Specialty Gardening: Pamela Crawford and side planting containers, 0 by sylguy

sylguy wrote:
pennefeather I tackled the big PC basket last year and it was a huge project but stunning. I'm 70 and the hubby and I had to get out the telescoping ladder to hang it from a tree on a chain designed for porch swings, as it was way too big for the deck and although it had the gismo on bottom to attach to a post it was too big for that too. It took 30/5" plants and 3/6" plants center top. I used ruby perilla at the top, and begonias, portulaca, licorice, silver dichondra, and lime green sweet potato vine. Per the video, I filled the bottom with soil up to the first row of 7 holes (the size of a half dollar with 4 radiating slits) added plant food and took each plant out of its pot, soaked the rootball in water and squeezed into a carrot shape, poked it through the hole and fanned out the roots. Next more dirt and 14 more plants, then dirt around the sides 2" below the top and added the 8 silvery plants, spread their roots, and put 3/6" perillas in the top. That's 32 trips up and down the step ladder (hubby went to an air show). I bragged at the nursery that it got full morning sun and filtered afternoon sun (I'm in Austin, Texas and "full sun" is tooo much) and they said, "so you have it on a swivel." Well no, I didn't, but I bought one and it was early in the process so hubby got under the basket like Atlas, I was back up the ladder with the slack, I slipped on a swivel. That puppy will hang there 'till we croak, no more high ladders, only short step ones. The cocoa liner held up well and I'll only replace it this year because the holes are stretched out. It was a horrendous summer and still I only watered every other day, thoroughly, because it was sooo big, but it lasted 'till well into Nov. and it got raves. The perilla grew 2' tall and bloused over leaving only a fringe of the silvery plants and the vine covered some of the other plants. I'm gearing up for this year. In the top I'm looking for a purple sword shaped upright leaved plant I've seen, I'l repeat the silvery fringe around the top, and I won't alternate with the vine, instead I'll only use 4 around the bottom row. Wish me luck. If I can post pix, I'l try for an early shot a full shot and a close up of the perilla. It's a gorgeous plant that I kept breaking off and planting directly in other pots, I wintered some over and will put them in regular pots.