Margaritaville yucca in culvert pipe planter & my winter garden
Doesn’t everyone want to go to Margaritaville in the winter? I do, so I planted a Yucca recurvifolia ‘Margaritaville’ in a tall culvert pipe I’ve been hoarding for several months, waiting for inspiration to hit. Now it adds height to the drop-off bed behind the pool, next to the yellow motel chairs.
Here’s a closer look. I separated two pups from the mother plant and stuck them in the ground at the base of the culvert pipe. This has been a tough spot to get anything to grow because it gets a blast of afternoon sun in the summer, shade the rest of the day, and I’m neglectful about watering this space. Yuccas should be perfect, and ‘Margaritaville’ has floppy, less spiky leaves, so it’ll be fine by the pool.
Hm, what else is going on in the back garden? It’s getting spikier and spikier over time as the plants grow and the drought continues; whenever a plant fails I replace it with something spiny. Three softleaf yuccas (Y. recurvifolia) by the bottle tree hulk shoulder-to-shoulder, like mob heavies. Moby, my whale’s tongue agave (A. ovatifolia), shines silvery white at the top of the retaining wall. In the blue pot at the base of the wall, ‘Blue Elf’ aloe is pushing up bloom stalks.
Looking in the other direction, you see the stock-tank container pond and my husband’s beautiful shed. Three more short culvert-pipe planters display a trio of shade-tolerant squid agaves (A. bracteosa).
The ‘Colorado’ waterlily bloomed yesterday, amazingly. This is its winter-pale blossom unfurling in the morning. I neglected to photograph it fully open, but it was lovely and a welcome sight in January.
While my hired crew was here ripping out grass in the front yard, I also had them replace the squishy pea gravel on this hillside path with a crushed limestone that knits together and is much easier to walk on.
It’s gray today but good weather for a hike or working in the garden. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be near 80 F (26.6 C) again. A typical Austin winter.
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Pam, where do you get your culvert pipes and how do you get them cut to size? Oh, maybe they come in different sizes already. I’ve been thinking about getting some. I like your idea for yucca in those hard places – shade and then blasting sun. I have a lot of that in my yard!
Jean, I found the culvert pipe remnants listed on Craigslist. They had a bunch of short pieces for sale, so I just picked up a few. —Pam
I love that pipe! Great idea. So simple I shoulda thought of it.
Even better if you can find it for free. I wasn’t so lucky, but it was on sale. —Pam
Perfect treatment for my favorite space in your back yard!
Thanks, David. 🙂 —Pam
Love that Yucca! Mine has started to produce a couple of pups since I planted it (also in a container), I’m not looking forward to trying to separate them.
The 4th picture kind of shocked me, I’ve known your pond tank sets on a slope (I remember you working to level it before you filled it up) but that shot really shows what a slope it is! (and what a great job you did of getting the tank level.
Still dreaming of my own culvert planters, with Agaves of course!
Separating the yucca pups was pretty easy, Loree. Each was attached to the mother plant with a thick lateral root, but I clipped through it easily with my hand pruners. As for the slope in the back yard, yes, it’s quite substantial! From the door to the lower garden (where the trampoline resided until recently) it drops about 10 to 12 feet. —Pam
The yucca does look just right in the taller culvert pipe and the rest of your garden looks great too. It’s been a slow transition for me, but I am beginning to work in more succulents and appreciating them more.
After installing one small area in pea gravel as a test, I find we prefer the larger size gravel overall.
I can never seem to locate the same exact color or size of gravel from one landscaping project to the next. It frustrates me, but I’m trying to let it go and live with the different gravels in different parts of my garden. —Pam
Pam,
I Love that yucca in the culvert pipe. The lines of the pipe are sooo cool.
Yael
It’s the simplest sort of planter but so cool—to my eyes anyway. I’m glad you like it too. —Pam
I was gonna ask the same thing…I remember looking for some of that pipe this summer…but to no avail 🙁
Scott, I ran across an ad for culvert pipe remnants on Craigslist last summer. Just keep an eye out, and you’re bound to find some eventually. —Pam
Your garden looks good. You have so much structure…looks good winter and summer.
Love the new yucca in the culvert pipe.
Thank you, Linda! I get a lot of enjoyment out of my winter garden. Having a lot of evergreens helps, as do pots in the garden, which add height even when some plants have died back. —Pam
Looking good Pam. Where did you get the culverts? Nice idea.
Hi, Lola. I found the culvert pipe remnants listed on Craigslist last summer. —Pam
You really have done a fine job in such a short period of time, and winter’s less colorful cloak makes it easy to see. I look forward to seeing the front transformed.
Thanks, Les. I look forward to getting busy with the planting out front soon. —Pam
Still LOVE that shed soooo much. I’m working on height in my yard this year…off to look on CL.
Have fun with your online browsing, Mamaholt. I bet you’ll have structural plans for Jackdaddy soon. —Pam
Looks like everyone is on the lookout for culvert pipe. I have been eying construction sites hungrily, but it seems that plastic has replaced metal…just not the same. Yours add such wonderful texture to your scheme.
I was happy to find those pieces, Ricki, and several of us in Austin were able to get them while that Craigslist ad ran. I’m sure if you keep looking they’ll turn up in your area too. —Pam