Friday, March 1, 2013

Spring Inspiration

It's the first day of March, and it was above 70 degrees today. Spring really will be here soon. To keep from just going out and planting plants (only to watch them die if when we get another frost), I'm looking for inspiration to redo (or do the first time) some of the planting beds. These pictures are from my last trip to the Getty:

This succulent bed was pretty cool - I think I can recreate some of these combinations in the pipe garden.
I like the 'aurora' Sedum and that black rosette combination
 One of those black succulents made it though the winter, so I think I will try to create this combination with it. And the normal form of that sedum has grown in the front garden for the last few years.

This is another interesting color combo:
sprawling golden sedum and a pink rosette
 I have a (rather large) Echeveria that mostly made it through the winter. I might add some of the golden sedum to that same planter, after I remove some of the other plants.

This is a good idea for filling up empty space:
A Nasturtium vine crawling through a bed
 I did something similar last year with the melon vines. This year, I might tempt my absolute lack of luck starting anything from seed, and see if I can get some Nasturtiums to grow in the part-shade bed. They'll need part shade in our hot summer, I think. For the full sun beds, I'm trying to find some other alternatives, since last year, the melons got eaten by aphids...

I had to include this picture of an agave, I think. At first, I though it was a Phormium tenax of some sort, but it's not
That stripe is gorgeous!
I'm still looking for something to anchor the front garden bed -something with some height, and something unique. This guy is probably not hardy in our winters, but something like this might work really well...

8 comments:

  1. I think your maybe agave is a furcraea...they are lovely but not terribly hardy.

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    1. You might be right... and I guess hardiness doesn't matter in the climate (and fiscal!) environment of the getty!

      Thanks for your comment!

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  2. Beautiful color combinations. The bright sedum really makes it all work. I'd love to see what you come up with since we can't do plantings like that.

    Nasturtium likes to be cool even in the shade and will probably need to be replanted in the fall just like pansies and snapdragons.

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    1. Thanks for your comment! I'm hoping the sedum won't burn up in our summer heat.

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  3. What beautiful combos you photographed. Much inspiration there, thank you Renee. :)

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    1. Looking for inspiration keeps me from planting too early! Thanks for visiting!

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  4. Nice combos for small spaces - inspiring for a small patio home project I'm starting. Thanks for sharing - a friend invited me out to LA, and I'm already planning a Getty trip since I've never been.

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    1. I think you'll love it! And I'll look forward to seeing your take on it.

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