Progression of a Container, #1
Most of the designs I do at the nursery are on spec, meaning I create a container without having someone who has asked for it. And with that, they don’t always sell immediately. It can take months for the right person to come along, something I have to keep in mind.
When this happens it gives me a chance to see how I did: did the planter grow as I expected? But any container must be maintained as it changes, including pruning and deadheading, and occasionally a plant matures out and has to be replaced.
See below for one such container that although beautiful, it wasn’t someone’s pay-for-it beautiful for about five months. And when it sold, it was quite a moment for both myself and the buyer.
June. This was the second, big, filler-thriller-spiller container I did at the greenhouse. The star is the White Water Acanthus (the large variegated leafs in the front), surrounded by quite the back-up cast: White astilbe in the back for height, heuchera to the right, its fabulous dark rose leaves balancing the coleus on the opposite side of the container, and also providing height with spires of pink flowers. For the spiller, an autumnal fuchsia. Rounding it all out, coral bedding impatiens.
August. The container sat up and to the back of the main display called The Market Place, hard to monitor, and at some point I found myself wondering, ‘what’s going on with the astilbe? It’s failing to thrive!’
Well lack of water will do it every time, and in a container this big, it’s important to check by feel to make sure everybody is getting what they need. Sadly the astilbe was not, and reflected in unhappy, short blooms. On the upside, the fuchsia had started to bloom.
To fix it I have numerous considerations. Can the container handle another plant, and how much more value can I add to something already priced? I’m a huge fan of the sale table and as luck would have it, I found a half price iresine shaped in a ‘Y’, it’s beautiful red stems supporting green and light yellow leafs. It arched to either side of the less than, but should have been, spectacular astilbe.
Mid-August. It looked swell! Not how I thought this container would go, but I’ll take it. The impatiens continued to add color, the acanthus, although not flowering, caught the attention of many shoppers. Yet, it still did not sell.
Late September. ARRGHHHhHHH! The coleus exerts itself and starts becoming overly magnificent. Only problem, it throws the balance of the pot (by the way, that’s a corn stalk behind the container.) Adding to the lopsided feel is the changing leaves of the once dark-rose heuchera, a natural part of its process, and they have become tea colored. What to do?
Add a hot pink variegated cordyline. I mean, fight fire with fire!
Looks swell again! Especially without the corn stalk behind it. The cordyline sets off the iresine, making it more visible.
Late October. And this is how it sold, five months after it was created. A lovely gentleman came in looking for a gift for a beloved couple. They had a magnificent garden but recently sold it (sounds familiar. Go on…). Their’s was a case of advancing age, they really couldn’t maintain it anymore, and had moved into a condo. He wanted a special container, something to say ‘I know this was hard, but you did the right thing.’ He teared up. I teared up, and away the container went. It was worth the five month wait.
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