Pipe Planters

I found a long piece of steel culvert rusting away behind the house in a ditch. Four metal-cutting saw blades and 20-odd pieces of sandpaper later, we now have five spiffy new planters. These are the three in the yard just off the kitchen.

It's a bit hard to see the middle planter there because of the plants, but it really is back there.

There's a pretty interesting variety of plants in there, especially considering the situation with the light. These guys all reside under an old Carolina Hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana), and on a pretty steep east-facing slope. Lots of morning sun, filtered afternoon light and basically dark from late afternoon on. Working with that, we put in some fennel and Bright Lights chard, an asparagus fern, some pansies and a lemon thyme. The chard has already gone to seed, and we also had some decorative cabbages in there that bolted as well. I replaced those plants with some Coral Bells heuchera and, most excitingly, some amaranth.

This is a gorgeous plant, also known as Love-Lies-Bleeding, that is absolutely thriving in less than ideal conditions. I picked up seeds for this and a green variety from Baker Creek Seeds, and I couldn't be happier. I'm already fantasizing about a whole hillside covered in amaranth, waving and rustling in the breeze...