Work I love – Plants, Gardens, Springtime

May 12th, 2013

Springtime has arrived and for me that means long days and crazy busyness of transforming gardens from sometimes bare earth into glorious wonders.  Of course there is little time for anything else, including creating blogs.  Here is a peak into some of the work I have been doing – and loving.

I got to pick out these beautiful ceramic pots from Vietnam and plant them with succulents. I love the colors and shapes of the pots and the special treat was to plant them with amazingly beautiful succulents.  The woman who wanted me to create these colorful summer pots is from Texas, so succulents are part of her growing up and remind her of home.  She and her family travel also, so these pots don’t need to be – and shouldn’t be – watered everyday.  They can go away for a weekend and not worry about watering.

The colors of the water holding leaves are subtle, strong and breathtaking.  The shapes range from bold to fine and feathery. They mix well.  The larger succulents are annuals for St. Louis, but many of the smaller finer leafed ones are perennials used for green roofs in our climate.

Of course the mandala shapes makes me long for my art room and time to create marks on paper.  That will come soon, after the plants lining my driveway are planted.

Earlier this year I wrote an article for an upcoming 2013 summer issue of Missouri Gardener magazine about succulents in containers.  After writing the article I couldn’t wait to create more of these beautiful summer container gardens.  I have succulents left over from the pots I created for others, most likely my own large stone planters at the front of my house will be filled with succulents this summer – after all the other gardens are done.