Potting Topiaries for My Winter House Courtyard
It's so exciting to see gardening projects completed around my Bedford, New York farm.
Behind my Winter House is a gravel courtyard where I love to display tropical plants during warmer months. This year, I decided this courtyard was the perfect spot for six giant Australian Brush Cherry topiaries. Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees or shrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes. Four of the topiaries would surround an antique faux bois gazebo I acquired years ago, and two slightly smaller ones would flank a doorway.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Not long ago, I purchased six large topiaries. Here are two of the four larger ones. This day was a bit windy, so Brian carefully laid them down to prevent them from being knocked over in their plastic pots.
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- I also have two smaller, but still quite tall, topiaries with single foliage spheres.
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- All the topiaries are Australian Brush Cherry treees, Eugenia myrtifolia. The Brush Cherry is an evergreen tree or shrub native to Australia and New Zealand. The small dark green lance-shaped leaves are firm, glossy and arranged in opposite leaf pairs. In spring, the Brush Cherry may bear small puffy white flowers. The ripe red fruits in autumn are edible and loved by birds.
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- Ryan and Brian carry four of these large urns into the courtyard – they’re the perfect size for the larger trees.
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- One of the potted trees is placed into an urn, making sure it fits well and sits level before planting. This pot will definitely be big enough and will allow the spreading roots to grow away from the root ball.
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- Once the urns are positioned, Phurba begins placing black granite bricks under the pots for proper drainage.
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- I have thousands of these bricks. I originally purchased the bricks for a terrace floor project, but that never happened, and instead, the bricks remained in three large crates stored alongside my stable barn. I used one-third of them to line the footpaths of my large perennial flower cutting garden. More were used to edge the long path under my winding clematis pergola. Each black granite brick measures eight inches long by about two inches wide and two inches thick. Any extra are used to raise pots like these off the ground.
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- Next, Brian places a shard over the drainage holes at the bottom of each planter, so soil does not fall out when watered. Saving the shards from broken pots is a great way to repurpose those pieces.
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- Here, Brian and Phurba carry one of the potted trees to a nearby tarp, so the original plastic pot could be removed.
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- Brian loosens the old, outer roots to stimulate new growth and promote good aeration. This one is not too bad. If the roots were completely wrapped around and under the plant, that would be called girdling and essentially chokes the plant, and restricts the movement of water and nutrients to the leaves as they put pressure on the trunk.
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- Brian does this carefully with all the topiary root balls – this one needed more attention. One can see how the roots were starting to grow under the root ball. Left in its pot, this topiary would start to decline.
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- Phurba and Brian fill about half of the container with nutrient-rich compost made right here at the farm.
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- My compost includes dark organic matter made up of manure and biodegradable materials. Compost is ready to use after two years. During this time, it is mixed with water, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, which break down the organic material.
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- Phurba positions the tree to ensure it is completely straight. Brian stands several feet away to make sure the best side faces out. Phurba looks over to smile for this quick photo.
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- More of my composted soil is added around the root ball. The important thing to remember is to plant the tree “bare to the flare” – meaning the root flare at the base of the trunk should be slightly above the soil level.
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- Brian and Phurba then top dress with an all-purpose compost-based soil mix from the Vermont Compost Company in Montpelier, Vermont.
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- This Fort Vee mix is developed for organic gardening. It is great for use in soil blocks, trays, and pots.
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- The mix is blended from composted manure and plant materials, blonde horticultural grade sphagnum peat moss, crushed and screened granite and basalt, blood meal, kelp meal, steamed bone meal, mined gypsum, vermiculite, washed coconut coir, and herbs.
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- Phurba gently presses the soil into the pot to ensure it is well packed, adding more mix if needed.
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- And then Brian sprinkles Osmocote around the base of each plant and mixes it with the soil mix. All the topiaries will be given a good drink once planted.
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- Osmocote particles are known as prills. The beige shell on the prill coats a core of nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
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- Here are the two smaller topiaries that flank the door – all potted up. The vessel on the right is an antique English urn made of lead – it weighs hundreds of pounds. The other is a lighter conical strapped planter replica made by Pennoyer Newman.
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- And here are all the large topiaries in their urns – one at each corner of this antique faux bois gazebo with my antique bird bath at the center. They all look so beautiful in the courtyard. I am looking forward to entertaining here this summer!
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