ATTRACTIVE OPPOSITES
Left,
fuzzy
Echeveria setosa
pairs with
smooth-leaved hens and chicks (
Sempervivum tectorum ).
FOUR ON THE FLOOR
Below,
pink-flowered
Sedum matrona
(center)
and (behind, left to right)
Kalanchoe
‘Flapjacks’, kangaroo
paw (
Anigozanthos
), and
Euphorbia
‘Sticks on Fire’ form a dramatic
container grouping.
As every
fashionista
JK
l
I I U
W
3 j an ensemble isn’t
complete without the right
accessories. Noted Southern
California garden designer Molly
Wood applies the same fashion sense
to her work; a landscape project isn’t
finished until she adds her signature
containers. “They’re like jewelry—
the perfect earrings or necklace to
finish off an outfit,” Molly says.
Her containers showcase
succulents—desert-adapted plants
whose unusual forms beautifully
accent any setting. They look great
singly, but Molly treats larger
containers as miniature gardens,
combining plants to create contrast-
upright with trailing, blue leaves with
green, coarse texture with fine.
Molly prefers rustic, free-form
pots with the look of stone,
weathered wood, or old metal
because they complement
succulents so well. She patronizes
local artisans and scours flea markets
in search of just the right one. “It’s
the frosting on the cake,” she says.
I 4 6 AUGUST 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
