Every weekend I see people walking off with all sorts of flats of plants from the Greenmarket. And now that spring bulbs have faded and the danger of frost is gone, the flower beds are beginning to fill out with color and it's fun to see what people are coming up with.
I saw these two planters last week and really like the height and the playful feeling they planters have - like Where the Wild Things Are...
This planter has just three elements: bamboo, moss, and coleus. The bamboo branches have been clipped off except for the top to form the large clump. I can only imagine how good this will look when the coleus fills in. I have to admit I felt like a kid when I stood behind them and looked out at the street...
matt at apartmenttherapy dot com
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Comments (8)
I really LOVE the look they went for with these planters. Much different than the standard pansies and petunias! Anyone have any idea what variety of bamboo a person should use in order to recreate the look? I know that there are a surprising number of bamboo types and some are better for certain conditions that others... But I'm not sure which one would be best in this instance!
Oh yes, any more info on bamboo types and even the best type of containers (with drainage or without? fiberglass?) and sources for large planters would be great! This is exactly the type of look I was thinking of for in front of our place, perhaps with simpler design planters
Thanks Matt! That's a fabulous idea. Two big pots = tropical paradise.
Marlaina, there are a lot of bamboo kinds, you are right. And it may well depend on your location as to what kinds would be best to try.
One good idea is to print out the images Matt took, and take them to your local nursery. Ask the people there if there are species that will grow and flourish in your locale.
And you can start by reading about bamboo here:
http://www.americanbamboo.org/GeneralInfo.html
This section on growing indoors also applies to containers (duh) and there are some ideas on the heights.
http://www.americanbamboo.org/GeneralInfoPages/GrowingBambooIndoors.html
Hmm, I briefly checked out a bamboo web site, http://bamboosourcery.com/, and growing in containers looks a bit trickier then I expected. This site has good info too http://www.bamboogiant.com/speciesList/speciesList.php.
Oops, this link should work: http://bamboosourcery.com/cat_frame.cfm
Another good website is www.bamboogarden.com
They're a nursery outside Portland Oregon, and do mailorder. The great things are the photos, plant descriptions and other information- height, climate zone, running or clumping, container uses, etc.
Very French-embassy-in-the-tropics. Makes me want to read Somerset Maugham while sipping a Singapore sling.
By the way I just realized that these are in front of the mayor's house on e. 79th street. That would explain the presence of the cop by the curb.