Look what I did today!

This succulent and cacti planter was commissioned by the plant-loving owner of MediaStyle, Ian Capstick.   Ian and I first met when he worked as a ‘barista’ at our local Starbucks when I ran Hortus Urbanus.  Little did I know that while I was forming a personal attachment to non-fat, decaf lattes, Ian was developing a profound love of plants.

So when he was looking for inspiration for his new office space in downtown Ottawa, he contacted me.   Ian had already purchased a 2′ x 2′ woolly planter from these people, called Lil’ Meadow, and I had to think of a way to plant it up that would be striking and different.

Because their new office space had floor to ceiling west-facing windows, I thought a mini Arizona or desert garden would be interesting.  I used a selection of succulents and cacti, including some Haworthia, a Kalanchoe thyrsiflora and an assortment of my favourite succulent, Echeveria.

This planter will require very little care:  a little water, no significant fertilizing, bright light and hardly any tweaking (no falling foliage and few spent flowers).  I completed the project by finishing it off with a mulch of peastone.

And Ian was thinking ahead by placing it on a rolling platform so it can be turned this way and that, always seeking out the sun.