Succulents and Pretty Pots

A few of you may remember last spring, when I had a huge porch that had full sun and lots of room!  It was the perfect place for a container garden and I filled it to the brim with fruits, vegetables and lots of different herbs.  But this year, since I've moved into a new apartment, I have a beautiful 3rd floor screened-in porch that is perfect for lounging in the tree tops and has gorgeous views of the spring blooms and the fall leaves, however it's not the best place for plants to soak up the sun.  However, I do have a few sunny spots, and use them for a container of basil, my favorite and most used herb, as well as a magenta orchid I couldn't resist buying.  So while I'm kind of sad that I won't be growing raspberries and tomatoes like I have in the past, I am still a loving green thumb when it comes to my five new baby succulents.  

Succulents are some of my favorite plants!  I have a teacup of the "Frosty" variety, as well as a whole bowl of various kinds that I've had to brighten up my office all year.  They are such low maintenance plants and there are so many different versions that you can mix and match and create your own designs with them!

One thing I love about having a container garden, no matter how big or small, is being able to get creative with my container choices!  My favorite one from last year was the golden tin decorated with Alphonse Mucha prints that I think is so sassy and matches my living room perfectly!  I also found a small scalloped-top ceramic vase with the classic blue and white motifs that looks so clean and pops with the bright cobalt!  I'm so glad I finally have something to fill them up with since they looedk so cold and lonely in the storage closet all winter!  Happy gardening!

& of course I must include the ever-watchful supervisor who is absolutely thrilled at spending an afternoon on the porch.

Shedding Skin

          We had a vistor in the garden this week, leaving a path behind him.  When I reached down to remove what I though was a piece of trash that had gotten caught, I suddenly realized, and with slight instantaneous nerves, that a guest to my garden had a left a perfect skin intact.  Movement is generally an ephemeral art, but the beauty is in the tangible representation of what has been.  His crazy 8 path, up and under my succulents, is recorded perfectly.

In Full Bloom

Like flowers that bloom in winter,

Climate changes bring a new atmosphere

and bring into focus a new center.

My soul takes hold and sings its song.

Something unfolding and embracing.

Love is waiting.

Song of the day (click green link above)

Today in the Garden.

Growth:

Cucumbers:  The perfect  spiral.  The beginning of a vine that will bring length and produce. And the bud of a yellow flower that will soon unfold into an elegant silk beauty.

Dill: The tiny flowers add just the hint of color. My dill plant itself is also over a foot tall!

Succulents:  Of all my succulents, this plant has noticeably grown the most! Almost an inch in             height!

Viola: For growing flowers, my thumb hasn't been the greenest, but after the seeds in this container have been sown for over a month and a half, my viola plants are finally sprouting!   Those five tiny leaves show me I did at least one thing right!  However, out of 20 seeds only five have sprouted even the faintest green leaves, but hopefully the ones that have will continue to!

Color:

     Sunlight. 

          As it is the one thing that provides all life, it also has amazing additions to other parts of life.  As I mentioned in a previous post, full sunlight can change the shade and color of certain succulents.  Here is the plant when I first bought it, and now what it has grown into on the full sun porch after three weeks.  It went from a dark plum only on about a third of the plant to now a brighter maroon that cover three fourths of the leaves.  Not only has the plant grown but the color has deepened into a much richer purple.

                           Before...                                          After

Today in the Garden

          Today I walked out to the porch and started to notice several more beautiful things happening...

 

LOVAGE:  My lovage sprouted a new stem and the leaves finally started spreading out and unfolding!

Medieval Magic & beliefs: Lovage was commonly used in love potions. In addition the plant also acted as a sentry of the home; if planted in front of the house lovage was supposed to keep off all evil forces, such as plague, snakes, insects etc.

Historical notes: Given the plants medical and magical powers, it is no wonder that lovage was an extremely important herb during the Middle Ages. Therefore a garden without this plant would be very rare.

BASIL-Since basil is one of the few annual plants in my little garden, it's almost time for its leaves to fall.  But I did get one last flowering of little white petals!

And it looks like I'm expecting my first flower from my succulent plants!  or at least some new petals opening!

Succulent Garden

          Planting succulents, which are generally hardy and low-maintainence can really add a modern look to your home or garden.  Why spend $20 on a fake plant when you can easily have the real ones at a lower cost and can personalize them to your own taste and decor.  

          I found these two containers at the local thrift store for less than a dollar each, making these unique centerpieces with easy up keep.  Just be sure to pick a container that has good drainage, which you can either add to any container by drilling a hole, or without the use of power tools, provide by adding gravel or stones on the bottom as a drainage layer.  

          What I've learned from this project:  that succulent plants can come in all different shades and hues, several like the "Perle von Nurnberg", a variety of Echeveria (which is the succulent most people can recognize) is a tint of purple or pink, and the "Black Prince" is black with a purple or green middle.  I was also surprised to learn that some green plants turn into a plum shade in full sun.  Also many varieties have gorgeous flowers of lavender or bright orange or golden yellow.  Some even flower in winter, which is a nice splash of color against a season of few flowering plants. Succulents have made an interesting addition and texture to my porch garden!