Yesterday marked the official end of winter in my landscape, so said I. The droopy snow slide of last week is now merely a memory. Today, with the sun blazing in all her glory, I headed out into the garden to complete yet another task on my spring checklist.
This planter, and her sister, survived many years of neglect, continuing to flourish season to season. However, during the winter, both planters collapsed, or the contents did, forcing me to pay attention.
This sedum is bullet proof and flowed for years, simulating water, as the centerpiece of my restored herb bed—now it needed surgery.
When I planted this container years ago, I placed onion bags filled with packing peanuts into the bottom. This provides great drainage, reduces the amount of fill dirt, and will biodegrade in a thousand years, making this process very sustainable!
The old flat sheet provided a great catch-all for any wandering bits…

then all were covered with a bit of landscape cloth. This prevents dirt from clogging the engineered drainage

I just adore the color of these Angelina Stonecrop ‘Sedum rupestre’ ‘Angelina’ PPAF or trailing perennial.
I repeated this surgery on the second container, then proceeded to the lower garden where the eight sections of retired sedum were re-purposed. They should do well in this hot, sunny lower area.

Virginia soil is full of clay, therefore this mortar pan is handy when adding amendments like Pro-Mix.
So fare-thee-well winter storms and heavy snow.
This gardener is out in her domain, making a small difference in her spring landscape on a highly productive Friday afternoon.
Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
Diane, Lots of good ideas in these posts. The peanuts in the planters & the mortar pan for mixing soil & amendments are so practical one wonders , why didn’t I think of that ? The sedum Angelina is my favorite ground cover. I planted 9- 2 in. pots in my wife’s memorial garden & in 2 yrs. they covered 100 s,f. & the 4 season color changes are terrific. It’s transplanted in lots of areas in my gardens.
Yesterday was a scorcher & I hope you did well (physically & commercially ) at the Farmers Market. Good luck, Joe
LikeLike
99F when I left market yesterday Joe. Glad that is over! Yes, sedum in most cases, are glad to multiply in areas where no other plants care to thrive.
LikeLike
Oh my you’ve been super busy Diane. And your hard work has paid beautifully. Love the new sedum in the container! And the ravioli made my mouth water 😀 Hugs, Sharon
LikeLike
I always enjoy your blogs and this one was particularly enjoyable.
LikeLike
Love! Love! Sedums and ravioli!
LikeLike
I am always interested in tips and pointers…Thank you for sharing.
LikeLike
Thanks for commenting Charlie. Thanks for helping the nesting birds too.
LikeLike
I should use those foam peanuts to keep my containers lighter.
LikeLike
I also use packing peanuts to help use less soil and for great drainage. That orange sedum is pretty cool. I’m also in VA. What part are you in?
LikeLike
We have the same mower, but the snow blower still is the one in wait here. 😀 I have a few sedums like that too!
LikeLike
TGIF Indeed! We are so glad to be putting winter “away” for a good long while! Great tips on planting in containers. And, what a nice finish with the raviolis! Yum. Happy Spring!
LikeLike
Hmmm…those raviolis look so good! Perfect after a day’s hard work in the garden 😉
LikeLike