In our house, we call swarms cacti. They charmed my whole family the first time we saw them at the garden store. We bought several varieties without hesitation. There were a lot of them in each pot, so we planted the plants out for makeshift rebates. The idea to create a composition out of them arose later.
Cultivation and care of colony
We plant them in garden soil mixed with compost. We also addsome pebbles that let air through to the roots. Under the right conditions, plants will grow rapidly. Then we scarify the substrate by puncturing the free spaces between the plants with a wire about 5 cm deep.At least once every 5 years, we plant the colonies. We reproduce them by separating the rosettes. Young specimens are planted at intervals of about 2-4 cm, because we know that they will grow and then fill the planned area. Rojniki like sunny places. They are frost-resistant, so you do not need to protect them for the winter.
When it comes to care, we sprinkle the plants with water, usually rainwater, every day in summer. We never water the colonists in the sun, because we can burn the rosettes. We also try not to overfill them so that they do not rot from excess water. In summer, we can admire flowers that come in different colors. Surprisingly, the same plant often changes color in the next season. And it is this varied color of swarms that became the stimulus to createanimals out of them.
Animal shapes from swarms
- The contours of the animals - squirrels, peacocks and teddy bears - are made of sheet metal cut lengthwise into 5 cm wide strips.
- We first sketched the figure patterns on paper, then enlarged it and transferred it to a card stock.
- We bent the sheet to the shape of a bristol template. Then we placed the metal contours in the ground.
- Finally, we planted swarms in them, selecting them in color.
Sylwia Warzecha
