There are times when you just have to go up. Very small spaces next to an entry, for example, or in between the garage doors demand a vertical plant or planter, but there may not be the perfect shrub or perennial for the job.
All you need to create such a planter is a large pot, assorted plants, and a vertical element. I had a wire Eiffel Tower in my basement and I decided to use it for the upright ornament and cardinal vine support. Some vertical elements, such as thin canes or bent bamboo plant supports will stick right into the soil. Others, such as my Eiffel Tower, will need to be secured to the pot.
I had some assorted annuals that I hadn’t used yet, and I decided to combine some of them in this container. After filling the pot with potting mix, I was ready to plant and secure the tower to the pot.
After the plants are in place I placed the wire structure so that it was balanced on the rim of the pot. Next I ran a wire all the way around the pot and fastened it to itself. Then I started to run additional wires between the line that circles the container and the edges of the upright ornament.
Once all four corners are attached to the circling wire the vertical element is secured on top of the pot.
Here is how the container looks one week later. The purple foliage in the front is Alternanthera ‘Little Ruby.’ On the right is a Pentas, on the left a lantana, planted on two corners is a cardinal vine and in the center are two sweet potato vines. My thought was that the sweet potato vine will fill the center and then grow over the edges to spill over the sides. All of these plants are fairly heat tolerant so they should do well on the driveway.
