That stupid wheelbarrow

Last summer I bought this old cracked iron wheelbarrow at Salvage Works in Kenton.

I planted it with lavender, then sedum Autumn Joy, then with a lot of weeds. Everything I’ve planted has just looked too precious when I wanted the look of gothic rot.

This summer two different girlfriends exclaimed over how cute the wheelbarrow was and I tried to pawn it off on them but no one wanted to bike home trailing an old iron wheelbarrow. It only weighs 50 pounds, JEEZ. So I’m trying again.

I really wanted to do an enormous agave in this but the wheelbarrow is really shallow. I just don’t think it would survive (or get big in this climate). So I did a mix of Sedum ‘Postman’s Pride’ (the tall purple), Japanese golden sedum (the gold), Sedum cauticola ‘Lidakense’ (the blue one you can’t see because it matches the gravel, whoops), and a mystery pink-blooming sedum that I got from Linda.

I might still sneak an agave pup in there and see what happens. Then I’ll compulsively move it around the yard, which is a real treat to watch. This iron behemoth is top heavy and steering is dicey, so moving it is like getting a toddler drunk and setting them loose on a tricycle. Putting something pokey in there will only make it more fun.

Comments

  1. Loree Bohl Avatar
    Loree Bohl

    Way better! And yes you totally need to work in a little agave pup and of course an Obama! (http://www.cactusjungle.com/blog/2012/08/14/obama-in-the-garden-14/)

  2. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    WHAT. I can't stop laughing at that! I have a tiny garden gnome, is that close enough? Four more years!

    (and I snuck in two pups this morning)

  3. Scott Weber Avatar
    Scott Weber

    I definitely like the Sedums better! I should try 'Postman's Pride' again…my first one was super-floppy and then just died…although I'm pretty sure I had it in too much shade.

  4. Ricki Grady Avatar
    Ricki Grady

    I have a wheelbarrow shaped like that, but made of tackier material. It keeps tipping over. That planting is so great, it would be a shame for it to land in a heap. I think sweet-talking that man of yours into doing the moving is called for.

  5. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    I'm curious if that one will thrive. It seems like the taller sedums want deeper soil than this (or so says my brief experiment with Autumn Joy in the wheelbarrow).

  6. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    I like the way you think!

  7. Bria Phillips Avatar
    Bria Phillips

    Gothic rot–ha! I don't know if it's gothic but I really, really love your black and gold combo. You've got a good thing going on there!

  8. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    Thanks! I love that color combo too.

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