CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS

Snowdrops Are Early This Year

Posted in bulbs for shade, my garden, snowdrops, winter interest with tags Carolyn's Shade Gardens, collecting snowdrops, galanthus, Galanthus 'Ding Dong', Galanthus 'Faringdon Double', Galanthus 'Fly Fishing', Galanthus 'Grumpy', Galanthus 'Kite', Galanthus Atkinsii, Galanthus Colossus, galanthus daphne's scissors, Galanthus Godfrey Owen, snowdrop plants, snowdrops, snowdrops for sale U.S., snowdrops in the green on January 19, 2016 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

‘Godfrey Owen’ has a very unusual form with six outer and inner petals (segments) instead of the usual three.

As I mentioned in the last post, southeastern Pennsylvania, US, zone 6 to 7, has been experiencing unseasonably warm weather for months. There has been no snow and the ground was not frozen. That all came to an end yesterday when the daytime high was 22 degrees F, and it went down to 14 degrees last night. Significant snow is expected on Saturday.

Nursery News: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.

‘Atkinsii’ is an old-fashioned and vigorous cultivar, looking great here with hardy cyclamen.

I have to admit that I was worried about how this very unusual weather pattern would affect the snowdrops. Most of my varieties are blooming a month early, and many are two months ahead of what I am used to. How would they fare when they are shoved into the deep freeze after being coaxed out so early by temperatures reaching as high as 72 degrees F? I am happy to say that it didn’t faze them. They all look perfectly happy though droopy and frozen. To celebrate, I am going to show you some of the highlights of the snowdrop season so far. In alphabetical order…

Galanthus 'Colossus' plicatus

‘Colossus’ has the beautiful pleated leaves of a Galanthus plicatus cultivar.

‘Daphne’s Scissors’ has produced very pronounced green tips in honor of the weather.

Galanthus 'Ding Dong'

‘Ding Dong’ was selected by Alan Street at Avon Bulbs, ding-dong Avon calling.

Galanthus 'Faringdon Double'

‘Faringdon Double’ is the earliest blooming double snowdrop.

‘Fly Fishing’ throwing out its lure. It has produced green tips when it is usually pure white.

Another shot of ‘Godfrey Owen’s’ beautiful habit.

I can sympathize with ‘Grumpy ‘ who looks afraid to come out in this weather.

‘Kite’ sporting its huge, finely formed flowers.

I couldn’t resist another shot of ‘Kite’ as it’s one of my favorites—note the extra long outer petals and the distinct X mark inside.

‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’, a vigorous and elegant double.

‘Magnet’ another old-fashioned and reliable cultivar. It hasn’t released its distinguishing extra long flower stem yet.

Galanthus 'Standing Tall' elwesii

‘Standing Tall’ combines fine markings, a beautiful habit, and indestructibility.

‘Three Ships’ with its distinct sail-like petals always blooms by Christmas but was a few weeks early this year.

Galanthus 'Wasp'

‘Wasp’ displaying its insect-like wings and “thorax”.

‘Xmas’ is a giant snowdrop cultivar selected and named by me for its Christmas bloom and X-like marking. It is quite tall with a very upright habit and bulks up more quickly than any giant snowdrop I grow, even the species.

That’s a complete record of all the snowdrops in my garden that are up and fully out. Many more have buds starting to open so the fun is just beginning.

Carolyn

Nursery Happenings: You can sign up to receive catalogues and emails about nursery events by sending your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net. Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information.

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Just Relax and Enjoy the Flowers

Posted in bulbs for shade, Camellias, hellebores, my garden, snowdrops, winter, winter interest with tags 'Blue Lady' hellebore, 'Fly Fishing' snowdrop, 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation' daffodil, Abeliophyllum distichum, Camellia 'Winter's Joy', Carolyn's Shade Gardens, Edgeworthia chrysantha, Galanthus 'Fly Fishing', Galanthus 'Standing Tall', Galanthus 'Xmas', Helleborus Joker, Helleborus Winter's Joy, Japanese mahonia, Jasminum nudiflorum, Mahonia japonica, Redstart pulmonaria, snowdrop Standing Tall, snowdrop Xmas, white forsythia, winter jasmine on December 29, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Even though praecox means developing early, ‘Praecox’ Christmas rose hellebore is one of the main season varieties that bloom later in January or February. Here it is in mid-December.

Like much of the country, southeastern Pennsylvania, US, zone 6 to 7, has had unseasonably warm weather for weeks. There has been no snow, the ground has not frozen, we have only had 2 or 3 real frosts, not enough to set back the acanthus, and it was 70 degrees F on Christmas Day. It has also been raining for most of two weeks. Quite a change from the last two falls when it got cold in October and stayed that way. In 2013 to 2014, we experienced record snowfalls. In 2014 to 2015, there was not much snow but record low temperatures.

