Barefoot Gardening

I picked up some fabulous succulents from Gold Rush Nursery while at the SF Flower and Garden show last month. My favorite succulent of all time are lithops, or living stone. Frankly, they look a little like brains, and if I were more inclined, I could see potting them in a cut open doll head or something equally creepy. But, I went the more conventional route here.

I was so anxious to pot these plants, I fear the container is a tad big. I’m hoping the succulents spread a bit to fill in. I added some cuttins of sedum on the bottom, so they will eventually spill over. My dillema is that last time I planted lithops, the other plants spread so much you couldn’t see them. And I wanted to showcase the lithops while still having a variety.

The other succulents include Agave geminiflora or twin-flowered agave, and Sempervivum “oddity”.  Additionally, I can’t identify the square step-like succulent or the other round bubbly one. Advice?

I went with river stones and a sandy top dressing because that’s what I dug out of my gardening supply bin. Yes, I’ve gotten to the point of buying things on sale and stashing them, because I know I’ll always have some crazy project going on.

The succulents that followed me home

Succulents in their new container

I dug out the 2008 photos of my garden… how my container gardening obsession started. I fell in love with the different textures I could create in the containers. Especially with succulents. I also wanted to grow edibles, but in an attractive way.

The bags on the ground have holes running down them in which strawberries spill out of… they were still waiting to be hung. Behind them is a dwarf meyer lemon tree, which has produced exactly two lemons since I brought it home.  The strawberry pot contains a variety of herbs, though the rosemary got its own container. And the large container is a recipe I swiped from Martha Stewart of New Zealand flax and persicaria. There is also a container with pink festival grass, coleus, and moneywort, which is still one of my favorite containers and has held up like a champ. There are also impatiens in the window box, though I replaced the window box in 2009 to experiment with side planting (a fail, btw).

Amusingly, I hadn’t even bought chairs for the bistro table when I took this shot.  I finally bought some folding cafe chairs, and it has made for a great drinking nook ever since. The solar lantern was replaced by some scotch bottles holding taper candles.

I feel like in just two summers, my patio has grown up. I’ve learned a lot about gardening and have been inspired through my huge book collection, and the other blogs I follow, like Life On the Balcony and Sunset’s Fresh Dirt. I’ll add a blogroll to my site shortly so I can share the inspiration.

The succulents that greet me at my door

The first containers

The edible corner of my garden

I’ve written a handful of posts, but like a bad hostess, have neglected to give a tour of my own patio garden. It’s a constant work in progress, so I’ll show a few shots to take you through its progression.  Click to embiggen the photos.

I started just a few floral containers and fruit trees in 2008.  By 2009, I was completely obsessed with gardening and started adding more edibles, including cucumbers, a fig tree, a dwarf meyer lemon tree, navajo upright thornless blackberries, blueberries, eggplants, purple bell peppers, mohawk peppers, and strawberries.

May 2009, Garden view from chaise

May 2009, my favorite florals

In 2010, I’ve added snow peas, onions, carrots,  kale, rainbow chard, and a lime tree to the mix as well.  Not enough to live on, but it’s so satisfying to eat something I’ve grown myself. I”ve also added a lot more succulents for their ease of care, and even a small alpine rock garden in a hypertufa trough.

2010 Patio Garden, view from the chaise

The plants that greet me at the door

2010 Flower box - California Poppies, Sunset Calibrachoa, and Spitfire Nasturtium

The plants that welcome everyone in through the gate. Kalanchoe and ???

My favorite plant in my entire garden - the TropicCanna. Isn't that foliage amazing?

This month’s Picture This entry is due tomorrow, and I decided to enter an old photo, rather than a new one. I visited the Powerscourt Gardens while in Ireland a few years ago, and there was an astonishing variety of gorgeous garden arrangements. I loved this scene of foliage next to a waterfall, which fits perfectly with this months theme of ‘green’. Also, many of the entries I’ve seen are macro, which is my style of choice, and I wanted to showcase something different.

In the small space that I have, I probably could have done a raised bed of sorts, but there’s something enticing about adding complimenting colors through ceramic pots.  I haven’t yet posted an overall photo of my garden on this site, but all of my containers are a spicy burgundy color, with most of my flowering and foliage plants being red/orange themed.

I actually hate Anthropologie because I love so much of their merchandise, but it is always ridiculously overpriced. And yet, I am drooling over this 13.75″H, 12″ diameter “Secret Parrot” planter that I absolutely won’t pay $78 for.  So I am sharing it, to get it out of my system. And perhaps live vicariously through someone else.