"Welcome! Come on in to our home." I feel our entryway finally learned how to say this sentence. It's taken forever to get to this point. And really it was only a few plants and accessories that made a big difference...since the initial landscaping.
Two years ago I bought a beautiful, burgundy pot at Potted in Los Feliz. It's one of my all time favorite stores, not just for the lovely and unique things they have but because Mary and Annette are lovely ladies! Anyway, despite my best intentions the pot remained empty for two years! This past Christmas I temporarily put poinsettias inside. It looked so nice....until they died. And then it looked awful! Getting to see this front corner so cheery over the holidays prompted me to make some changes.
On Pinterest I saw a tip about partially filling large pots with plastic water bottles so they don't get so heavy from all gravel needed for a good filtration system. I thought it was a brilliant idea as long as the pot wasn't going to hold edible plants. Plastic leaches chemicals through time. Since my succulents are purely ornamental I followed the tip and filled our tall pot half way with plastic bottles.
Then we filled it with gravel on top. And then soil and then our lovely plants.
I had a hard time deciding what to put here. It's an important spot. Front and center to our home. Initially I thought a good size Varigated Foxtail Agave would be perfect. But I wanted more height so I went with the Firestick plant. This one was in another pot in our back yard. He was actually part of a pair, and although I didn't want to leave his buddy solo, they were kind of growing in different directions. I guess kind of like people do. While this guy was growing tall, his friend was growing fat and they were looking less like a pair. I think they were ready to be the showcase of their own individual spaces. I did give him some company. I thought the String of Pearls Senecio was a great complementary friend with her hanging beads.
I rarely garden alone these days. Although it comes with A TON of multi tasking I do enjoy having the girls be a part of the process. Sometimes bribing with healthy snacks keeps them motivated. Other times they initiate the steps willingly. There are times I long for the silent, focused kind of gardening but after watching this week's Modern Family I think I'll relish in what I've got today. This quote is priceless:
"Raising a kid is like sending a rocket ship to the moon. You spend the early years in constant contact then one day, around the teenage years, they go around the dark side and they're gone. All you can do is wait for that fait signal that says they're coming back." - Claire Dunphy
This is where we were when we finished planting. Much better. But not good enough. There was one thing that has been bothering me since day one at this house and I couldn't put it off any longer....
I'll write about that tomorrow. For now, it's 11pm and I have to go to bed.
Labels: entry, garden
