Zebra Re-Do

One of the first containers I planted in the little Garden Zoo was the one for the Plains Zebra. It is a magnificent piece of pottery given to me by my neighbor, Jon. It is large, and unfortunately has no hole in it to allow excess water to drain away. The summer has been a wet one by comparison to usual summers--which is overall a very good thing. For this planter, it's been problematic. So today I moved it to the worktable and drained away some of the moisture. Then I drove a long rage down the inside edge of the planter at a place concealed by impatiens. The rag is long enough to drape a good 12-14 inches over the rim of the pot. In no time it had absorbed water from deep within the saturated soil of the container, pulled it up and over the rim, and then sent it dripping off onto the deck. I also replaced the soaked sand base with matts of various mosses taken from my side yard in the front where they grow quite well and are still vibrant for the first August in memory to form the "bedding" of the container. I think moss will appreciate the moisture and forestall the growth of mold on the zebras.

Then I replaced the Zebra and snapped some new pics. (The first pic is from May, when I first created it--you can see how it has prospered--although the moisture killed the thyme). Don't you love how sorta realistic they look?