When it comes to pot arrangements, you should stay in one color family Photo: Claudia von Dühren
By Claudia von Duehren
In the corner under the balcony it feels like half a ray of sunshine a day. Nevertheless, I would like to have a little green there too.
I actually only placed the two now huge Canna (Indian flower cane) in this inhospitable corner out of necessity. Usually they stand in the front yard in the blazing sun. But because of the facade renovation, they were temporarily parked in the back garden and turned out to be a true wonder plant. Although they don’t bloom as profusely because of the shade, I really enjoy their large leaves.
I talked the flower cane off a lady from the allotment garden in our neighborhood. She simply parted the bulbous root of her canna with a spade in the fall and I had two specimens.
The canna even thrived in the shade. In between, a hosta also grows successfully in the iron bucket
Photo: Claudia von Duehren
Originally not from India, but from the West Indies in South America, the plants are ideal for pots. Because they have to spend the winter in the basement or greenhouse frost-free. They hardly need any water there. From spring, when the first shoots grow, water with liquid fertilizer once a week.
Luckily, my canna are housed in two plastic buckets, so I can carry them in myself and don’t have to wait for my husband to do it – there were a few frost victims last winter. In general, the man actually asked me when he saw the canna in all its glory for the first time: “Is that rhubarb?” So much for his horticultural expertise…
I also have a problem next to the seat under the pavilion. The ground is dry and very overshadowed by the neighbor’s beech. Now a collection of pots with hard-working Lizzies hides the bald spot. They are true shade wonders and bloom well into autumn.
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