Dan's Papers - June 19, 2009 - Earthly Delights

I have just finished planting my own pots. This activity is always timed for my mother's annual June visit, but this year I left it to the last minute. I was in a quandary about what to use. But inspiration came in the nick of time, from a friend's planters that I was requested to put together.

Some large agapanthus were ordered for an enormous pot on my back patio. It's an imported terra cotta, all weather pot that is 42 inches in diameter. Mara Seibert of Seibert and Rice Importers gave me the pot to use for the Long House container invitational exhibition, but after I was done gluing seashells to it, I really could not say that it was 'borrowed,' as it could be not be returned in the same condition that it was received. So instead of simply returning it, I offered to barter for the pot, by planting her pots for her.

Seibert's front door color scheme is deep purple, silver and white. Heliotrope, Helychrysum and Bacopa were planted in smaller pots that flank the bottom of the stairs leading up to the porch. Two larger planters at the top of the steps have Vitex, Dicondra Silver Falls, white Verbena and more Heliotrope. The back is a bright cheerful mix of blue Plumbago, yellow Lantanas, red Pentas and plum Verbena. Once we were done though, I noticed that one of the new additions to the front pots was sitting empty at the top of the stairs by itself, and I realized that I could not repeat the same sun-loving plants that I had used in the other pots, because this one was in the shade.

What is silver or purple and thrives in the shade? I find Torenia to be unreliable. Ageratum Red Top is a fantastic plant that grows with the same stature as Blue Horizon in sun or shade, but has been completely unavailable this year - for some reason, no one grew it this season. Browallia was not purple enough or striking enough. I needed something either covered with flowers, or bold and graphic, eye-catching and unusual - a plant that could fill the pot and stand alone, yet complement the larger planters' color scheme.

Foraging around Buckley's in East Hampton later in the week, I came across a fantastic pure Silver Begonia. These take dry shade and really glow in a darker corner. There were actually several different kinds of silver leaved Begonias available there. One was an angel wing with silver splashes over a pale apple green. This hue of green was not going to fit in with the color scheme at the front door, even though the pale salmon flowers would, but I did not want to add another color to the existing palette either. A silver and purple swirl leaved Begonia was equally gorgeous, but the leaves were neither tall enough nor large enough to give me the kind of impact that was needed from a distance to say, 'This is the front door.' The one I chose has slightly up-right pure silver leaves, with crinkly toothed edges, and can clearly stand alone.

I had just the spot in the shade at my place for this too, so I bought a whole bunch. The silver will accent the deep blues of my agapanthus, and light up the shady spot by the back door all summer long. Better yet, these require no maintenance other than watering once a week.