Rockets Away

'Little Rocket' blazing in the sun

Brightening up a partially shaded bed next to the upper dining patio, Ligularia 'Little Rocket' is another pleasing yellow perennial I planted a few years ago.  I passed up the more popular larger cultivar, 'The Rocket', which grows to over 4 feet for its dwarf cousin, 'Little Rocket', which only rises to 3 feet.  It's the perfect height for front of the border.  I tucked them right in front of a screen of trees and shrubs so that their bright yellow blooms would stand out against the dark evergreen foliage.

Even without its blooms, Ligularia has interesting shiny green leaves that remind me of a Heuchera.  The leaves stay fresh looking all season a with consistent watering.


Ligularia likes moisture and doesn't mind partial shade. Mine get a few hours of morning sun and some indirect afternoon sun.  This limited sun still fuels them enough for a magnificent explosion of color.  My yellow rockets started launching around the Fourth of July and still had a few yellow blooms this past week.

Launch a few of these brilliant rockets in your garden to extend summer fireworks past Independence Day.

Vegetation low enough for front of border, but flower spikes high enough to be highly visible

Sharp-edged leaves are an added attraction

Celebrating A Rural Hamptons Landscape

As promised, here are is another special garden I enjoyed touring during the annual Parish Art Museum's Landscape Pleasures.

On eighteen acres in Sagaponack, landscape designer Edwina von Gal designed developed a romantic view of a rural farm. The cedar shingled house and its outbuildings are more modern and chic than the original Hamptons homesteads. Its grassy meadows, 'orchards' and pond are more manicured. However, this garden still celebrates the original rural landscapes that are sadly being replaced with McMansions in the Hamptons.  I applaud the owners, Gus & Liz Oliver, for allowing Edwina to create a green oasis that they can enjoy as much as the native wildlife.

Even though this is a large garden, basing your plantings on those from surrounding fields or woods can create a more natural look and extend your property lines.  This is something I tried to do early on when designing my Hamptons garden.  Even though I had a narrow lot, my garden looks much larger with the periphery blended into adjacent woodlands.

Hope you enjoy these photos.  I'll try to post photos from the rest of this tour later this week.

The yard was designed to look as though the land was just cleared for the house

Outbuildings, like those from an old farm,  serve an aesthetic and practical purpose

 A man-made pond is filled with fish

An ornamental cherry grove adds the look of an orchard one would expect on a farm

A low stone fence holds back the grassy field beyond (mowed down in mid-June to keep it at a manageable height)

Modern patio furniture and planters bring you back to the 21st Century  

A Closer Look

This past Sunday, I visited some beautiful private gardens that were part of the annual Parish Art Museum's Landscape Pleasures garden tour.

I started the tour at the garden of Daniel Chung and Alexandra Alger.  I had once before toured this garden near Georgica Pond in 2009 as part of the ARF garden tour. (Click here for my first impressions.)  This garden was designed by the firm Oehme van Sweden.  As is their signature style, the plantings marry the house to the landscape using bold sweeps of plantings of grasses and perennials. Though totally designed, the garden blends beautifully into the existing woodland.  Since I had been here before, I took a closer look and found beauty beyond my earlier observations.  It was pointed out that this garden is both drought AND deer resistant.

I have more photos tour to share from the other gardens on the 2012 Landscape Pleasures, but I have to return to my own garden now before it starts to to look neglected.  I'll post more soon so stay tuned.

Plantings marry the stone and cedar  house to the landscape

The edges of the gunite pool are softened by plantings of grasses and Nepeta.

Persicaria polymorpha in full bloom

The spiky flowers of Acanthus add drama by the pool

Delicate seed heads on an unfamiliar grass or sedge

Aloha from the Philly Flower Show

Prize-winning orchid

This week, I went to my first big flower show,  the Philadelphia International Flower Show managed by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.  With the theme "Hawaii: Islands of Aloha",  I wasn't sure what to expect.  Attending this famous winter flower show had been on my to-do list for years.

The show included many rather elaborate garden displays, recreating lush tropical landscape designs that celebrated the flora of the Hawaiian islands.  Tons of orchids, bromeliads, birds-of-paradise, palms, warm-weather grasses were planted among lava rocks, logs and sand.  Some exhibits had towering waterfalls while others had small lagoons.  A colorful departure from the Northeast winter landscape outside the convention center.  But like a trip to Hawaii, I would have to leave most of these plants and designs behind when I returned to my USDA Zone 7a.

Lava rock garden

There were several displays showcasing vegetable gardens.  One that stood out was a vertical garden of lettuce growing on the side of a shed.  Wouldn't this be wonderful if this really worked?  I could finally have a vegetable garden without sacrificing perennials.

Seven varieties of lettuce growing on a 40-foot wall

Another highlight was the "Store Window" exhibits.  Very inventive designers used tropical plants to create eye-catching displays, celebrating the Hawaiian theme.

