Could you whip up a cool container in less that ten minutes? Sure, but what if you were presented with just a few plants, none of which necessarily "go together." Then were handed a wild card plant that forced you to reconsider your design? Fun, yes, but also not so easy when done on the fly. Top media and bloggers recently visited our nursery in Dayton, OR and took the container challenge. Here’s a video of how it all went down and the “recipe” for each container. (The containers were later donated to a great charity.) Might this be a fun idea for your next outdoor party?
Want to know more about the contestants? Live links are attached to their names taking you to their own sites.
WHO, WHAT, HOW
TEAM A: AUTUMN MARMALADE
Who (left to right)
Stephanie Rose, Thad Orr, Bren Haas, David Kirby
Idea:
Create a rich, more-is-more tapestry of textures reined in by a vertical element–in this case, a rusted metal tuteur.
Plant Recipe:
Sapphire Indigo™ Clematis
Royal Purple Smoke Tree
Coco Krunch® Weigela
Miss Huff Hardy Lantana
Bronze Carpet Stonecrop
Heavy Metal Blue Switchgrass
Sapphire Indigo™ Clematis
Zone: 4 – 10
Royal Purple Smoke Tree
Zone: 4 – 8
Coco Krunch® Weigela
Zone: 4 – 8
Miss Huff Hardy Lantana
Zone: 7 – 11
TEAM B: OREGON SUNSET
Who: (left to right)
Tom Christopher, Sherri Ribbey, Rochelle Greyer, Miles Rosedale
Idea:
Get maximum drama, height, and scale by grabbing one of the extra containers. Then, turn it over and place the planted pot on top of it.
Plant Recipe:
Sapphire Indigo™ Clematis
Feelin’ Blue Deodar Cedar Patio Tree
Miss Huff Hardy Lantana
Coco Krunch® Weigela
Angelina Stonecrop
Heavy Metal Blue Switchgrass
Feelin’ Blue Deodar Cedar
Zone: 6 – 9
Angelina Stonecrop
Zone: 3 – 11
Heavy Metal Blue Grass
Zone: 4 – 9
Miss Huff Hardy Lantana
Zone: 7 – 11
TEAM C: GOLD MEDAL FEVER
Who: (left to right)
Emily Rosedale-Kousoulis, Amy Andrychowicz, Jane Miller, Doug Scott
Idea:
Create a color story by hewing to a limited palette of limes and burgundy for a sophisticated, water wise planting.
Plant Recipe:
Gold Rush Dawn Redwood
Brakelights® Red Yucca
Coco Krunch® Weigela
Heavy Metal Blue Switch Grass
Angelina Stonecrop
Bronze Carpet Stonecrop
Gold Rush Dawn Redwood
Zone: 3 – 10
Brakelights® Red Yucca
Zone: 5 – 10
Bronze Carpet Stonecrop
Zone: 3 – 9
Heavy Metal Blue Grass
Zone: 4 – 9
Here’s how to throw your own container challenge:
- Provide a mix of plants with compatible zones, but diverse size and scale.
- Ensure that you provide a large enough pot. These are 22-inch inner diameter pots which have room for 3-5 large plants.
- Let everyone pick their plants with a design in mind THEN throw in a wildcard. We put the names of our wildcard plants in individual envelops; each team selected one, and what plant they got is what they had to use.
- Once planted, water in well to settle the soil; add more soil as needed.