Displaying Potted Agaves Around the Pool
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, we're always working off a long list of gardening tasks. This time of year, these projects include potting plants in outdoor ornamental containers.
During the warmer months, I always display lots of potted plants around my home - on the terrace parterre, in the courtyard behind my Winter House, on the stone ledges around my carport, along the carriage roads, and various other locations. Last week, my gardeners planted a collection of Agave bracteosa, or Squid Agave to display around my pool. Agaves are succulents, meaning they store water in their fleshy leaves, enabling them to thrive in arid and semi-arid regions.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Every spring, I take out many of my outdoor ornamental urns and fill them with plants. They do so well outside in the summer months. On this day, my gardeners are planting these round urns with lush, green agaves.
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- Here are Ryan and Josh carrying one of the very heavy round bowl planters poolside.
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- Ryan assesses each plants’s size and form and places one next to each ornamental urn ready for planting.
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- Some of the urns are larger than others, but all have drainage holes at the bottom.
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- Ryan brings a collection of wooden shims which are used to raise the pots off the ground just enough for the water to properly drain.
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- He places several shims of similar size under each pot. I have shims of some kind under every pot here at the farm.
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- Next, he places a shard at the bottom of each planter. It keeps dirt from falling through the hole while making sure there is still room for proper drainage.
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- Saving the shards from broken pots and using them to cover drainage holes is a great way to repurpose those pieces.
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- Agave plants have rosettes of fleshy leaves, some soft and smooth, while others have sharp spines.
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- Agaves form so-called offshoots. These offshoots are connected to the mother plant by a stem but form their own roots. Ryan removes the “babies” from their mother and saves them for replanting.
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- In the pot, Ryan places a layer of weed cloth in the bottom to protect the vessel itself. This will also make it easier to remove the plant next autumn, when it is put back in the greenhouse for the cold season.
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- Ryan fills the container with a fast-draining potting soil that holds moisture but drains well. Then he sprinkles a generous amount of all-purpose plant fertilizer from Scott’s.
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- Agave leaves are filled with gel allowing the plant to survive in extreme dry conditions for a period of time.
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- Agave prefers a sunny location with at least six hours of direct sunlight. Full sun plants always do so nicely here by the pool. The tough skin of the leaves is able to withstand even harsh solar rays without burning.
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- Here are two planters already done – they will fill out these pots well during the summer.
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- In total, there are seven of these containers around the pool. They look great near my newly planted Ginkgo biloba Goldspire™ Obelisk trees.
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- I purchased six of these trees. Ginkgo Goldspire™ is a highly ornamental, non-fruiting male tree originating in Italy. It has a very upright, tight fastigiate habit, and the foliage tends to be smaller than other species.
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- New foliage on the Ginkgo Goldspire™ emerges a rich shade of green, fan-shaped, and slightly curled. It keeps its color through summer, then turns buttery shades of yellow and gold in autumn before dropping.
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- Here’s a view of all six. The term “obelisk” refers to the tall, four-sided, narrow tapering which ends in a pyramid shape at the top.
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- At north end of my pool I have these staddle stones – the top of one is in the foreground. Staddle stones were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders. They typically looked like giant stone mushrooms, but mine are square – a more rare and unique version.
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- Here’s a look from the other end. When I built this pool, I wanted to make sure it had unobstructed views of the landscape beyond. I think the potted agave and all the surrounding trees and hedges will look so pretty through the season.
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