16 white pots to be exact. We bought them at Ikea when we first moved in. The plan was to place them all along the back and north side of our pool. We wanted to fill them with bamboo or something that would stand tall and give the pool area a green and lush feel.
We first tried a couple of bamboo but they died of root rot. And they needed watering almost daily in the winter. So, plan b. I drilled holes in the bottom of all the pots to allow for drainage. We got rosemary thinking it would grow tall. Then we spent our first summer in the house and reality hit. The plants needed watering every single day! Or else they die, and they did, and we lost half. The ones that survived were transplanted to our south wall in our backyard. They are thriving now.
Meanwhile onto plan c with the pots. I think succulents would work and make it through summer without as much water. They won't be as tall as we wanted but they will look good and green and not be as much work....I hope. I've always loved succulents but they intimidate me. There are so many varieties. Some are rare with price tags to go with them. I've tried learning their names like I'm majoring in botany or something but I'm over it. Unless they have a layman's name like "baby toes" I'll have to describe it to you.
I bought two new varieties yesterday (in the picture above) and planted them in their own pot. The idea is to mix a few to create great arrangements like the ones at the Getty. However, I planted different varieties a few months ago and one is proving to be a pot hog. It's this one.
I've had to cut it back quite a bit. So, I'm going to get a few more kinds and learn their growing patterns before I build my bouquets. I am finding succulents to grow quite easily from trimmings. This is good and it'll save me some money on filling all 16 pots.
Labels: garden, pool
