ago I had plenty of time to rethink the placement of the panels and they ended up on the more visible fence. Then, since Monrovia sent me two of the vines, rather than just one, I had an extra to experiment with here. You do see where this is going right? I have to go back to BBC Steel to buy more panels for the back fence for other vine to grow on. Darn.
So what about the other things I purchased?
One of the big tubes is holding up my fern bowl.
The other one is supporting a dish planter in the driveway.
The slender tube is supporting one of the metal containers that hangs off the front of the garage in the wintertime. The metal containers are moved when warmer weather appears, so the point pot and it's charcoal companion can move in.
As for this piece I still haven't come up with a use for it, but you know I'm thinking on it.
Weather Diary, June 9: Hi 82, Low 51/ Precip 0
All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
Looking good! Being able to move the plants into your basement(?) for the winter is a major benefit of the containers as well.
ReplyDeleteI hate that I have to plan for that, but I do. What a different garden I would have if things could just stay in place year round.
DeleteI love what you did with all your metal pieces. You definitely need more. I believe in "more is always better." I would be stumped by that multi-tubed piece too.
ReplyDeleteI thought a trio of test tubes I have would fit in the tubes. So it could act—partially—as a vase, but no such luck.
DeleteI can see why you'd want the expanded metal pieces under the SP -- because it's such an amazing framing device! And what's so cool about all this is the broms can handle the shallow soil and will thrive. I love seeing how you turn it into a show garden every spring, always with new tweaks and new plants. Oh, and what's the harm in taking a welding class? ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd there are welding classes offered by a shop very close to home. It's just a matter of finding the time...
DeleteGreat applications for these pieces, Loree. How are these recent heat waves affecting your plantings?
ReplyDeleteWe're just now ramping up to the heat. Today was 86 and tomorrow and Wed jump to 98. So far so good, I've been trying to deep water in preparation.
DeleteThe Billbergia nutans/Dichondra argentea planters are especially attractive. The proportions (and colors) are all just right! No surprise visitors oohed and ahhhed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'm pretty in love with those dish planters, much better than what I had planted in them previously.
DeleteHeavy Metal! You are magic with the stuff!
ReplyDeleteAnd I used to have the big hair and concert t-shirts to prove it!
DeleteYour readers would all really like to see a photo of you from that era!
DeleteI'll join the choir admiring the dish planters with Billbergia nutans and Dichondra argentea. The entire shed pavilion looks spik-and-span for the open house. All the questions and comments about the metal elements is a testament to your impeccable design style. I'd love to read bloggers who posted about their visit to your garden; I find it fascinating to see a garden from a new point of view. That aside, how lucky are you to become a test gardner for Monrovia?
ReplyDeleteInterestingly I don't think a single one of the people who visited were bloggers. Although they did take a lot of photos!
DeleteAs with your mantlescapes, I'm awed, Loree. I wish I had half your imagination and eye for design. I was surprised by the Clematis in the metal planter shown in your 5th photo - I'd have thought the planter was too small but you've got blooms! Your bromeliads all look fantastic too.
ReplyDeleteP.S. When my husband was converting his old sports car to electric power many years ago, he had to learn to weld. I've never heard so much swearing from him in my life.
I didn't have to remove any of the soil around that clematis when I planted it in the container, I just sort of reshaped it. And thank you for the kind words.
DeleteI am always amazed at the amount of work you put into your containers before they get plants. And is that a Podophyllum in picture4? Gorgeous. Turn that welded piece into a vase for lilies.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a podophyllum, a big clump I inherited when a friend/neighbor moved. The welded piece is only about 7" tall, not really the right height for lilies. I did think I was going to be able to use it as a vase but sadly the text tubes I thought would fit within a few of the voids are too big.
DeleteYou are so creative, Loree! That is so funny that the impressions were of great effort, but you were simply wise in your purchases and plans. Everything looks great. Much respect for your garden creativity!
ReplyDeleteThank you Beth!
DeleteYou are the queen of plant staging. Everything looks amazing. Curious how you keep the tall bromeliads from falling out of the shallow planting pans?
ReplyDeleteBromeliads are actually pretty shallow rooted plants. The hardest part is planting them up and then carrying the planting pan to the back garden without having one fall. Once in place they do fine, and are then well rooted in the autumn when I carry them downstairs.
DeleteI love expanded steel and have several panels too. Funny though, that last piece, all the pipes welded together is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteGive me some ideas on what you would do with it!.....
DeletePERFECTION. I can't say any more than that. Please please take me to that place the next time I'm in Portland. I need panels like that. Lots of them.
ReplyDeleteYou're gonna need that big red truck again...
DeleteI don't know much about bromeliad names but that Neoregelia cultivar absolutely kills me. A quick google tells me there's also a "Clarise." I'll have to do some research into that backstory!
ReplyDelete