Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ is almost unforgivably easy. But when something fast and aggressive is needed for experimenting with planting some concrete columns, there’s no better choice. Besides, three big handfuls could be taken from the mother plant without the garden looking disturbed at all.
These three 100-year-old concrete columns were pulled out of the gas fireplace flue when making repairs for a new heater and have been lying around the past month. Very intriguing.
The columns are narrow and hollow, so what to use to hold some soil? The reusable shopping bags have a “woolly pockets” look about them, so I cut some bags apart, made little informal pockets, filled them with soil, then stuffed them tight inside the columns so they don’t slip down.
This narrow strip against the eastern fence holds the rose ‘Bouqet d’Or,’ some Miscanthus ‘Gold Bar,’ Agave bracteosa, Salvia broussonetii, and other disjointed odds and ends. I’m not quite sure if the columns will stay here permanently, but I’m interested in finding out how the home-grown “woolly pockets” experiment turns out.
And I’m counting on ‘Angelina’ to do her part and live up to her easy, fun-loving reputation.
How brilliant of you! The fabric of the woolly pockets has always reminded me of something and now I know what it is. And what a “find” with those columns, every time I go on the hunt for such a thing they are always terra cotta which isn’t as nice in my book.
I love that idea…really striking…and I’m sure ‘Angelina’ will perform admirably.
killer use of concrete! the blue stain of the fence makes for one helluva backdrop — nice image capture too!
is that S. ‘Angelina’ or it’s even easier sibling S. ‘Lemon Coral’?
Thanks for the encouragement. Sometimes I think starting a nursery that carries nothing but sedums is a fine idea.
Dustin, this bodacious sedum came labeled as ‘Angelina.’ I can’t imagine a sedum any easier. That’s just scary.
Love this Denise, one should always be on the lookout for anything ‘plant sized’.And MBM is spot-on, the fence, concrete and sedum are a great color combo.
I love your columns! The wooly pockets sound like a smart solution, and here’s another. A gardener I know who’s building a concrete-block wall like mine came up with a good way to make soil pockets. She cut a piece of chicken wire a little larger than the hole and stuffed it into the hole so that the edges hang on, like a swift’s nest. Then she lined the chicken wire with landscape fabric and filled it with soil.
Kathy, I’m always on the lookout. I’ve been hoisting succulents into the air since way back — with varying success.
Pam, that’s a great idea. I may redo these with the chicken wire and landscape fabric.
I did the same thing, but with some old glazed drainage pipes, using S. spurium, but the area has gotten too shady now, and I am looking for a replacement. I like Agelina best in the winter when she turns orange.