# Nature's Container **URL:** \ **Category:** Summer 2020: Container Gardens\ **Created:** [July 29, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/t/natures-container/269 "2020-07-29T13:44:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![graflh](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/user_avatar/forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/graflh/32/160_2.png) [@graflh](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/u/graflh)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/t/natures-container/269/1 "2020-07-29T13:44:27Z")
![IMG_1575](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/uploads/default/original/1X/1d2b1d35e22b8dbd085ac3d6957fb1c78dac1209.jpeg) Sometimes Nature makes the best containers. A piece of gnarled driftwood caught my eye one day at the beach. Now it rests in our garden with a few succulents nested in its nooks and crannies. Beach treasures, a piece of coral and a few stones, add the final touches. ---
**Author:** ![jono](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/user_avatar/forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/jono/32/98_2.png) [@jono](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/u/jono)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/t/natures-container/269/2 "2020-07-29T14:00:25Z")
That’s great! Do you know what that succulent at the front is called? It’s popped up all over my garden over the last couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![graflh](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/user_avatar/forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/graflh/32/160_2.png) [@graflh](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/u/graflh)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/t/natures-container/269/3 "2020-07-29T14:10:46Z")
Thank you! As for the succulent, I don’t know what it is called. Maybe someone can help us out. We have several of them in the yard. ---
**Author:** ![stargazergarden](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@stargazergarden](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/u/stargazergarden)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 2:33pm UTC](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/t/natures-container/269/4 "2020-07-29T14:33:36Z")
The succulent in the front appears to be Euphorbia ‘Donkey Tail Spurge’ (Myrtle Spurge). It grows in gravel at my house and baby plants sometime appear nearby. No special care but I do cut off the spent flower stems. Wear gloves when handling as this plant has a white sap that can irritate your skin/eyes. ---
**Author:** ![graflh](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/user_avatar/forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/graflh/32/160_2.png) [@graflh](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/u/graflh)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/t/natures-container/269/5 "2020-07-29T14:47:40Z")
Thanks for the name! And what an apt name it is. ---
**Author:** ![jono](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/user_avatar/forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/jono/32/98_2.png) [@jono](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/u/jono)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/t/natures-container/269/6 "2020-07-29T17:31:55Z")
> [@stargazergarden](#): > > Wear gloves when handling as this plant has a white sap that can irritate your skin/eyes. Thanks for the tip! Might have helped me avoid an unpleasant situation. Now that I know the name I can see from it’s Wikipedia page that it’s classified as a noxious weed in nearby Oregon and elsewhere 😅 I have been letting it spread but maybe I should rein it in. > **[Euphorbia myrsinites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_myrsinites)** > > Euphorbia myrsinites, the myrtle spurge, blue spurge, or broad-leaved glaucous-spurge, is a succulent species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. > > The plant is native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, from Italy east through the Balkans to Crimea and Turkey. > The specific epithet myrsinites is derived from the Greek word μυρσινίτης (myrsinites), which was used in Dioscorides's De Materia Medica to describe its similarity to μυρσίνη (myrsine), aka myrtle (Myrtus communis)... ---
**Author:** ![jono](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/user_avatar/forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/jono/32/98_2.png) [@jono](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/u/jono)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://forum.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca/t/natures-container/269/7 "2020-07-29T17:43:02Z")
Looks like myrtle isn’t as much of a concern, but it’s [tall cousin ‘leafy spurge’](https://bcinvasives.ca/invasive-species/identify/invasive-plants/leafy-spurge) is considered quite invasive. This neat [‘Grow Me Instead’ booklet](https://www.bcinvasives.ca/documents/ISCBC-GMI-Brochure-180425-WEB.pdf) from the Invasive Species Council of BC has some options for alternatives. I think I’ll keep the Myrtle Spurge in my garden but try to contain the volunteers more and keep them away from the edge of my property. Maybe I’ll glove up and clip the flowers before seeds are produced.