Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Plants in the Blue Pots Update

Funny how a post, like this one can have several working titles. The first one was 'Front of House Plants Update' but it was the exact title we used we we first gave an update last July. Then the second one was 'As I Weed at the Front of the House' but thought...nah! So went with the third.


So how are the plants in blue pots at the front of our house doing? Generally very good. A few changes since July but everytihng that is there now, except for one more recent addition has sailed through last winter fine with no extra protection at all. Being at the front of the house they must be tough enough to not need any protecting during the winter but at the same time reap benefits from what is perhaps the most sheltered outdoor spot in our property (south facing, gets winter sun, and gets radiant warmth from the paving and house bricks).

First were the changes. Of the original plants that we put in here the Eryngium duo didn't do well and were replaced last summer by two Aloe polyphylla. Also the pot of Alliums were emptied late last year and remained so until it was occupied recently by a Grevillea lanigera 'Red Salento' which we bought only last month. The rest of the plants have remained the same.

The block paving needs its fair share of regular weeding and so did the pots which I did at the same time I was taking these photos. The weed that was growing at the base of the Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata' however won an extended right to stay as I thought it looked pretty. Does anyone know what it is called?


Quite a pretty weed isn't it?
And here's the rest of the group by our front door. As mentioned earlier the Grevillea was only added last month.

Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata', Nolina nelsonii, and Grevillea lanigera 'Red Salento'
Then on towards the Agave bunch (plus one Nolina)...

The Agave ovatifolia below is doing well and growing away nicely. One leaf got spotty over winter and is now drying away but apart from that no other flaw and is it looking rather nice.

Agave ovatifolia
The agave below was supposed to be an Agave atrovirens var. mirabilis but now even the person who gave it to us has doubts whether that really is its identity. Whatever it may or could be it has done well over winter too and has grown significantly since it was first placed here.

Agave atrovirens var.mirabilis (?)
The other two agaves have done well too...

Agave montana
Agave parryi
All the Nolinas are doing fine too. Growth is much slower but steadily bulking up at least. The Nolina parviflora had to be content with living with a few oxalis at its base for now. I've removed as much as I could but its leaf edges are very sharp and there's only so much I can remove without giving my hands a few cuts.

Nolina parviflora
Once again the Agave and Nolina bunch (complete with car parked on the drive!)...


Speaking of Nolinas there are three at the front of the house and the third one used to be accompanied by two Eryngiums. Well the Eryngiums turned out not to be able to cope with the conditions here and has been replaced by two Aloe polyphylla last summer.

Aloe polyphylla

I'm really pleased with them and how they have developed since they were placed here. And it seems it even grew a little bit during winter too! Here they are again now together with the Nolina nelsonii (which on my previous post I misidentified as N. parviflora).


Last but not the least are the two Nerium oleander and Thuja plicata 'Whipcord'. All three only needed very minimal tidying, cutting back some of the old growth.


The trio of plants above also have an extra purpose: to get our neighbour used to having 'something' on this spot as we're pondering whether to lift some of the blocks and place a small tree here. See how it goes.

We're thinking of adding a few more large blue pots here now that we know which spots we can add them to without making parking difficult. Perhaps we may even add a couple of tall plants behind two of the Nolinas just to add height in those areas. 

Again see how it goes.

Mark :-)

37 comments :

  1. Love your blue pots, they look amazing

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  2. The blue welcomes and spikiness invites questions about the plants. Nolinas are good at staying cute and small for a while. I've been looking at adding a N. nelsonii after seeing how beautiful the mature ones are.

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    1. Nolina nelsonii is lovely isn't it Shirley? It'll be a long while before any of ours gets to a good size but large ones planted are a sight to behold :)

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  3. Pots looking great, but I wish my weeds look as nice as yours -- I like it!

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    1. They're quite cute Alan :) they did go all over the edges of the paving too which was cleared and only left the ones on the pot.

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  4. Weed --Cymbalaria muralis perhaps. You will have to Google that. I assume the weed was not that lone Sempervivum :-) It all looks great but I am surprised you still have parking space.