"Eye-catching" store window display

A fun way to display plants indoors

VERY colorful spring display

I did find a few exhibits with more familiar plantings, including azaleas, spring bulbs and dogwoods forced into bloom.  And from some of these displays,  I did get some new and relevant ideas for my Hamptons garden.

Like a big state fair, there were many contests for outstanding plants, including orchids, begonias, hanging baskets, succulents, bonsai trees, and bulbs.  The number and variety of orchids was incredible. (I'm not sure I'll be satisfied with the King Kullen grocery's $29.99 Phalaenopsis any longer.)

There were quite a few displays of floral arrangements.  Some left me wondering what these designers would think of my simple, garden-inspired compositions.  Like Crayola drawings compared to Picasso sketches.

Simply dramatic floral arrangement

With a tropical show theme,  I hadn't expected to buy anything from the huge marketplace of garden vendors.  That turned out not to be the case.  I returned to my car with bags filled with gorgeous orchids, violets, vegetable seeds, and porcelain vases.  I might have bought more, but it became increasingly difficult to navigate the aisles with big bags as the crowds increased.

Begonia candidates ready for their close-up

A nice day trip and really close to New York City.  The show runs through tomorrow, March 11th.  If your looking for a Sunday activity, check it out: www.theflowershow.com.

A hui hou (Good-bye, until we meet again)!

You Can Grow That!

A fellow garden blogger, C.L. Fornari, started a grassroots campaign to get more people to plant and garden (her blog is WholeLifeGardening.com).  I don't think anyone would deny the benefits of spending time in a beautiful garden.  It's even more enjoyable when you find a beautiful landscape right outside your door.

I think the biggest deterrent most have with gardening is not knowing where and how to start.  You may have just bought a new house with no garden or one that has a much neglected landscape.  Making a pleasing garden may seem very daunting.   And if you're like me, you want everything finished as soon as possible.  So my best advice is to SLOW DOWN.  There's no rush.  I learned  this the hard way.  When you take your time, you are able to better understand what you want from your outdoor spaces, what areas need to have screening, what areas are sunny all day and which have mostly shade.  Seek out help.  There are tons of books, websites, and blogs that provide wonderful advice and inspiration.  And fellow gardeners and local nurseries love to share pointers.  I've gotten some of my favorite plant combinations from books written by skilled designers and bought some amazing plants recommended by local nurseries.  If budget allows, ask a local landscape designer to help you draw up a plan.  It's okay to take your time to learn, dream and plan.

As I've written before, my Hamptons garden started out as a sandy mess.  I started with the lawn.  It wasn't much, but I enjoyed sitting on my front porch staring out at the green patch that drifted from the house to the wild woods.  I slowly added small trees and shrubs around the foundation.  For the first three years, almost all of my efforts were close to the house.  The added benefit of concentrating my efforts around the periphery was that I could enjoy my early accomplishments from inside.

Here's a picture of my first season.  I planted the grass seed myself and set sprinklers on timers.  Wasn't much, but I was happy to get rid of the sandpit that was left after construction.

First season, just happy to have some green grass

This more current picture shows how a few additions each year will finally add up.  Believe me, with limited budgets and time, my garden took many years to look like this.

Yearly additions add up

So think of what you would most enjoy adding to your garden this year.  A new lawn?  A blooming tree outside your door?  A few flowers for cutting?  Maybe just a container of colorful annuals on your patio? You can grow that!

High Times in New York City

All aboard.  This post has departed to my new website.  Clink on the link below to see the original post about the NY High Line:

High Times In New York City

Autumn Stars

Asters flanking dwarf fountain grasses

Nothing accents a fall garden like asters.  Performing a supporting role all summer with crisp, green vegetation, asters move to center stage in autumn when most other perennials have stopped blooming.

My favorite fall aster is Aster oblongifolius 'Raydon's Favorite'.  It has the most beautiful blue-purple daisy-like flowers that start blooming in early October and continue for many weeks.

I have two patches of 'Raydon's Favorite' planted in my garden.  The original collection edges the perennial garden adjacent to the pool. Since I spend little time by the pool in the fall, I added another grouping of these beauties in the garden across from the front door.

'Raydon's Favorite' will grow to about 36 inches left alone.  However, I prune twice during the summer to get shorter, bushier plants that don't need staking.  I prune the plants by 1/2 at the end of May and then again by 1/3 at the end of June.  Don't prune past July 4th or you may not get blooms that year.

Blooming across from the front door

This aster cultivar divides easily in the spring.  This past spring I split the current grouping by the pool into many divisions and spread them out to fill an expanded perennial bed.  I mixed them with summer-blooming perennials and dwarf fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln').  The fountain grass is now blooming along side the asters.

A simple arrangement

I was told by some local gardeners that asters are generally plagued with powdery mildew.  Fortunately, 'Raydon's Favorite' has been mildew-proof in my garden.

