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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sempervivum |
Sempervivum means “ever-living”, and I can’t help hearing the chorus of Forever Young by Alphaville…
I’ve been a fan of this modest plant for years; my mother has them at the edge between the front terrace and the gravel of their drive, and the little plants seem to thrive int hat rather rough position.
Yesterday on my way to my mother-in-law’s for dinner I passed a supermarket to pick up some flowers for her (small yellow roses, very pretty and apparently welcome) and my eye was caught by a stand of sempervivums of different sorts and kinds. I wanted to get one of each!
I want to grow them in a pot/tray in the courtyard, though, so I limited myself to two small pots. Sempervivum Hey Hey and sempervivum Feldmaier both have that classic houseleek shape, and the former has a tendency to turn red. They will look cute together, and this is definitely a genus of plants that you have to work really hard to kill!
Looking forward to planting them out on Sunday, come rain come shine. (Forecast is sketchy and changing, so we shall see…)
>It's not just about living forever, it's also about being your forever :)They're such undemanding plants and hardy too. When it flowers the main rosette dies but the pups carry on. The clump can look unsightly when that happens, you'll just have to occasionally lift the pups and start again.
>I love them for being so low-maintenance and they fit perfectly into my idea of a garden.
>My grandfather used to have house leeks in his rock garden–he died when I was very young, but I always think of him whenever I see them. You've inspired me to go to a nursery now…
>Stacy, part of the beauty of a plant is often the associations it carries for us. I, for one, will be planting peas in the vegetable patch as I have fond memories of summer holidays spent raiding my grandfather's pea fields… I think that sort of memories of loved ones is a great reason to get a certain plant!
>I have mine growing down a bit from the ponds edge on the gravel and they love it
>Quite some time since we had Sempervivum in the garden Soren,think I will find a spot for it again. Do I want to live forever? well its not going to happen but I will persevere in my quest to be the worlds oldest gardener.
>Donna: Mine have been planted in small, shallow containers; one a small granite bowl and the other a zinc tray that I've punched holes in with a nail.Alistair: I have no idea what your age is, but my grandmother at 87 is still doing a fair bit of her own weeding (and pays a young whippersnapper of only 72 summers to come and mow her lawn).
>I love the 'house leek'! So textural, so tough, so accommodating. I have used it widely in a scree planting and also in various other terracotta pots where I group them according to my latest whim. A wonderful plant for introducing children to planting also. I once gave a small child a house brick with two holes in it and we planted the sempervivums through these! I could go on….
>I haven't grown house leeks for years! They do look great in shallow troughs though. Hope you had a good weekend and got them planted!
>Chris: And I've picked my varieties well, it seems; one is very classic and green, and the other has the same shape but has turned a very bright red that lightens up the granite it's set in.Janet: They're thriving in the courtyard, as well they should. They've been planted in a mix of sand, gravel and a tiny bit of soil, just so I could create a hostile enough environment for them!