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    1. Thanks for the ID Don :) only space for one car really, wish there was more....

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  5. Love the use of blue and orangey-red colour combinations - quite Mediterranean!

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    1. Thanks Jess :) easy to get hold of too so when we add more we can easily blend new additions in

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  6. The pots and plants look fantastic!

    Whatever that mystery agave is, it's beautiful.

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    1. I love that Agave Gerhard, it definitely has strong presence :)

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  7. Your cobalt blue pots are beautiful, and the plants in them are all in such stunning condition. That pesky Oxalis, I swear that weed has a brain, it knows just where to plant itself to survive.

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    1. Thanks Alison! And yes Oxalis is such a pain, and they do know how to get themselves into tricky for us to reach spots...

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  8. Gorgeous pots and the plants are looking very good! Oh yes, add more pots as that will mean more plant shopping, right? I agree with Don, Cymbalaria muralis, a beautiful weed indeed!

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    1. Thanks Peter :) and yes a few more would be nice!

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  9. What a fabulous collection, and what willpower you have to stick to just one color of container. Oh and also it's amazing to me that you've got so many Aloe polyphylla, they're still pretty hard to come by around here.

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    1. Thanks Loree! Funny you mentioned about the single colour as last month I temporarily placed a yellow pot there and thought it looked good. Single colour is still a safer bet though :)

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  10. Your pots look fantastic! I wish my Aloe polyphylla was as happy as yours. And I vote to put a tree in the ground :)

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    1. A tree would be very nice in that spot Amy :) just hope it won't annoy the neighbour too much (it's our property after all...)

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  11. Wonderful how vibrant the colors are!

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  12. EVERYTHING looks great! Aloe polyphylla are notorious here for being hard to find, expensive and easy to kill, but yours are perfect. Your photo of the Yucca has me planning to find some for my own garden (although I've declared a moratorium on planting until fall). I agree on the weed ID provided by Don.

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    1. I'm rather surprised that Aloe polyphylla is still difficult to find there? Hmmm....

      You find that Yucca Kris! :)

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  13. That's really working well! Like the idea of adding a small tree to that corner. Or a bamboo? Love the aloes with that nolina.

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    1. Thanks Janet! The spot might be too sunny for a clumping bamboo, and will require very frequent watering. Tree seems to fit the bill nicely :)

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  14. Oh those pots are looking good guys.Your weed is indeed Cymbalaria muralis or ivy-leaved toadflax. You sometimes see it growing well on walls. It is an Italian native plant which found its way over here in the early seventeenth century. That colour of the pot sets it off so well :)

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    1. Thanks Anna! I'm tempted to introduce that 'weed' on to the gaps on the paving stones of the middle patio, I think it'll also look great there :)

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  15. Sort of looks havardiana to me, but you have that, don't you? All your plants look happy and healthy--always a delight to see.

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    1. Thanks Gail! We don't have Havardiana any more unless that agave turns out to be one.

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  16. Everything looks great!! I love the colour of the pots and that weed (I agree with Don's identification, I see it many times arround here where I live in Spain) matches beautifully the pot. They don't sell Aloe polyphylla here but I've always wanted one. I just ordered some seeds...wish me luck!!

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    1. Good luck Lisa :) apparently they are easy from seeds

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    2. Thanks! then that is the first step...after that I'll have to maintain the seedlings alive...

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  17. Beautiful collection of pots.I have Cymbalaria muralis too, I deliberately brought it with me in tubs from a garden I had years ago, (since which I've moved 5 times!!) as I love it so much. I think it used to be called Cymbalaria neurogena. It grows really well in old walls, such as around Durham Cathedral and Richmond Castle, even at great height.

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    1. I love how it just appears and looks nice with its delicate flowers. I'm glad they came back, was worried we lost them when we had the porch done.

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  18. I admire your selection of blue pots and their inhabitants. You know you have a great garden when even your weeds are beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Debs! That's a lovely way of putting it :)

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