foliage follow-up: Stachyrus salicifolius

Stachyrus salicifolius

I was faced with a delightful dilemma: how to use a generous gift certificate at Portland Nursery. We should all have such problems, right? Well, it’s not as easy as it sounds. I wanted it to be something really special, and it took three trips before something finally clicked. On the day that the stars aligned, I had spent the early part of the day on the ANLD pre-tour. Showy tall pots had been a theme running through all of the gardens, and a plant that had been on my want list for ages showed up looking every bit as seductive as the photo I’d been carrying around.

new pot grouping

I started with the plant: Stachyrus salicifolius. It’s hard to capture in a photo, but the growing tips of those long, willowy leaves have a reddish tint. When I spotted this pot, the first thing I noticed was how the color matched those growing tips. It wasn’t until I got it home and started potting it up that I noticed how the carved relief of the pot echoes the leaf shapes. Then I started finding other pots to add to the grouping.

Drimys lanceolata

Terra cotta pots mix well, especially this one containing Drimys lanceolata with deep red bark.

the collection

Stepping back, I’m really liking the whole collection. Thank you, Marilyn, for the wonderful gift. Putting this all together is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.

succulent bowl

Another gift (can you believe my good fortune?) We had a Dads’ Day BBQ, and this was a hostess gift. We really should entertain more often. Some of the plants I recognize and others are new to me. I love the crowded composition with many textures and colors. It’s a look I only rarely come close to accomplishing, and then only after the arrangement has had a chance to grow into lushness.

Pam Pennick at digging gives us all the gift of a forum for foliar appreciation mid-month, each and every month. Thank you, Pam.

13 thoughts on “foliage follow-up: Stachyrus salicifolius

  1. Shirley~Yes, Judy & Morgan definitely upped the ante where hostess gifts are concerned.

    Alison~I was kind of surprised, when I got it home, that so many things played well with it.

    Wendy~Long silence…welcome back!

    Loree~Thanks, teach!

    Mark & Gax~Lust after a plant long enough and it will find its way to you.

    Sarah~I like how the tall pots elevate the plants and leave lots of room for drainage.

    Heather Smashing…can’t beat that!

    Pam~The tall pot in your FFU post was a stunner as well.

  2. Thanks for this link, you have bought a plant I don’t know at all, I’m going to check to see if it would survive our winters, it would be a lovely foliage plant for the terrace.

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