maybe wrong, and very wrong
On my nursery visit last weekend I saw some great stuff: dozens of heucheras, lots of perennials just starting to emerge, color. I also saw some questionable stuff. Things that make me stop and say "that's just wrong".
The first example is not a clear case. My first thought upon seeing this foot was "wow, funky", but then I decided it was "too funky"... or did I?
Even now I'm undecided. I think what I object to most about the foot planter is the scale of it compared to the plants that you can put into it.
The opening is tiny! Well, small at least:
Plus, the price is much too high for my tastes. If I'm going to spend $80 on a pot, it better be a big one, able to hold either lots of smaller plants or a huge one.
Still, I could see this working with some other less-whimsical pots, or half-hidden in foliage in one of the beds.
I don't know that I'd go overboard with the whole series though:
The larger head planter was $100, and I couldn't find a price on the "hands"pot. All of these are hard to visualize filled with plants. I still don't know if they'd look goofy or great.
None of these came home with me. Perhaps they're not wrong for some gardens, but they didn't feel "right" enough for mine.
I went to a second nursery that same day, but they didn't have many perennials or annuals yet. I did see something that caught my eye in one of the greenhouses though:
Bamboo! Potted up like a perennial! At a reasonable price! Sounds too good to be true...
Unfortunately, it is. This is Borinda boliana, a clumping bamboo that is "Probably the most cold-tolerant in the Borinda genus" according to Bamboo Garden.
Clumping, cold-tolerant -- sounds great! The problem is, "cold-tolerant" is relative, and although this bamboo is fantastic in the coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest and California, it's only hardy to 10ºF, rated zone 8. Also, like many of the temperate clumping bamboos that originate in mountainous areas, it doesn't tolerate hot and humid climates.
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| You should do a better job of hiding your recent repotting. |
So it can't take St. Louis winters, nor our summers. Perfect!
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| At least they're still alive! |
It's just wrong that a local nursery would be selling this. I guess it illustrates just how misunderstood bamboo is, even among professional plant people.
( I suppose I should go back there this weekend and try to educate them about the bamboo. It would be another wrong if I didn't try.)
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I was hooting with laughter when I saw those funky pots. The face-pot is reminiscent of Salvador Dali's pieces. I love them and they would definitely make great conversation pieces. However the price is prohibitive. I can also see and understand your rationality.
I run from those pots, all of them. They are horrid!!! As is nurseries selling plants not suited to the climate they're selling in...at least if they don't have signage saying such. Good luck with your attempt to educate...let us know how that goes!
Yikes on the ceramic pots and those prices... Your not alone at all on passing on them. On the other topic, I too tried educating a nursery that at one time received monroiva tissue cultured bamboo. It really depends on the owners, but in my case my suggestion they not carry it fell on deaf ears. You may have better luck considering it won't last the summer at the nursery. Please let us know how that turns out.
These pots were in the Austin nurseries a couple of years ago, and I bought two matching feet. I like mine, but then again my garden is off the beaten path, so funky feet are appropriate plus the feet match the name of my blog. :-)
The one who bought two of the feet planters wishes to remain anonymous. :) Were they around the same price when you bought them?
I still think they'd look great in the right setting.
Just be glad they actually have good root balls inside those pots even though they were recently transplanted.
I've seen nurseries here where they sell for up to 100$ bare root fruit trees that are basically a stick inside of a 25 gallon plant. You can basically tell by wobbling the stick back and forth.
I have my eye on a Big Foot statue at the local garden center. It's about two feet tall and is that iconic pose where he's fleeing and looking back over his shoulder. My husband, however, is not a fan. Ha! Maybe someday!
The feet I bought were the same price, but I'd been given a gift card to the nursery so it knocked a huge chunk off of the price.
Big feet in the garden? Umm. I am not mad about that! Kinda "What were you thinking?"
LOL. It's comforting to know that things are no different in your neck of the woods. Weird accessories, and plants that will never thrive in the area where they're sold.