A Chicken Finish and Gardening in Pots

Design - "Chicken" - Wool Whimsy - Barnyard Quartet (kit)

Designer - Heart in Hand

Fabric - 32 count Summer Khaki linen

Floss - WDW

Started - 29 June 2010

Completed - 3 July 2010

This is a cutie. I did give up on adhering the small scrap of wool with a blanket stitch to the wing - it was not a pretty sight!  This design is part of a barnyard quartet, and also includes a sheep, a pig, and a cow.  I do like the sheep design...so someday...maybe!  

On the gardening front, I've become enamored with dwarf evergreens. Hybridizers have been hard at work and there are now wonderful small trees with great color and form that are hardy to zones 5-7.

So even if you garden on a porch or patio you too can enjoy these year-around performers.

    

Cupressus macrocarpa "Wilma Goldcrest"

And so my first example is not so dwarf, as this Monterey cypress will grow to be 7' tall over the next five years or so.  I currently have it in an extremely small pot and will need to settle it into a better and more sizable home before winter rolls around.  But even at 7' it is still a good tree for a small space as it is columnar in nature and is to span only 2'-3' in width.  It is hardy to 5-10F.

Cupressus arizonica "Sulfurea"

I love this cypress and the green/brown pot in which I planted it!  The center of the cypress is a deep blue/green, the outer branches are a bright yellow-green.  It is really stunning. Again, this is going to become a sizable plant, but it will only be 9' over the next ten years - so there is plenty of time to enjoy it in a planter.

Cryptomeria japonica "Vilmoriniana"

Switching to Japanese cedars, this one is truly a dwarf, and will reach only about 3' when mature.  It has fluffy green-green foliage which turns bronze in the late fall and winter.  This is a new plant for me, and I cannot wait to see it's autumnal color.  It is hardy zones 5-9 and enjoys full sun.

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana "Nymph"

I have this cypress planted in a whiskey barrel.  I love the tiny spiky foliage.  It too is a true dwarf and grows only about 1" a year to mature at 3' - a great evergreen container plant.  It is hardy to zones 5-9.