Purple oxalis for the porch

February 21, 2012


I just potted up a purple oxalis in a pretty blue pot for the porch. It really pops against the bronze pots I have there. Glass bead “mulch” is the finishing touch. Hello, spring!

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

13 responses to “Purple oxalis for the porch”

  1. Very pretty and I love the pots! It makes me want to go out and buy plants for my pots…at local nurseries (of course). 🙂

    Happy shopping, Amy. It definitely feels like spring at the nurseries. —Pam

  2. Looks great.
    So, do deer like Oxalis? That’s your front porch, right? They come right up on ours and chomp whatever they like….even in broad daylight.

    We’ll find out! I don’t often see deer right up next to the house, but it could happen. They do visit the front yard but perhaps less than they did since I’ve planted a deer-resistant garden. —Pam

  3. Lucy Abbott says:

    Oh Pam! I just love it! I can never get enough of dark colored foliage. The container is SO beautiful!

    Thanks, Lucy. I’m pleased with it too! —Pam

  4. Ally says:

    That looks great. You’re right, the dark purple really pops against the bronze pot. That gives me an idea for growing purple heart in a container. I wonder how it would work in a container. Any thoughts?

    Purple heart works great in a container, Ally. If planted near the edge it will dangle over the edge nicely. Works for sun or shade. —Pam

  5. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    Spring…I wish. Pretty plants in your pots.

    It’ll be there soon, Lisa. Hang in there. —Pam

  6. katzien says:

    So THATS what that is…I always called it purple clover. Love it…I’ll add it to my list of purples (purple heart, purple ruellia, purple salvia!)

    Purples are good! Glad to ID it for you, Katzien. —Pam

  7. Pam, I’ve had the most amazing volunteer oxalis show up this year. I have yellow blooming, pink blooming, and one with extra large rosy blooms that is stunning! I’m afraid to move it while it is blooming because I don’t want to slow down the blooms. Do you think I could put it up in a pot now?

    I bet you could, Robin. For less stress, dig it up with a generous circumference of soil around root ball. It sounds pretty. —Pam

  8. Lynn says:

    Very striking purple color. I haven’t had much luck keeping this version of oxalis alive but the little greener ones with white and pink flowers have come back in the flower beds for the last two year. Amazingly surviving last year’s drought in West Texas.

    They can be tenacious in the right spot. My purples in the ground went dormant last summer, but they are back up now. —Pam

  9. Scott Weber says:

    I love those purple Oxalis…I can never seem to keep them happy, though 🙁

    What?? There’s a plant you can’t grow in Oregon? I find it hard to believe, Scott. —Pam

  10. And is that a variegated carex behind it? Evergold or something like that? One of my favorite combos is purple oxalis with Silvery Sunproof liriope or even spider plant (airplane plant)…just love variegated foliage with purple 🙂 I have tons of purple oxalis in my garden. I have put it in containers and then when they are dormant forget that I have them in the pots and then throw the old soil into my compost pile, and then when I add the compost to my garden, lo and behold, I have purple oxalis popping up everywhere. But that’s okay by me 🙂

    Yes, the variegated sedge was unlabeled at the nursery, so I’m not sure which one it is. It does look very nice with the purple oxalis. Lucky you to have it popping up throughout your garden. —Pam

  11. Layanee says:

    Love that and the glass bead ‘mulch’. Well, it is mulch isn’t it. Austin in February is looking much more divine than here in New England. It is coming though. The angle of the sun says so.

    February’s first flush of spring sold me on Austin way back in 1994, when we were here visiting and house-hunting in preparation for a move from Raleigh. The redbuds and Texas mountain laurels were in bloom, and the wind was soft and warm. I fell in love. Of course, a blue norther hit at the end of our visit and I nearly froze, but February is still pretty nice most years. —Pam

  12. I have always loved the dark Oxalis, your in that container with the blue glass is a great combination. Looking into getting some oxalis for my garden…..stunning statement in the garden.

    I know some varieties can be a pest for some gardeners (maybe up north?). But in my garden it’s a lovely spring bloomer that never gets out of hand. —Pam

  13. Cheryl says:

    Very pretty! I just noticed that my purple Oxalis is coming back from the “dead” in one of my flower beds.It isn’t coming back as fast or as eagerly as the weedy yellow one that threatens to take over the world, but it is coming back. Yay.

    Yay indeed! Maybe it just needs another week of beautiful weather to really get going. —Pam