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Flowir
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Totally Tufa!
Posted: 12 Dec 2008

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Totally Tufa!

Category: HOSTAS | Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:14 am

I just about stumbled upon hypertufa.

As I mentioned before I have been renovating my yard. I initially was going to do a container garden until I realized how expensive it was becoming. Well I had to get the outskirts of the yard done. After planting, moving plants, losing plants, not liking plants after I bought them, the yard started to take shape. I am as happy as a fat clam and feeling good about my gardening abilities. I finally have a half of a garden. Getting there! Well, every time my sister comes over she keeps commenting on the plants in pots. She says, 'The yard is looking good but what are you going to do if we get a bad storm?' How are you going to store all these pots? And I am ignoring her the entire time. Welllll! Hurricane season is upon us and we don't get a storm but there is one out in the Atlantic that is causing quite a ruckus in my yard. The wind is kicking up and everything is blowing everywhere! The umbrella comes down, the chairs are falling over, I am using blocks to hold up plants from blowing over and now I hear in the back of my head, 'What are you gonna do if we get a bad storm?' Thanks Sis!

By now I have over 50 pots in the yard and I am in a pickle. So I start getting BIG pots and combining plants and also putting others in the ground.

Well one evening I am looking up plants that are hardy for my zone and run across a project for making my own pots. I don't just jump in willy nilly, I do some research. What the heck is 'HYPERTUFA'? After I read about a million articles [I kid], I decide why not!

The first pots I made I almost threw away. They looked like I made them with my feet. The funny thing though, after I put plants in them, they were transformed. I moved on and I was making these tufa pots every day. I even entertained the thought of making a big batch and maybe SELLING them at the local green market.

What I like about these pots is that they are porous and they are very earth friendly. I am very much in favor of being as earth friendly I can be so all of my pots are clay. Very natural. Tufa pots have a weathered, aged look and they transform a plant into a work of art. No matter if they are not perfect. They are neutral in colour so they go with everything. The hardest part is finding the molds to make the pots. Anything will work. Cereal bowls, salad bowls, old planters, styrofoam coolers, cardboard boxes. Just let your imagination run wild. Then I tried making yard art. On a whim I made some tufa 'stones' and created a border for some hibiscus plants in my front yard. I used cereal bowls to make the stones. I think it came out very nicely.

I have so many ideas and I plan on getting busy making some larger pots for bigger plants. I also want to try making a fountain. I have to start now cause it takes about two to three months for the pots to be ready for plants. They need to be weathered outside for a month or longer before you can put plants in them. Other projects can be ready sooner.


Any Tufa lovers out there. I would love to hear from you with ideas and pictures.


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Comments

 

kuntrygal wrote on Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:23 am:


I would love to see pictures of your work. It sounds like you have really been busy. I haven't tried 'tufa' but it sounds very interesting.




 

Droopy wrote on Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:29 am:


Sounds like you've got a very good thing going in your yard! "They looked like I made them with my feet." *lol* Well, you made them yourself, something to be very proud of, and practice makes perfect. I really like the photos you posted of your tufa projects in "My Garden".




 

Frank wrote on Sat Dec 13, 2008 3:16 pm:


Would be great to see more hypertufa photos if you have them Flowir :)




 

gardengater wrote on Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:58 pm:


Love to see those pots! Love the antique look.

Gardengater





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