Succulicious container garden at my dog groomer’s
While dropping off our dog, Cosmo, for a much needed shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits at my beloved West End Grooming last week, I paused to admire their pretty container garden, which brightens up the parking area by the door. Even if the space weren’t paved, raised containers would be a necessity for a place visited by so many dogs. A mix of tender and hardy succulents, woody lilies, and grasses is kept out of harm’s way in a half-dozen colorful glazed pots and stock tanks. One of the tanks is raised on bricks to vary the heights of the containers.
Stripey Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’ generally turns to mush during hard freezes of the sort we got last night. However, West End’s location in warmer central Austin, surrounded by heat-absorbing concrete walls, may have saved this handsome trio — I hope! I don’t know the name of the cascading succulent, but I like how its pale-yellow leaves echoes the stripes on the agaves. What looks like pine straw nestled in the foliage are the needles of a majestic bald cypress growing nearby.
A blushing grass — maybe Lindheimer muhly (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri) — still stands in autumnal glory, while the tiny, yellow daisies of hymenoxys (Tetraneuris scaposa) spill out from under its skirts. Yay for not cutting grasses back prematurely! Thank you, West End, for the lovely garden gift you give your customers.
And for taking such good care of our pooch. Here’s our handsome boy after getting spiffed up, lounging insouciantly on the patio table. A new year and an almost new dog!
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What a clean-cut looking young man. And the containers are nice, too!
I’m liking their container planting as much as you do Pam! And Cosmo is looking dapper after his haircut!
maybe the cascading succulent is a variegated form of our spekboom, Portulacaria afra. I have one with golden leaves, but hadn’t seen a variegated one before.
It seems other commenters agree with you, Diana. Thanks for the ID. I’d never heard the term “spekboom,” so thanks too for adding a cool new word to my horticultural vocabulary! —Pam
Cosmo looks gorgeous – and he’s very good to be patient when modeling too! I believe Diana is right and the trailing plant is Portulacaria afra ‘Variegata.’ I added some to one of my hanging succulent planters recently it’s a tough plant.
Thanks for seconding Diana’s ID, Kris. I’m going to have to try that plant myself. —Pam
And three’s the charm? I too am pretty sure you are seeing the form of Portulacaria afra that features yellow leaves on new growth. It is drought tolerant and hardy to 25 degrees so it ought to be good to go even after our recent cold spell.
I have the prostrate form in multiple containers and love the way it will cascade and spill. If your groomers were OK with it you could break off a stem and have your own plant growing in short order. It propagates about as easily as purple heart.
I was shocked to read that in S. Africa where Portulacaria afra is a native, it gets over 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It is commonly called Elephant Food and is reportedly widely grazed for its slightly sour taste. I can confirm local squirrels and birds like it but thankfully no elephants have shown up to sample it so far. (I complain so about deer – I just had to stop and think hard a minute about what it would like to garden around elephants!).
Hardy to 25F? That’s music to my ears when I’m looking for succulents for my garden, Deb. I will definitely beg for a piece the next time I’m there. Thanks for putting my deer problem in perspective too. I’ve seen elephants grazing in the wild, stripping entire branches bare and pushing over trees. As much as I’d enjoy the Samwise thrill of spotting an oliphaunt roaming my suburban street, I really would hate to attract one with a tasty container of Portulacaria. —Pam
A good way to begin a new year with a hair cut and pedicure. He looks handsome and so do the succulent containers.
Wonderful textures. The one nice thing about succulents, texture is do easy to achieve in such tiny spaces.
What a lovely fellow. Love Cosmo’s Texas tags. Love your blog.
Thanks, Cecil. The Texas tag is Cosmo’s rabies tag. Of course Texas always finds a way to put its silhouette on anything official. 😉 —Pam
That is one fine looking dog. The containers are nice too.