A little creative reuse in my garden…

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you know I’m not a fan of garden art. Need a focal point? That’s what the plants are for, sculpture and the like are just taking up space where another plant could be! I do however appreciate the skill of those who can take a piece of cast-off junk and make it useful. A rusty bucket doubling as a planter, a large piece of industrial metal used as a trellis or “room divider,” doing this successfully requires a certain attitude…and a dedication. A dedication I just don’t have, which is why I was afraid this wouldn’t work…

But it does!

At least I think so.

Andrew and I were at our local ReBuilding Center looking for a piece of wood he needed for a project, he was also trying to track down one more planter that wasn’t a planter for his office. We were digging through piles of stuff when he found this metal gooseneck fuel funnel. There was something about it; I just had to have it.

Coincidently I had an Agave montana 'Baccarat' that needed a home.

I think I like it because you don’t realize what it is until you get close, it’s subtle.

Andrew also found something that worked for him, an old piece of ductwork. I initially threw it aside because it had duct tape on it making it undesirable, or so I thought. Turns out it was a bonus for him.

It’s a long story how he went from just a single planter on the table to two…but they look good together. The short one is actually sold as a planter, still it made the creativity cut.

Especially since it was the perfect size for the pair of Euphorbia polygona cv. 'Snowflake' we’d purchased online for him.

(He’d tried to talk me out of the plants I purchased in New Mexico last January but I wasn’t falling for it. If you are in the market for those ghostly Euphorbia and can't find them locally I can’t say enough good things about these plants and the way they were shipped...order them here)

Sharing space with the euphorbia is a Pachypodium succulentum…

And in the duct work planter…a Drunkards Dream (Rhipsalis salicornioides). You can see why they call it that, millions of tiny bottles!

I think the new planters work well with the old.

By the way I want to thank everyone who voted for our entries in the “That’s So Potted” contest. Neither one of us made it to the finals but it was fun trying.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Squid, Sardine and Coconut Jam on Potted!

Yes once again I’m asking for your vote, only this time it’s not for me but for my husband (okay it’s kind of “for me” because after all who do you think is going to spend that $500 at Potted if he wins?). Remember Squid, Sardine and Coconut Jam? Well it’s one of five entries in the “That’s So Potted” contest this week.

Naturally I’m a little biased but I think it’s by far the best of the five. Should you want to cast your vote then click here to “like” it on the Potted Facebook page, only “likes” on their page count. Also thank you SO MUCH to everyone who voted for my entry last week. It rose from an embarrassing last place to finish a in respectable 3rd place, only 5 votes back from second!

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

A few hotel horticultural encounters…

During our recent venture north to Seattle (for the garden show) we stayed at a new-to-us hotel, one that was part of the show sponsored hotel pricing specials (a great deal that I recommend checking out if you go next year). This shallow planted bowl caught my eye as we pulled into the parking lot.

The plantings are fine, nothing to rave or rant about but that planter itself…oh how I would love LOVE to have a trio of those in my front garden. Yes indeed.

Later we parked in the underground garage, just outside the elevator vestibule I spied the saddest little Cast Iron plant ever…

The leaf and two halves looked healthy enough but just a little overwhelmed by the container. Maybe they could've at least planted the poor thing? Or just made it look like they did?

Later that evening as we were leaving we noticed a fellow Oregonian…have you ever seen an Astroturf covered vehicle?

Now you have.

Did you notice the name of their company? Turf-n-Oregon. Turf-n…that must explain the surf board on the top?

Finally there were these clipped shrubs in front of the hotel.

I suspect many gardeners would recoil in terror when they see shrubs trimmed up like this, but I rather like them. It’s an art form.

Although I do think the Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is an odd choice for this treatment (there was a trellis behind it, keeping it upright).

What do you think…love cloud pruning (maybe cake pruning in this case), or hate it? And what about that Astroturf covered rig?

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.