For my birthday, the love of my life found a most unique present. He went out searching...the "I'll know it when I see it" method of gift shopping...and stopped by an itinerant garden shop. The proprietress had a healthy display of Florida hardy plants and gifts. He came home with two beautiful
purple fountain grass plants, a
plumbago and a terracotta Down Under Pot. Skeptical at first, because I'd seen the silly looking 'topsy-turvy-as-seen-on-tv' method of planting, I liked the look of this clay pot. It was already planted with coleus.
Wayne made the mistake of mentioning that she had a cobalt blue glazed Down Under Pot. It was more expensive, so he got the terracotta one. Cobalt blue is my favorite color. I may have said that out loud. Later in the day, he went back and bought the blue one.
I took cuttings from coleus in my garden and augmented the planting of the blue pot with
white vinca. I did have to add a bit more coconut husk to the top so that the potting mix didn't fall through when planting. A US 15 knitting needle helped tamp down the potting mix as I added it to the top (soon to be bottom) of the pot. I used rooting hormone for the coleus and carefully tapped off the soil from the vinca before potting. Once everything is thoroughly rooted, in two to three weeks, I'll upend the pot and hang it.
R&J Plants sell at the corner of Lake Magdalene Blvd. and Florida Avenue in the parking lot of Sunset Market on Saturdays.
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