observations of a landscape designer
Pictures of the yellow hellebores, as promised. Helleborus hybridus with red flares. As this strain is seed grown, each plant has individually marked flowers. The yellow color is pale-but definitely yellow. I couldn’t resist-I had to have this one.
The plants Joseph brought from Arrowhead Alpines-I could not take my eyes off of them. To follow-a small sample of what he brought for the fair. The pale yellow hellebores – this was a first for me. They are so beautiful! The plants are well grown. How unusual they are is completely enchanting. All of the plants that were brought in and arranged this afternoon-enchanting. Itoh hybrid peonies. Virginia bluebells and snowdrops. Primulas of various types. Succulent bowls. A preview of summer annual combinations via Proven Winners. Pansy and lettuce pots. Spring twigs. Potted tulips and hyacinths. Some gorgeous doronicum in full flower-from Bogie Lake. The spring has been so slow in coming that I am having time to thoroughly anticipate and savor the season. Our garden fair-I will admit I am excited about it. Black and white shortbread cookies, as usual. The regular hearty sweet loaves. Great coffee and tea. A community of great growers. We are ready.
I have never seen this narcissus before. If you have a big love for plants, come to the fair. I will say that how the shop looks-courtesy of Rob’s tireless work- is worth a look see. Hope to see you this weekend.
Milo spent the entire weekend of our 2012 spring fair at the gate, saying hello. We started hosting a spring fair 3 years ago, after Rob had the opportunity to attend one in Italy. We invite growers and nursery people in our community to bring plants and sell them. Everyone is encouraged to bring a flyer or postcard or announcement that would tell people about their business. Last spring the weather was a little spitty on Saturday, but generally balmy. He was perfectly happy at his post, all weekend.
However this weekend promises to be cold-28 degrees overnight tonight. There is a chance of snow flurries, and the probability of 20-30 mile an hour winds. We have had a lot of rain over the past 3 days. What kind of weather is this for a spring fair?? Terrible weather! So we spent the entire day today arranging to move the fair in doors and under cover. Our warehouse is not the most glamorous space, and the lighting is not the best. But we are determined that the inside of our shop will represent the spring that we all have been anxiously awaiting.
Mark from Bogie Lake Green house does a great job of forcing spring bulbs. We’ll have plenty of them on hand, for any gardener who is despairing over the tulips that are 2 inches all in their garden, or the daffodils that are not showing any signs of having buds. I myself plan to take some hyacinths home, and breathe deep. This wintry weather has hung on like a really bad cold.
Fiona Brinks, the Vice President of Bordines, is a great nursery person, and a really good friend. She will bring all kinds of spring plants-including some of the juiciest and well grown pansies you will ever see. Her staff is knowledgeable and friendly. They’ll have a sheet about their upcoming expo, and anything else they have planned for their nurseries.
Wiegand’s Nursery, English Gardens, Eckerts and Goldner Walsh will be here too, with much the same story in quality plants and great service. The nursery people in our area are good people, who work hard. And they have a big love for plants and gardens. I shop all over the area for plants-I enjoy this as much as any other gardener. Every grower will have something that appeals. We don’t grow plants, but we do plant pots-and lots of them. Though the cold spring has meant that both the annual and perennial plants have been slow to come on, I think we have some very handsome pots.
The property shared by the landscape company, Deborah Silver and Co, and our manufacturing company, Branch, is home to some great live moss colonies. Contrary to what I would expect, this moss grows in little hummocks in full sun, on the gravel. These round dense colonies look great in these miniature urns. To say that we grew these is a stretch-there was another hand in charge of this planting. Julie’s Floral, and Greystone Gardens will be here-representing the Oakland County Farmer’s Market contingent. Lloyd is sure to have some herbs, and Crystal will bring a beautiful assortment of planted containers and plants.
New this year to the fair is Arrowhead Alpines. Joseph Tychonievich, nursery manager and author of the book “Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener”-recently published by Timber Press, will be here in person! A hort head’s hort head, he is extremely knowledgeable about plants. I met his today for the first time-what a treat. He has some pale yellow hellebores that are fabulous-I am trying to stay out of his small stash of them.
Though our pussy willow branches are absolutely saturated with water, they still look like spring. We will have some plants outside-but the majority will be inside. They say 60 degrees on Monday. I am hoping this number represents a trend.
Cold rain and wind is not so friendly to the big flowered pansies, or the lettuce.
Though these pansies may be hanging their heads right now, a few days of warmer weather will get them back in the game. Mother nature is not quite ready for spring, but we are. Hope to see you tomorrow.
I envy new gardeners, just starting out. There is so much information available to new gardeners, via the internet. Have a question? Want an opinion? Want a reference? Want a list of places that sell clematis? Want a stone supplier? Need a landscape designer? Need a garden center near you that sells trees? mulch? potting soil? Orchids? Have a question? Write that question in the search line, and be prepared to have to edit the flood of answers.
Have a vision? Search Google images for a face to put to that vision. Houzz.com has no end of pictures of landscape design projects. I rather admire how easy and satisfying a resource they are. Pinterest? If you are a visual person, there is more there to see than you could ever possibly absorb. The internet is the equivalent of the Encyclopedia Britannica, times many millions. If you have a question, there is probably someone taking a stab at it out there. If you have a tricky question, you will find opinions galore out there.
Such was not so, when I was in my twenties. I had a handful of gardening catalogs that I read over and over again. I had access to a local library. The Dewey decimal system-are you too young to know about that? Never mind-it was a colossal bore. I did the best I could without much counsel, and took my lumps. I learned by doing. What didn’t work out led me to the next step. I have a distinct memory of moving one clematis 5 times before it was happy.
The Encyclopedia Britannica was better on the subject of World War II, than the successful cultivation of Dutchman’s Breeches, or columbines. How I wanted to grow columbines. My failure to keep them going-routine and boring. I killed an embarrassing number of plants before I caught on. I had a few friends-most of them were close by. Nurseries and garden centers were one of the best sources of information. Today I have gardening friends whom I have never met face to face. Worlds away. A sympathetic gardener in New Zealand may inform how I approach a problem in my garden. This is extraordinary.
Today you could with but a few keystrokes learn how to make an omelet, grow tomatoes from seed, or graft a rose. Given enough time and work, you could look over every company worldwide that sells doorknobs. You could see pictures and videos of the great gardens of the world. You could know the temperature today in Florence Italy, or get a list of hotels in Iceland. Just type whatever comes to mind. How the internet is engirneered to respond to questions-astonishing.
I use the internet for research. Those plants that tolerate black walnuts. Great stone yards. Deer repellants. Great breeders of hellebores. Contemporary garden furniture. The cultivation of orchids, daisies and sunflowers. Good garden benches. The perfect vase. How to use string. The science behind the production of chlorophyll. The weather-at home, in Paris, or in Madrid. The history of the garden. The exhibitors at this year’s Chelsea flower show. How to select and grow great hydrangeas. Type in your question, and read on. French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian, Dutch, Mexican, Scottish, Icelandic, American, Icelandic, British, Polish, German-gardens all around the world. Though I would never give up my books, I can get help with a question in seconds.
Why am I writing about this? An image of a hedge of Limelight hydrangeas I posted on Pinterest has prompted a flood of questions. As to where one could purchase Limelights in northern Texas-I am not the right person to ask. A local nursery or garden center will have the answer to this. As to whether Limelights will prosper in dry shade, I could only answer for my zone. But I am willing to bet there is a resource out there with all kinds of information about growing hydrangeas in Texas-and any place else, for that matter.