Economy of Space

Yea – a project of my own – FINALLY! We moved from Kansas City to Los Angeles a little over 3 months ago. In Kansas City we had a big yard, in Los Angeles, no yard. We do, however, have a year-round growing season, and a great patio that has full shade, sun/shade, and full sun so I can collect whatever plant is striking me at the moment and I have a place for it to be happy. I’ve always loved container gardening anyway. The dogs can’t trample the plants, and the possibilities are infinite for creative pairing of the containers and the plants. PLUS, you can re-arrange the plants whenever the mood strikes to create a new space.

This project is based on potting and in some cases re-potting plants I’ve collected into containers I already had. I just started my job a week ago so buying fancy pots and new plants is not quite in the budget yet. However, another thing I love about gardening is that you don’t have to spend a ton of money on new plants – they grow and reproduce all on their own – particularly succulents and cactus! It’s wonderful to be able to care for a plant and over the course of a year, watch it grow, blossom, reproduce and hibernate. Each caption will have the origin of the plant (how I came to acquire the plant, not it’s natural habitat).

Enjoy and be inspired!

: This cutting sat in a jar of water for a little over a month.

: It grew like MAD.

: They had a rough transition (spilled countless times) and have been ignored for the last 3 months. That’s why they look a little rough.

: These were throw aways from a landscape job. They sat in a bucket for several days before I got them into soil. Succulents are amazingly adaptive little plants. We should all be so resilient.

: Rosemary, begonia, and jade from front yard. Other begonia from Kansas City.

: Thanks Mom and Dad – I’ll take good care of them.

: They sat in paper bags for a week before I planted them. These are my kinda plants!

: They turn a beautiful red/orange on the edges when they get heat stressed.

: One I’ve had forever, the other a friend from my Horticulture class gave to me. A baby from the greenhouse plants.

: This variety grows into a huge twisted mass of a shrub. Beautiful if maintained or awful mess if over grown and chopped at to cut back.

: Found on a walk! Just sitting in the street. Perfect little cup for a perfect little plant. Itty bitty but will grow and reproduce readily and quickly. For now it just need to root.