New steel planter and meadowy sedge in my garden
You might not know it from my all-day-all-night coverage of gardens on the Denver Fling tour, but I’ve been busy in my own garden too. My happiest addition is this new custom steel planter in front of the blue stucco wall by the pool. Tina Strarup of Affinity Metalworks created it for me out of 3/16″ gauge mild steel, which will patina to a rusty hue. I planted it up with water-thrifty, heat-loving orange bulbine and a few baby Mexican feathergrasses and mulched it with fines of Texas black gravel (sold by the bag at Whittlesey Landscape Supplies), and I LOVE it.
This blue wall has been the backdrop for a number of gardening experiments. Originally I envisioned growing plants against the wall for desert-style shadow play and color, but in-ground plants never thrived here. So I hung my Austin sign in front of the wall and enjoyed that for a while. But I still wanted plants against that cobalt blue. A long, skinny planter — 48″ long x 10″ wide x 16″ tall — does the trick. And the plants are non-messy and soft so no one gets stabbed — assuming they steer clear of the little agave in the purple pot.
Austin has had a super-rainy spring and early summer, resulting in luxuriant growth in the garden and weeds galore. I’ve gotten the weeds temporarily under control and am enjoying the meadowy lushness of the sedge lawn by the driveway. This sedge is what I’ve long called Texas sedge here on my blog, sold by Barton Springs Nursery for years under the name ‘Scott’s Turf’ but now simply as “lawn sedge” (Carex leavenworthii).
Golden ‘Everillo’ sedge has thrived along the dry creek despite increased sun after a live oak died. Texas dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor) adds drama and enjoys heavy runoff when it rains. And a swath of variegated flax lily (Dianella tasmanica ‘Variegata’) behind the sedge glows brightly against the shady backdrop of the neighbors’ fence.
The long view, with a glowing sunset sky lighting up the live oaks.
Farther along the driveway, strappy Texas sotol (Dasylirion texana) and golden thryallis (Galphimia gracilis) glow golden too.
And as twilight falls, datura‘s (Datura wrightii) pale blossoms unfurl, lingering through morning to echo the tiny white flowers of skullcap (Scutellaria suffrutescens ‘White’) in front.
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Digging Deeper
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I like its pre-rust stage, too. Your garden looks fabulous…gail
Thanks, Gail! It’s having a decent moment. I’m trying to enjoy it when it’s looking good instead of looking for things that need fixing.
Is the little Agave in the purple pot a Moby baby?
No, I think it’s an Agave parryi var. truncata.
Thank you for naming the lovely carex! I will replace the carex I planted years
ago that has never looked good.
I’ve had success with this one wherever I’ve planted it. My Berkeley sedge, not as much.
Very pretty! I like the carex too.
Thanks, Laura!
Your garden looks happy, Pam, and I love your new addition. Seeing your sedge lawn has me thinking all the harder about whether I should try something similar at the bottom of my back slope.
It’s such a versatile groundcover. I love the meadowy look, and you can plant bulbs in it for seasonal color.
“MOST impressive!”….:)
If it has the lcp seal of approval, I am happy. 🙂
Pam, is there a sedge that is more miniature than the long turf sedge?
Hmm, not that I can think of. At least not in the retail nursery trade. Pat McNeal is the Austin-area sedge expert, so he would likely know.
Bulbine’s completely new to me. Has it been in your garden before? It’s just the perfect scale and color to front the blue wall. Was interested to read that it was for a while grouped with Asphodeline; asphodel and anything resembling it are hugely appealing, but few forms are happy in the clay here. Even the hardier ones want more drainage and cooler air than we can offer. This southern African apparently thrives in heat as long as it’s dry/drained; a great combination of tough constitution and delicate but showy flowers. Will you overwinter it in the container?
Bulbine is a wonderful plant for Austin summers, but it’s a bit iffy in our winters. It doesn’t love hard freezes and is really a zone 9 plant, not 8b. Still, it survives some winters, so lots of people grow it here. I have yellow-flowering bulbine in a raised bed in the back garden, and I’ve grown the more commonplace orange bulbine in previous gardens, but this is the first time here. I’m hoping with the protection of the wall and proximity to the heat-retaining swimming pool that it will overwinter for me in this spot.