Happy Monday GPODers!
We’ve seen an assortment of fabulous garden retrospectives over the years, but I think this submission breaks the mold. Last year, Tatyana Searcy in Washington created a container display so unique and exciting that it deserved its own spotlight. With the help of some local talent and experts, she was able to create a garden focal point that became more and more magical as the growing season went on. Tatyana graciously gave us an in-depth description of how this container display was created and maintained, as well a fantastic assortment of photos that document the evolution from empty artwork in March to end-of-season delight in September.
This is Tatyana Searcy (@tatyana.mysecretgarden – my IG account), and my garden is located on the Kitsap Peninsula in the state of Washington. The garden was previously featured on the GPOD in 2013 and 2019 (Tatyana’s Garden in Washington State, Tatyana’s Blue Poppies, Tatyana’s Gazebo in Winter, and A Front Bed Looking Its Best).
Today, I’d like to share one of my garden containers from 2024.
This container was the favorite among my open garden visitors and my personal favorite too. Monthly pictures below show how the plantings looked through the season as well as how the metal sculpture looked empty.
The facts that the planter doesn’t have solid walls and moss dries up quickly required regular watering and misting. I’m very conscious about water consumption in my garden. Thoughtful use of water in other parts of my garden made me feel better watering this special container several times a week.
This year, I might try to grow different plants in this structure. Winter is a good time to dream and plan!
The rusty metal sculpture is the creation of the talented local artist, Ray Hammar (BlueCollar Art Work). It is a great piece on its own. It is all made of repurposed metal: an old auger, links of a 100 plus year old marine chain, a heater’s band and a car’s wheel rim. Chain links are welded to a sphere. Upper part of the sphere was taken down and set on the pedestal (car’s wheel rim) to create a separate bowl-planter.
We obtained the 6 feet metal sculpture from the Crazy Hill Garden & Botanicals in Belfair, WA owned by Michael Kerkes and Elton Busby. Michael thought about filling it with plants while it was exhibited at their nursery, and I liked that idea too, so we ended doing that exciting project together! Michael, a Certified Professional Horticulturist, provided his extensive knowledge and experience, and I selected the plants and the potting mix.
The process started from the bottom and went up: lining walls with soaked moss, adding potting mix, then inserting plants (repeat till the bowl got full). Slow-released fertilizer was added to the potting mix and some smaller plants were added through the bowls’ openings later. One of the things I learned from Michael Kerkes while working on this project was not to fluff the root balls excessively to prevent different plants’ roots from tangling up. It helped to disassemble the plantings when temperatures went down and tender plants needed to be moved to our unheated garage.
I didn’t make a special shopping trip to buy the plants for this project, but used what was already in my garden. Some of the plants came from my favorite nurseries and others from our local plant swap.
The planter location seemed to be pretty good for the plants I had: it faces east, gets morning sun and a bit of afternoon sun, and it has the rest of the day in bright shade.
Filling the planter was done in late May. It was fun to see the plants grow, bloom and take turns as a star in that fabulous structure. All the plants grew considerably and were healthy. Little hardy fuchsia starts developed tall sturdy stems and gorgeous multiple blooms, golden lysimachia (creeping Jenny) reached the ground, ferns turned to beautiful luscious mounds, tiny Viburnum plicatum in a 4-inch pot adopted at a plant swap became a two-foot nice fellow. There were no casualties, all the plants survived. The only issue was slugs that managed to climb several feet to enjoy coleus leaves. It was exciting to see new beautiful licorice ferns (Polypodiym glycyrrhiza) appear and spread on the mossy walls of the bowl (moss was responsibly harvested on a private property).
The assortment of the plants, most of which are foliage plants, included:
- Ferns: Bird’s nest fern (Asplenium nidus, Zones 11–12), cretan brake fern (Pteris cretica, Zones 9–12), ‘Brilliance’ autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’, Zones 5–8), blue star fern (Phlebodium aureum, Zones 9–11)
- Hardy fuchsias
- Plectranthus (with golden and green foliage)
- Creeping saxifrage (Saxifraga stolonifera, Zones 6–9)
- Hosta ‘Curly Fries’ (H. ‘Curly Fries’, Zones 3–9) and others
- Coleus
- Senecio
- ‘Jose Puig’ tradescantia (T. gibasis ‘Jose Puig’, Zones 9–11)
- Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra, Zones 5–9)
- Rex begonia (Begonia rex-cultorum, Zones 10–11)
- Japanese snowball (Viburnum plicatum, Zones 5–8) (a tiny start)
A close up of the bowl planter gives a better look at the moss used to contain the soil. While the moss has a practical purpose, it also adds to the overall beauty of the design.
In July, the planters were really filling out and bursting with all of those fabulous foliage plants. It’s absolutely incredible that Tatyana was able to pull this together with plants she already had in her garden.
And closes ups of both halves of this display. While distinctly different in the plants used, there is a certain cohesion of the foliage-centric designs. It also made the overall display more exciting to see different plants above and below, rather than exactly matching.
It’s a testament to Tatyana’s maintenance that the display looked this lush and abundant in August! The plants have filled in and trailed out so much that it’s even hard to see the baskets they’re planted in.
When in the ground, lots of people tend to cut back hosta blooms to encourage more foliage growth or simply because their often floppy height does not flow with the rest of their design. However, when planted in a container (like the H. ‘Curly Fries’ Tatyana has here) the flowers can add some additional late-summer color while commingling perfectly with other plants growing up and out.
By September, the plants have all but taken over the metal sculpture that once drew your eye to the design. While red started out as a minor accent color in June, it has taken over and become the signature color of this combination. The bright red coleus had an amazing growing season while the hardy fuchsias had in the pot are finally putting on their floral show.
The openness of this sculpture allows for 360-degree views, meaning the back side of this container display is just as exciting as the front.
What a transformation over the course of five months! We all know that a lot changes in the garden from May to September, but it puts it all into a different perspective when you hone in on one container, area, or just one plant in particular. While this planting was equally as amazing in May, it’s fascinating to see the evolution that took place.
Thank you so much for sharing this spectacular container creation with us, Tatyana! The design is so captivating, I’d think it was stolen straight from a botanical garden or art installation. It’s clear why this creation was a your favorite, and adored by all of your visitors.
Did you have any containers that looked more and more magical as the growing season carried on? Or did you make updates so your containers evolved with each season? As we dream of the growing season to come, we could use all the container inspiration we can get! following the directions below to submit your container photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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