文章
Miss Chen
2018年06月23日
10.Hens and Chicks in an Old Metal Basket
I found this old metal basket in a second hand store. To create this container garden, I soaked moss in water and then squeezed out the excess moisture. I then lined the basket with the damp moss. I then carefully filled the basket with potting soil, making sure not to disturb the moss liner.
Once the basket was filled with soil, I took the hens and chicks out of the nursery pot and broke them up. Planting hens and chicks is incredibly easy, you just need to push them slightly into the soil.
Hens and chicks will thrive in full sun to partial sun and like to be protected from the wind. Water them when the soil dries and fertilize occasionally with a diluted liquid fertilizer. I use a fish emulsion, seaweed combination.
One of the great things about hens and chicks is that the hens, the larger rosettes, multiply rapidly, sending out chicks, smaller rosettes. You can either leave the chicks, or break them off and easily transplant them.
11.Hens and Chicks in a Vintage Tea Cup
I found this tea cup at a yard sale. I carefully drilled a hole in the bottom using a ceramic bit. I then covered the hole with a tiny piece of window screen. I filled the cup with potting soil and tucked the 'purple beauty' and 'red beauty' hens and chicks and houseleeks into the cup, making sure they had contact with the soil and would stay in place.
12.Miniature Succlulent Plant Container Garen
This tiny container garden is only about two inches wide and an inch and a half tall. It is packed with hens and chicks and a couple of echeverias.
13.Purse Garden
I love using purses to make easy hanging gardens. For this one, I bought an evening bag at a second hand store and crammed it full of succulents.
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文章
Miss Chen
2018年06月23日
1.Agave in a Garden Pot
Succulent plants make great, easy container garden plants.
Succulent are one of my favorite container garden plants. They are low-maintenance, beautiful and they come in stunning colors, many different sizes, textures and shapes.
I am somewhat in awe of agaves. They are beautiful, striking and somewhat lethal, given their spikes, sharp tips and potentially toxic sap. Despite their seemingly hostile appearance they are fairly good-natured plants - not difficult to care for and tolerant of cool temperatures. Though they prefer hot, full sun, agaves will tolerate some shade.
P. Allen Smith uses agaves to great dramatic affect. Potted in large, dark containers, they punctuate the landscape and add a modern, sculptural sensibility as well as vertical interest.
2.Succulents on the Half Shell
These clamshells are packed full of succulent plants. They can be used for table decorations and make great house presents. You can use a mix of succulent plants, or use one type. These are planted with a few different kinds of hens and chicks, and some tiny echeverias.
As when planting any succulent, use either a potting soil made specifically for succulents and cacti, or make your own by taking a good quality potting mix and adding either pumice or perlite. Make sure to use a container that either has drainage holes one that you can punch or drill holes in. Drainage is key to keeping your succulents healthy.
To care for these miniature container gardens, give them full sun, or if you are in a very hot climate, keep them in partial shade. Do not over-water. During the growing season, keep the soil moist, but not wet. During the winter, when succulents go into dormancy, let the soil dry out between waterings.
Hens and chicks are incredibly forgiving plants. They are extremely hardy - most of them can survive in zone 3, and can tolerate poor soil.
For Step by step instructions on making clam shell container gardens.
3.Succulents in a Lunchbox
You can plant succulents in almost anything. Because of their shallow root structure, you don't need a very deep pot. You do need good drainage though. I took a large nail and hammered so many holes in the bottom of this box, that by the time I was done, it looked like Swiss cheese.
Because the metal is pretty thin, I made sure to punch the holes with the metal sitting directly on the ground, so it wouldn't bend the box.
After I punched the holes, I lined the box with plastic also with holes, so it wouldn't rust as quickly. I then filled it with a potting mix specifically designed for cacti and succulents. I packed the box full of plants, putting the ones that I knew would drape, near the edges, and the larger plants near the back.
The box sits in full sun, and I water it enough to keep the soil moist, but not wet. I'll bring it inside in the late fall and keep it in bright, indirect light. In the winter I'll let the soil dry out completely between waterings.
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