Black bamboo will soon enough take over these three big pots outside Half Moon Yoga in Langley Village, but for now I have a little room to work with. Serenity, simplicity and easy-care were foremost in mind as I chose plantings, for since I'm in Seattle part of the week, these pots need to be as self-sufficient as pots can be...
The bamboo is all about a simple, leafy, year-round screen. Safely contained in these big pots, the bamboo is not traveling anywhere, so it really is low-maintenance. And it looks its best raised up in a container with the hard edge of an encircling rim playing off the verticality of the canes and the soft flutter of the leaves.
In spring, delicate checkered lilies (Fritillaria meleagris) bloom around the edges of the pots. In summer, the only flowers are begonias that thrive in the partially shady location. Carexes and variegated liriope fluff out the base of the pots year round. And for contrast in scale, color and texture, each pot features a fancy-leafed begonia, which I'll have to lift and bring inside for winter...but not yet. We have maybe six weeks before the first serious frost that would kill these swirly and speckled beauties...
The contrast of sleekly striped liriope, fluffy, bright 'Fire' begonias, and the dark-trimmed, textural spiral of seashell begonias...
In the shadiest pot (below) I added a 'Lime Rickey' heuchera for a bigger leaf texture and chartreuse to brighten the shadows, also a Begonia boliviensis for a splash of scarlet. I repeated elements in every pot, adding in something unique to each. Don't you love that speckled begonia leaf? Looks more fauna than flora...
All summer I've watered these pots just once a week (they're in a mostly shady spot outside the studio doors), fed them with fish fertilizer a couple of times at best, and left them alone - here's how they look on the last day of September.
It's not that I don't love fussy, colorful, flowery pots, but sometimes more edited, tranquil plantings are every bit as effective. All the green rests your soul and your eyes, and they take so much less upkeep to look their best. Pots like these, with an emphasis on foliage contrasts, take little seasonal changing out - adding a few begonias for summer that need lifting in autumn, and thinning the bamboo canes - that's about it. These may come as close as I'll ever get to "sustainable" container plantings, whatever that means...
How often do you have to repot the black bamboo?
Posted by: Elaine Fischer | September 30, 2012 at 06:13 PM
Hi Elaine,
With adequate watering and a good yearly dose of manure and compost, black bamboo can live in nice big pots like these for many years....It doesn't mind being pot bound with adequate nutrition and water...
Val
Posted by: valerie Easton | September 30, 2012 at 06:37 PM
Could you recommend a good source of black bamboo in seattle area?
Posted by: Ricardo Labao | October 05, 2012 at 09:03 PM