Hair of Sedum and Sempervivum
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Containers like this are reminders of ancient Mediterranean regions filled with stone statues of gods and goddesses, lavish water fountains and mosaic tiles
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such as those found in archaeological digs. Sedums creep over the edges like loose tendrils of hair, while the sempervivums perch on top as a crown of nobility on the moss-laden head.
This eighteen-year-old classic-looking container is made from concrete. Jane Coombs, a garden designer since 1979, planted a mixture of sedums and sempervivums (hens and chicks) over ten years ago. Most years she doesn’t fertilize the plants that fill a cavity holding the same amount of soil as a four-inch container. Other years she throws in a small amount of time-release fertilizer. “Survival of the fittest,” Jane remarks about the plants residing in a pot she doesn’t water too often in her Portland, Oregon garden. Many years later, the plants survive and are a testament to their hardy and drought-tolerant nature.
Recommended container gardening books.
Debra Teachout-Teashon
Photographed in author's garden.
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