BC Living
How to Support BC Wineries Now
Embark on Culinary Adventures: 5 Must-Try Solo Dining Experiences Around BC
You Gotta Try this in April 2024
4 Tips on Balancing a Nutritious Diet with a Side of Indulgence
Choosing Connection: A BC Family Day Pledge to Prioritize Presence Over Plans
Embracing Plant-Based Living this Veganuary and Beyond
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Protected: Spring into Fun in Kamloops: The Best Events in the City
Travel Light, Travel Right: Minimalist Packing Tips for Solo Explorers
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Cozy Accommodations
Melodies and Museums: Solo-Friendly Entertainment for the Independent Traveller
Arts Club Theatre Company Celebrates 60 Years
Films and TV Series that Inspire Solo Travel
8 Gadgets and Gear for Your Solo Adventures
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Souvenir Hunting in BC
Sḵwálwen Botanicals – Changing the Face of Skincare
A few weeks back I was taken to an amazing container garden. The owner had a good eye for grouping pots. And of course being in Mexico the plants chosen have to cope with long periods of heat and drought.
Lavandula dentate, which can be seen in the background of the first shot, is extremely happy in a pot and may be trimmed after flowering to maintain a manageable size. However, I was most impressed by the grouping of pots which contained individual plantings of Phormium tenax (New Zealand flax) and others filled with Santolina chamaecyparissus. The contrast of leaf shape and textures really worked well, especially the grayish/white leaves of the santolina echoing the blue/green undersides of the bold phormium foliage.
Santolina is hardy to zone 6 while phormiums are zone 8. But being in large pots, they can easily be wheeled into a garage or shed for the cold months to protect against frost damage.
Above: My back steps with mixed pots of Tradescantia sillamontana and Sedum morgnianum, the latter more commonly known as burro’s tail, planted in containers of well-drained potting medium.
Basically I added some coarse sand to a regular nursery potting mix: one part coarse sand to three parts potting mix. They get watered twice a week and fed about once a month. Both plants are not winter hardy in B.C., but would love to be outside for the summer and in a cool greenhouse for the winter.