- Remove dried up leaves stuck among the foliage. Feel and tug on some of the branches that are still attached on the grilles. Look for brittle and unusually soft ones. Cut and remove all branches and twigs that have rotted or dried up. Now is the opportune time to really clean up the vine on the fence grilles.
- When all the identified branches and foliage have been cut, clean the concrete ledge from dust and debris. Use a scrubbing pad, detergent powder and water to scrub away the dirt that accumulated over the years.
- Position a garden wall pot and affix it to the grilles by using a solid strand wire (at left in photo) as the main anchor and supplemental thin wires (at right) to balance the attachment.
Shown below is a secured garden wall pot. Notice the drain holes inside the pot that drain into the built-in drain tray.
- Here is a detailed photo of how the garden wall pot is secured to the grilles. The three holes on the pot were actually meant for screws that are to be drilled into a wall.
Because a larger portion of the garden pot's base is supported by the ledge, there is little chance for the garden pot to warp due to the soil's weight. In fact, the garden pot may even be filled up with soil with no problem.
- Shown below is the rear view of the above photo. This is the view from the outside. Eventually, though, this will be covered up once the Maiden's Jealousy vine or Shower of Gold (Tristellateia australasiae) starts to fill up the grilles of the fence again.
- Do the same for all the garden wall pots that may be accommodated on the concrete ledge of the fence. Notice how the pots are placed close and next to each other with no space in between.
I've planted at least three Gynura procumbens cuttings in each pot. There's enough space for them to grow, thicken and fill the space.
The five garden wall pots planted to Gynura procumbens fills up only half of the whole length of the fence. The other half of the front fence, which has several Garlic vines (Mansoa alliacea), will have another five pots. So there will be a total of ten garden wall pots at the fence planted with Gynura procumbens.
Advantages of Placing the Pots on the Concrete Ledge
- No Dog Hair
We have a dog which occasionally sheds hair. The dog isn't caged nor tied but is free to roam inside the fence. When it sheds hair, some of it is sometimes trapped among the leaves of garden plants on the ground. By having the garden pots raised on the concrete ledge, dog hair doesn't reach the height of the plants. DH is rather finicky about this and detest having to see dog hair on leafy vegetables.
- Plenty of Sunlight
The front fence faces the west. The fence is practically a prime spot for flowering plants because there's plenty of sunlight starting 10 am. Even when the flowering vines start to fill up the grilles again, the Gynura procumbens will have enough sunlight to thrive.
- Consistency of Supply
Now I no longer have to depend on picking Gynura procumbens leaves growing wild from around the neighborhood. I've reserved all the garden wall pots at the front fence growing to Gynura procumbens.
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