Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Out to the Island of Long

I had not intended to choose echinacea when I went out shopping today, but there they were. Exciting colour: not your grandmother's echinacea. I tweaked the plans in my head a little and tomorrow they will be planted with a lot of other, very cool perennials, shrubs and small trees.


Below, click on the picture to see the worm better. The seed cones of the flowers are a good food source for birds, too, later in the season as they move south again ahead of cold weather. I like to make gardens for birds.

Below, Clematis integrifolia, quite lovely, as it is very delicate and not at all as in-your-face as some clematis can be. It tends to be sprawly rather than twining.

Clethra - known as spicebush. The air was filled with its scent. A native, it does well in dappled sunlight.

One of my carts. The stripes are an Iris ensata cultivar. It's been a week of arguments about stripes and spots and variegation. Some silver-spotted pulmonaria we planted last week must come out, which is sad, as they were lovely and very happy. Out, too, comes the Solomon's Seal and a lightly striped carex. I think they - spots/stripes etc can be wonderful in the right place. Not everyone agrees. I think these iris are gorgeous.

The bright chartreuse up front are a dwarf campanula and a veronica. The garden, on the Upper West Side, will be planted on a long, narrow terrace with sun one one side and shade on the other. I can't wait to get it planted. With various bureaucratic hold-ups it has been a year in the planning.

Our carts. Parked.


A good day after a rough start. We saw bunnies and butterflies and chipmunks. And birds and bees.

6 comments:

  1. Beautiful! Good to see the Chief Designer still gets to do what she loves....selecting plants at the nursery. I do everything wholesale so it's not practical, but lately when I'm feeling stuck I zip off to Kbosch retail and put together plant combos for inspiration. And yes, it reignites the spark in me every time.....

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  2. I love the Clethra. How beautiful it is!!

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  3. Marijks: yes, it was a resolution for 2008. I was glued to a desk too much, and being in the nursery amongst all the trees, shrubs and perennials is like - I imagine, taking a hit of a yummy drug: witness the drug Virgin. Alcohol doesn't count, :-) - where we we? Oh, plants. Much more inspirational in some ways...But hey, we buy wholesale this way, so can't you be there yourself? I recommend it. And send some pics of your gardens...?

    Mary - yes Clethra is lovely, and I'd sort of forgotten about it.

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  4. While at the nurseries, I wonder if you heard any barking... ;-)

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  5. I don't know what you are talking about :-)

    I did bark on a terrace today though, when it was revealed by a sheepish gardener that we had run out of filter fabric and would have to return tomorrow to finish.

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  6. Fabulous photos, fabulous plants. I would have walked off with that cart when you had your back turned. I especially love the bright pink echinacea and that vivid blue clematis. Wonderful choices, I have a few of the plants you mention, including Veronica, as this was my late mother's first name. x

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