you mean in a pot.. yes????

ambient light is the issue .. hard to tell online or with pix ...

if it were me.. i would start a collection of bonsai type potted plants.. and rotate them in and out of the well every few weeks ...

what do you think ..

ken

I grew an entire potted garden in a window well once. Really looked nice from the inside. Ken's advice on rotating plants in and out is good - hard for anything to get enough light down in a hole like that.

K4

What about a pet snake in the summertime? Would need to do something with that escape ladder though

i would prefer a monkey.. over a snake ..

ken

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking about putting it in the ground, but it sounds like potted is the way to go. A snake or monkey might work, but I wouldn't have a place for them in the winter. Wait, aren't snow monkeys hardy to zone 5? ;)

a monkey would probably run away unless it was chained.

There are some hardy ivy that should survive in that environment
Marshall

What's at the top of the well? Open access to the air, or a sealed cover? If open, would a plant there just trap any litter that gets thrown down?

Do you need the ladder as a fire escape? If yes, then don't put anything in there that could possibly impede your escape.

Alternatively, if you don't need it as an escape, plant a Berberis to stop burglars getting in through it?

Resin

More thoughts - looks dark and claustrophobic enough as it is without any plants. Definitely don't plant a tree there; if anything, just low growing plants that won't take yet more light from the room.

Resin

If weeds don't like it, doubt a tree would at all. You could always try a planter like Coleus or Impatiens during summer. Sansevieria "snake" plant could be outside when warm then just bring inside window during cooler-cold weather. A fern in a pot?

An Ogre might live in the well and scare away others. Also if you could waterproof it it would make a nice goldfish tank. A monkey would be cruel to keep there.

First you'd have to know where to find ogres.

Oh wait...

jeez.. you probably will have to find them online... wouldnt be surprised to see them on ebay .. everything else is there.. lol ... mail order ogres.. go figure ... trolls are a good substitute ...

i like the idea of starting with cheap shade annuals or perennials as a test for this season ...

ken

Hy,
what about fern? It likes shadow and wont get too big (if you dont choose tree-fern :-). If you need to get out, you can easily run over it. Only problem could be moisture.
But you can easily water it every second day or so.

Benjamin

It may not be to your taste, but your setting evokes for me a "zen" type arrangement - a tall narrow statue or lantern or just a single interesting tall, slim rock with some kind of carpeting ground cover and, as suggested earlier, a fern of medium size. The arrangement of the window panes looks a little like a shoji screen.
A book on Japanese-style gardens might provide inspiration.

Pat

Hi .The thing with Zen gardens is that they usually don't use ladders to attain spiritual levitation.A suspended plant might offer a solution,possibly with a chain&pulley arrangement to adjust lighting conditions and for better viewing.
Tsuga canadensis is supposed to be quite happy in shade.Perhaps a 'Cole's prostrate' or other cv. grafted as a half-standard might work too,with some of the above mentioned plants amongst your rocks and yeah,why not,a small lantern for creating some nice evening atmosphere.
Call us for the inauguration! T.

Well...you could always paint a mural...of an ogre...or a monkey...climbing a ladder...facing the inside. Kind of a trompe l'oeil type of thing.

tj

Good heavens, you've released a plague of the conifer experts' inner designers! Now we're in trouble... (Just kidding!)

For me there is something nice and clean about the current stark look. I will say one thing about conifers close to the house, and that is that in my experience they bring spiders with them, not to mention debris underneath, however lovely they are.

But if you don't mind mess, or are the kind of person who cleans it up regularly enough that it doesn't get too bad, a mini in a pot is probably a good bet, but another option is to plant something at the top of the well, depending on if you have room there, that will hang down. This would ensure it can get nutrients and that it can be watered along with the rest of the yard, and that part of the plant can get some light.

If you were a clematis kind of person the choice would be easy if there is enough light down there (Gravetye Beauty would be my choice, as it doesn't twine well anyway and you cut it all the way back each year, if you could get it to grow down to the shade that is). As you prefer conifers, it may be tougher... there are some very cool drooping junipers, for example, but they will only do their thing if the well is sunny.

Or there's always the idea of accentuating the existing lines: the fastigiate Cephalotaxus (is it hardy?) has cool foliage up close.

KarinL

Tunilla, tsuga sounds good. Here is a northern japanese hemlock (tsuga diversifolia). A suitable good candidate for a zen garden? It's supposed to grow 12" per year, so it would require pruning. Any recommendations on how to go about this (e.g. when to prune, how much to cut back?).

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A crazy idea that simply won't work. Air circulation and insects will be its biggest adversary along with watering...

A monkey won't be a favorable addition as he will trample the hell out of the hemlock. A snake will have nothing to eat unless you provide for it. You could always seal it off and make an aquarium out of it...might be interesting with a couple shots of Jack Daniels in you...well maybe not such a good idea after all.

Do that tsuga diversifolia a favor and plant it in an area where it can grow naturally.

Dave

if it grows more than 12 inches per year... you are way beyond 'pruning' ..

there is a bonsai forum ... and i know nothing about it ...

its basically a way of pruning the roots.. to dwarf the plant ... plus a whole bunch of other stuff ...

there is actually a bonsai expert in town.. that buries all of his prized plants... in a 4 by 4 by 16 foot hole in the ground .. and covers it .. basically the window hole you have there ... on a bigger scale ...

ken