Monday, December 5, 2022

A few late November/early December garden goings on

'Tis the season to have changed up the container pair hanging on the front of our garage...

I'd left these two (below) up until we returned from the New York City adventure, but knowing the pottery is likely to crack with soaked soil and freezing temperatures, the time had come to take them down (photo from my summer garden tour).

Up went the metal containers made from shades of clip-on spotlights. I've been using them as winter hanging containers for a few years now and the large holes provide great drainage.

Planted in the shades are small Agave 'Mateo' pups and Lonicera crassifolia, both plants I had on hand.

Although I had purchased the lonicera thinking of this project.

I love that some of the lonicera has taken on reddish hues with the cold—a nice match for the red tips and teeth on the agave.

Speaking of cold, there has yet to be a killing freeze here in my garden. Elsewhere around town there has been, but we've been so windy things have stayed just above the deadly mark. I keep expecting to find this Cobaea scandens (cup-and-saucer vine) toasted by frost but it is still looking good.

Not so for this poor defenseless—spineless—Agave bracteosa, looks like our rabbit decided to nibble. Dammit!

The Tetrapanax papyrifer blooms are still trying to flower, and the leaves aren't limp yet.

Although some are falling to the ground or hanging and begging to be cut off.

While cleaning up leaves around the garden last Saturday I grabbed a few fallen tetrapanax leaves and broke the stems across my knee, easier to fit them in the yard waste bags that way. I have done this a million times but never have I seen this, tetrapanax silly string!

At first I thought it was one of the fibers that form the outside of the tube, but no, it was in the hollow of the stem.

I sliced the rest of the tube down to the base of the leaf and found the string got wider and turned to ribbon. Aren't plants cool!?

*Sunday evening update* (I had completed this post on Saturday), we had snow! Somehow the temperature remained above freezing while snow started to accumulate around the garden. The Cobaea scandens is still unfazed...

Okay, one last photo of the Agave 'Mateo' / Lonicera crassifolia combo, because I love it so. They'll stay here over the winter and then be planted out in the garden come spring...

All material © 2009-2022 by Loree L Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

12 comments:

  1. Tetrapanax ribbons! You should get credit for coining this phrase: I love it. What did the 'ribbon' feel like?
    The clip-on spotlight planters are so great. I'm trying to figure out if it could work in my garden too...
    Chavli

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    1. The ribbon was very soft and moist (I know many hate this word, but nothing else seems to fit), it's now dried out and smaller but still pliable.

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  2. Around here, Lonicera are huge vines so this is a new variety to me. Love your creative reuse of so many materials.

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    1. When I first saw that lonicera I thought for sure it must have been mislabeled. It's such a cool plant!

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  3. I loved seeing recent photos of your garden.

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    1. Well now you've got me thinking about doing a winter garden tour. Hmm...

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  4. Hooray for the Cobaea vine - I'd never have thought it'd be so resilient. The Tetrapanax ribbons are weirdly wonderful. Sorry about the snow. I hope you don't get a pile of it as I heard Seattle did.

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    1. No my snow was light and fluffy and didn't really accumulate, perfect!

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  5. Those containers look great. Hopefully no damage from the snow you got.

    Rabbits here don't touch Agaves or Aloes, preferring rose stems and foliage. So that's my excuse for growing roses. ;^)

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    1. Hmmm, plant roses as a deterrent to having the rabbits munching on other things...

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  6. I love those funnel-shaped planters. Maybe this will be the year for the Tetrapanax. We had a huge dump of snow prior to a hard freeze. When the snow finally melted everything was still nice and green with some still having perfect blooms on them. Sadly freezing temperatures soon took care of that. That silly string is very cool. Any idea as to what it is?

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    1. Isn't it amazing how resilient plants can be? As for the silly string, someone on Instagram suggested a misguided root, and someone else fungal threads. I don't think either is the true ID but I don't have any other ideas...

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