I thought I would start some terrace gardening when we first started to head south for the entire winter.
A lot of this was due to four hand painted terrace pots.
These were part of the contents of the condo that we purchased. The pots vary in size and match the color of our condo, white, pink railings and blue windows. The previous owner had apparently found these pots somewhere and could not resist buying them to place on the south west facing terrace. I probably would have done the same.
Initially, I thought I would plant vibrant colored Bougainvillea in these wonderful pots. So off we went to visit garden centers. I found three beautiful plants, one for each of three of the pots. They were gorgeous!
However, there were some things that I had not counted on.
First is the fact that it is a rare day in Florida when the wind does not blow . This means that the petals were all over our terrace, never mind the terraces of our neighbors.
Also, while I bought soaking crystals, very popular in this part of the world, I did not believe the instructions and mixed far too many crystals in the soil. Then continued to water normally. Mistake.
And then we had to go home for a month, and while I made arrangements for weekly watering while we were gone, things did not work out too well.
The plants were turning yellow (too much water), they had lost most of their blooms, and all I was left with was a mess on my terrace, as well as my neighbor’s.
Lesson learned, while flowering plants would have been my absolute first choice, this is not possible on condo terraces, open to daily winds and February sea fog.
So, how about something practical, plastic!
We did actually find a fabulous artificial plant store. They had artificial plants of the variety native to Florida, many of which I had seen on our golf course, so this was the answer. The initial purchase consisted of two beautiful cornstalk plants. They were very lifelike and had really interesting, twisting woody stalks. In addition, a gorgeous fountain grass and a tall, maybe 4 foot, bamboo plant.
Back when I initially bought all these, they were all installed in a small weighted pot, firmly held in place with a foam filler so the pots could easily be seated in one of my condo color coordinated pots and the arrangement would not shift.
So out with the old, in with the new.
No watering, no shedding (I thought), I just had to place them in my beautiful pink and blue condo matching pots, add some pea gravel to keep the pots in place, top up with some bark chips, and instant terrace garden!
But, once again, I was beaten by the wind. But, this time, the sun also became my enemy as the bamboo, while UV resistant, started to fade after a couple of years, and the wind stripped most of the leaves by year three.
The cornstalk plant, one of which was fully open to the elements, also lost most of its leaves by about the same time.
So, back to the artificial plant store. A mere three years after our first visit and the world had changed.
The plants looked plastic where the originals were so lifelike that it was almost impossible to tell the difference. I was told that this is what was now available.
I believe that many of the imitation plants were originally designed by artists who studied the plant and were instrumental in their replication. I’m not sure what happened to those artists by I would guess the same as what’s happened to stone masons, trim carpenters and true gardeners, to mention a few. A little like what has happened to home cooking, fewer and fewer people seem to know ‘how to’ now a days (and hence my quest to change this!).
I did replace the tall bamboo and did purchase another fountain grass clump, but on inspection at home, compared to the original, this fountain grass is not nearly as intricate or robust as the first.
Five years later, I have one original corn stalkplant remaining and one original fountain grass. I added the pampas grass, which has now faded and the leaves are breaking.
I no longer wonder why surrounding balconies are bare, of furniture, of plants, of pots or even artificial plants.
I like green, I like to break up the scenery when looking out, or sitting on my terrace, but I think that I will retire these specimens at the end of this season.
Maybe, just another two fountain grass clumps?
It is a chore to move them in doors at the end of each season, and then out at the beginning of the next. After all, they are weighed down by pea gravel and wood chips and cemented pots…
And this all happened because I wound up with four beautiful pink and blue condo matching pots.
Do you think I need some new plants, or should I call it a day?
