As you may recall, our friends Chris and Susan recently moved to Seattle and bequeathed to Beth and I their large collection of potted succulents. Chris has nurtured these plants for several years while in Phoenix and could, unfortunately, not take the plants to their new house. One, he didn't think they would survive the move and two, he didn't think they would survive the climate. So, he asked, and I gratefully accepted, for Beth and I to take care of the plants.
What a tremendous gift! Beth and I feel very honored and blessed to receive the plants. In that spirit we want to make sure we take very good care of our new family members.
Many of the succulents Chris and Susan had given us do not fare well when exposed to direct sun. Chris had erected a sun screen on the side of their house to shade the plants. He had even planted vines under the shade. With the protection, the succulents and vines thrived.
Many of the succulents Chris and Susan had given us do not fare well when exposed to direct sun. Chris had erected a sun screen on the side of their house to shade the plants. He had even planted vines under the shade. With the protection, the succulents and vines thrived.
Inspired by his work and wanting to take care of the gift Chris and Susan had given us, I spent the last couple of weekends erecting a shade barrier on the side of our house. I "planted" posts, hung the shade and landscaped the before-unused space between our patio/house and the north wall of our yard. I smoothed the stones, arranged the plants, added in stepping pavers (Beth's idea) and attached trellises to the wall. I am in the process of planting vines to grow up the trellises. And tonight, I added in lights along the screen, from post to post.
It has, in a sense, extended our patio and turned a previously unused space into a mini greenhouse. We love having this new space; it's peaceful, cool and quiet and adds a new dimension to our home.
So, through Chris and Susan's gift, we received the beautiful collection of plants and through their inspiration, we received our Cactus House!
click on the images to view a larger version - there are captions below some of the pictures
our patio; you can see the posts, screen and one of the trellises. The posts are 8 ft, buried each about a foot, so the inside of the house is about 6 1/2 feet high.
I added this dowel rod on the end so we can roll up this end of the screen in cooler weather.
Part of the collection; the two plants on the right we had previously, but used two empty clay pots Chris and Susan gave us. Not only did they give us the plants, but all the plants are in great clay pots!
The table on our patio, also used to display plants from the collection.
I was concerned about the A/C unit being out of place, but now I don't even notice it. This is a good shot to see the posts and the pavers.
Looking down from the patio, towards the front of the house. One day, the wall will be bright green as the vine grows up the trellis.
Looking towards the back yard.
The view from the patio.
This is another plant from the collection. I love the pot, it's so bohemian =) We have it placed at near our front door.
More plants from the collection, above our kitchen cabinets. I love the plant in the center. It looks like an octopus or spider.
More plants, above our kitchen sink, looking out on our patio and Cactus House.
I added lights tonight. Sorry for the funky angles, it was dark!
2 comments:
Beautiful cacti, Aaron! Nice placement of the plants, the netting, and the lights!
Nice work Aaron - We are thrilled that you are taking such good care of Chris's plants! I love what you've done with the netting also. I know how much work that must have been. It really looks great.
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