Too Shady
I love the wild tangle that is spilling out of the tall urn on the front portal.
The two plants here are 'Choca Mocha' cosmos -- a rich red textured flower that is supposed to smell like chocolate but doesn't -- and an orange flowered thunbergia (black eyed Susan vine) that drapes over in a wild mess since it hasn't got a trellis to climb. Both are annuals.
Love the look, but the flowers are sparse because the urn is in dappled shade in the morning and deep shade all the rest of the day. I have grown both of these easy annuals before, and in full sun they can look like this:
And that was my hope for this entryway container! Sultry, velvety, dark red with bright sunny orange, all spilling out together. I had tried both last summer and they didn't do that well in New Mexico sun, so I thought a bit of shade and keeping the container moist would help.
But there's too much shade in the covered entry, so mostly all I have is a green tangle. Still, I like the shapes and forms. The pot was left here when we bought the house. It's old and the surface is flaking but I like it. I looked at buying a new one to replace it since it's deteriorating, but this size container is really expensive.
So I'll keep the flaking old urn and enjoy my shaded greenery that's producing only a few flowers.
Next year I want to try the same red and orange combo, but move the urn out into the front yard in full morning sun but late afternoon shade. Half sun, half shade, a compromise. I need a strong young man to help with that, though. It's really heavy.
The two plants here are 'Choca Mocha' cosmos -- a rich red textured flower that is supposed to smell like chocolate but doesn't -- and an orange flowered thunbergia (black eyed Susan vine) that drapes over in a wild mess since it hasn't got a trellis to climb. Both are annuals.
Love the look, but the flowers are sparse because the urn is in dappled shade in the morning and deep shade all the rest of the day. I have grown both of these easy annuals before, and in full sun they can look like this:
And that was my hope for this entryway container! Sultry, velvety, dark red with bright sunny orange, all spilling out together. I had tried both last summer and they didn't do that well in New Mexico sun, so I thought a bit of shade and keeping the container moist would help.
But there's too much shade in the covered entry, so mostly all I have is a green tangle. Still, I like the shapes and forms. The pot was left here when we bought the house. It's old and the surface is flaking but I like it. I looked at buying a new one to replace it since it's deteriorating, but this size container is really expensive.
So I'll keep the flaking old urn and enjoy my shaded greenery that's producing only a few flowers.
Next year I want to try the same red and orange combo, but move the urn out into the front yard in full morning sun but late afternoon shade. Half sun, half shade, a compromise. I need a strong young man to help with that, though. It's really heavy.
Comments