With all the rain here lately, I brought a few sprigs of 'Raydon's Favorite' indoors to admire.  I mixed them with a few stems of River oat grass (Chasmanthium latifolium) and Sweetspire (Itea virginica 'Little Henry') in a small Victorian vase.  A simple autumn arrangement.

Asters get their name from an ancient Greek work that means stars. Very fitting, not only for their star-shaped flowers, but also for their starring role in my autumn garden.

Star-shaped beauties

Who You Callin' a Weed?

Late summer lunch

Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) created a spectacular show in my late summer garden this year.  This native perennial rises from the ground in late Spring and grows to six feet or taller by midsummer.  Starting in late July,  sizable pink blooms open on tall stalks creating a colorful wall of color behind the pool.  Although I originally planted Joe-Pye Weed for its blooms,  the privacy it provides around the pool (in and out of bloom) has become its most important attribute.

The plant's common name comes from the American Indian, Joe Pye, who used Eupatorium purpureum as an herbal remedy for typhus.

Ironically,  I learned about this native American perennial from European landscape designers Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury in their fantastic design book,  Designing with Plants.  Luckily,  I found my initial plants at a local Hamptons nursery.

I have three cultivars planted around the garden.  'Gateway' is my favorite with rich, rose-pink blossoms.   One season I added to these a lighter, but equally tall, cultivar mistakenly labeled 'Gateway'.   It now mingles well among its darker cousins by the pool.  I also have a shorter variety called 'Little Joe' planted near the car park.

Occasionally, I will find a stray Joe-Pye plant that has self-seeded in another garden bed.  If the color works, I'll leave it but prune it by nearly half in early June to reduce its height.  It will mature shorter and bloom about a week later.  I also use this pruning technique on the original groupings.  By pinching back the outer stalks, you get lower blooms in front of the taller stalks.

Joe-Pye Weed is easy to grow.  It likes moisture, especially when newly planted.  It will bloom in partial shade, but full sun ensures the tallest plants, fullest blooms and most erect stalks.  Those behind the pool are still standing tall after Hurricane Irene, providing tasty seeds for the finches.

While this perennial dies down to the ground each winter, I don't cut the stalks down until the Spring cleanup.   I read that since their stalks are hollow, cutting them too soon will allow too much water from winter rains and snow to accumulate in the stems, causing rot.

I'm thankful the Europeans saw past this plant's "weedy" American heritage.  I'm not sure what other native or imported perennial could have provided me with such a colorful show and screen.

Joe-Pye Weed makes a wonderful backdrop for tall grasses

A Sandy Start

Thought you might like to see where it all started.  I came across some old photos recently.  These show the house its first summer 12 years ago.  Pardon the quality of theses older pics.  They're PD (pre-digital).

First season for the lawn and schnauzer Clayton

In my neck of the woods, it's VERY sandy.  After construction, I was left with a beach for a front yard.  I immediately started a lawn to keep the dust down.  Yards of compost were raked into the sand.  Bags of grass seed were scattered on top.  Sprinklers attached to hoses on timers kept things watered while I was in the city during the week.  The plantings and stonework were added slowly over the years.

BEFORE

AFTER

The back was a bigger challenge.  I had dreamed of walking out my back doors onto a grassy yard. However, after construction, I was left with a woodland gorge.  The back doors were about seven feet above the ground.  Temporary stairs provided access.  Truckload after truckload of fill dirt was brought in to create the back you now see.  Then topsoil was layered on top.  I started with sod which didn't perform well after a season.  The sod was replaced with grass seed.  A few bluestone steps connected the house to the back lawn.  It wasn't many seasons before I tired of dewy grass dampening shoes each morning.  I reluctantly gave up some of my precious lawn for a dry patio.

BEFORE

AFTER

The patio addition

I started out an impatient neophyte with grand plans.  But the process of making this garden has taught me horticulture, design, budgeting and patience along the way.  Year by year, I added plantings, stonework and structures, only hiring out for the heavy lifting or projects beyond my ability.

While I always think there much more to do, these pictures remind me that my Hamptons garden has come a long way.

A Much Anticipated Arrival

Just a quick detour the the new home of Hamptons Garden and the blog post you're looking for. For more pictures and commentary, click on link below:

Hyperion Daylilies

Mowing Day!

Weather permitting, Thursday is mowing day.  Weekly mowing is a gardening task that I hire out (one of the few).  My limited interest in the lawn allows me to let outsiders take care of this "mow and blow" chore.  In my Hamptons garden, I see mown grass as nothing more than a frame for my planting beds.

I'll admit it.  My lawn is crappy.  It's a crucible of grass mixes, clover and moss.  But on mowing day,  the sun-singed grass tops and rambling weeds are shorn to a homogeneous, deep green that makes everything around look crisp and fresh.

I see those flawless lawns all around the Hamptons and wonder if I should care more.  But on Thursday, mowing day, I can pretend to have a similar well-tended turf (if you don't look too close).