Winter Containers

Obviously a major part of what I do at work is containers, both at the big house and in the penthouse garden. Since the penthouse is such a harsh environment to grow almost anything, the containers change very little during the winter. There are some tiny containers that come and go seasonally, but for the most part, the plantings up there are permanent.

In the garden at the big house, we just finished putting together the winter containers (there are 58 of them). Here are some photos, though most of the arrangements haven't "flushed out" yet. I'll post more photos in a few weeks, once they're looking a little more full.

The top container is part of a grouping of three. For the winter, the largest pot is anchored with a cryptomeria "Sekkan sugi", the middle one is a variegated acuba, and the smallest of the three is this arborvitae called "Whipcord." It's a favorite container conifer of mine, great for shade in the summer, but can take full sun in the winter.

The second photo is "Black Dragon" cryptomera, variegated boxwood, flowering kale, two different types of dusty miller, "Miracle" heuchera, and dianthus. The Black Dragon, heuchera, and dianthus will all go out into the landscape in the spring.

The bottom container is pretty simple this year; just the variegated boxwood with pansies (Delta "Apple Cider Mix"). These containers are right next to beds filled with more of the same pansies, so we try to pull that same color into the other container for continuity.