Things can become favorites for any number of reasons: one being that they are new, so get more attention. Those tall metal fluted containers came from our Bloggers’ Bazaar.. from Loree (Danger Garden), who, coincidentally, hosts the roundup of favorites on the last Friday of every month. I knew immediately that the shorter of the two would be the new home of a small Agave that had been suffering from sunburn in the garden proper. It has a stripe down the middle of each leaf that matches the chartreuse of the pots.
Begonia rex ??
My next assignment was to seek out a plant for the larger pot (I know…poor me). I had some preconceived ideas about what that would be, but at Drake’s 7 Dees I happened upon this begonia with heavily textured leaves in just the right colors. Running into Tamara (Chickadee Gardens), was a delightful surprise. She showed me around and pointed out a few plants that needed to come home with me. She joins Anna (Flutter and Hum) to make your shopping experience at the Scholls Ferry shop as fun as it is tempting.
Having house guests is always one of the perks of summer, especially when they know you so well that they gift you with items like these. See that little guy in the front?
Let’s zero in on him and see if anyone can tell me what he is, besides cute as a button. There are a couple of swelling nodes there that might be developing flowers to adorn the spiky hairdo, in which case I may have to reevaluate his gender (if that is even relevant in this day and age).
I wasn’t sure the begonia was to be the perfect choice for that pot. Besides, I needed an excuse to visit Xera Plants. Astelia nervosa ‘Westland’ was closer to what I had in mind. When I got it home, I decided it belonged in a corner where a collection of metal containers holds sway…the better to show off its explosion of silvery leaves
.
No way could I get out of that place with just one plant. Among others, this Tanacelum, with those feathery white leaves, spoke to me.
Stachys albotomentosa
This peachy Stachys refused to be left behind. I asked Paul if I should wait until fall to put things in the ground and he assured me that this is a good time to plant if you do it properly. See his blog entry (HERE) to see what that means. His observations are fascinating but if you are impatient to get to the planting part, scroll down to the last couple of paragraphs.
Tephrocactus articulatus v. papyracanthus is the name of your mystery guy, or gal. And I LOVE what you did with the tall fluted planters, simply perfection!
Thanks for clearing that up…such a big name for such a little guy. Glad you approve of the new use of your planters.
I never knew there were so many great plants in the Stachys genus. I read that the foliage on S. albotomentosa smells like 7-Up – did you get a wiff? I appreciate your inclusion of Xera’s planting advice (even though I’ve got a moratorium on new planting right now). The owner of an Australian nursery to our north also recommends filling the hole you dig for a plant with water and allowing that to seep down before planting – I’ve tried it and I think its also a useful strategy for planting during the warmer months.
Yes…7-Up! It was looking a little stressed when I watered this morning. Hope it makes it.
Love the Begonia rex. Might try something like that in one of my shade containers.
I’ve been admiring begonias on other blogs, so I bought two on this trip.
I like that rule and am hereby adopting it.
The silvery Astelia is charming. The limey plants look nice in the fluted pots, too. The mystery cactus looks familiar, but the strange blades sticking out are very mysterious.
Loree IDed the plant. I’ll go in and edit the post. Thanks for reminding me.
New garden items are SO much fun, especially those repurposed from friends’ gardens — they’ll always remind you of them. Your color echoes in that top photo are perfection, Ricki. Orange/terracotta and chartreuse bouncing up and down — I love it.
Bob Hylands garden got me totally phsyched about container gardening.
Don’t you love an assignment that takes you to a garden center? The Stachys albotomentosa is new to me–interesting one.
I hadn’t given myself an assignment like this for a long time, so it was super-fun.
Kind words, Beth. Thanks!
Great new containers. Love Stachys albotomentosa especially the 7Up smell of the brushed leaves! Off to read the link about planting in the summer!
That Loree…she gets rid of good stuff. The summer planting requires vigilance…hope I can summon up some.