‘Winter’s Joy’ fall-blooming camellia is not blooming early but instead continuing to bloom beyond when its flowers and buds would usually be frozen and done. It started in October and is about to enter its fourth month.

Should we be worried? As Mark Rylance, playing a Soviet espionage agent accused of treason, says in “Bridge of Spies”, would it help? Lots of attention needs to be paid to the very serious issue of climate change and what the US in particular can or should do in the face of the incontrovertible evidence of evolutionary temperature changes occurring at faster than evolutionary speeds. But worrying about the plants in our gardens and neighborhoods won’t accomplish much. We can’t control the weather so just relax and enjoy the early flowers. My friend John Lonsdale who is originally from England tells me that if we lived there, this would all be completely normal—the weather and the bloom times. Here is what is early in my garden:

Winter jasmine usually sends out a few flowers through out the winter whenever it gets warm. The whole shrub is in bloom now with not many buds left for later.

The giant snowdrop ‘Xmas’ does open flowers by Christmas, but right now the whole patch is in bloom and starting to go by. Last year I had flowers through March.

The giant snowdrop ‘Standing Tall’ also opens its buds around Christmas. It was so early this year that its flowers are now completely done.

February-blooming ‘Redstart’ pulmonaria or lungwort is in full flower all through my gardens.

The lovely, evergreen Japanese mahonia is a late winter bloomer but all my shrubs are in flower.

‘Winter’s Song’, whose name has been inexplicably changed to ‘Joker’, is a Christmas rose cross that normally waits until late January or February.

Double hybrid hellebores are generally a little later in my garden but this one looks gorgeous today.

How about this for a surprise? On Christmas Day, ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’ opened two flowers. It is the earliest daffodil that I know of but that’s usually February.

Highly fragrant winter-flowering honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) is blooming. It usually flowers slightly before forsythia.

‘Blue Lady’ hybrid hellebore decided to put on an early show.

My favorite hellebore form with the little ruffles inside (petaloid) didn’t disappoint me.

Geum ‘Cooky’ has been flowering all fall.

One of my favorite snowdrops ‘Fly Fishing’ has been whipping around in all the rain and wind on its extra long, fishing line pedicel (flower stem).

No open flowers yet, but the edgeworthia flower buds are swelling to form elegant silver tassels.

Many people have asked me what will happen in the spring? Most of the plants that are flowering now are using buds that they formed after they were done flowering last spring. If every bud opens, they will not form new buds and will not bloom again. My advice is to enjoy them now!

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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My Snowdrop Article in Fine Gardening

Posted in bulbs for shade, snowdrops, winter, winter interest with tags 'Magnet' snowdrop, Carolyn's Shade Gardens, Fine Gardening, Fine Gardening Magazine, Fine Gardening snowdrops, Galanthus 'Magnet', Galanthus elwesii, giant snowdrop on December 20, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Fine Gardening February 2016

You will all want to rush to your nearest purveyor of elegant magazines—Barnes and Noble in our area—and pick up the current issue (February 2016) of Fine Gardening. I wrote the cover article, “Snowdrops: Start spring with these easy care varieties.” It features a lot of useful information about snowdrops especially for gardeners wanting to expand beyond the common snowdrop. Four of the photos are also mine, and there are two lovely shots of my hands :-).

My photo of the giant snowdrop illustrates one of their greatest charms: their early bloom time. Shown here boring holes through the ice on Valentine’s Day 2011.

My photo of ‘Magnet’ illustrates how quickly the more vigorous varieties can multiply to form eye-catching masses in your garden.

My other photos are of ‘Lady Elphinstone’ and ‘Blewbury Tart’, but you will have to read the article to see those. Please let me know what you think and ask me any questions that the article raises by typing a comment in the “Leave a Reply” box at the very end of this post.

Carolyn

Nursery Happenings: To access the 2016 Snowdrop Catalogue, click here. You can sign up to receive catalogues and emails about nursery events by sending your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net. Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information.

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Late Fall Interest at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens

Posted in Camellias, Fall, Fall Color, How to, landscape design, my garden, snowdrops, winter, winter interest with tags 'Potter's Prelude' snowdrops, 'Red Sprite' winterberry holly, Arachnoides simplicior 'Variegata', Arum italicum, Arum italicum 'Gold Rush', Camellia 'Winter's Joy', Camellia 'Winter's Snowman, Camellia oleifera 'Lu Shan Snow', Chionanthus retusus 'China Snow', Cyclamen hederifolium, Edgeworthia chrysantha, Epimedium stellulatum "Narrow Leaf Forms", fall-blooming hardy cyclamen, Galanthus 'Potter's Prelude', Ilex verticillata 'Red Sprite', Kuma bamaboo grass, Magnolia virginiana, Pennisetum 'Moudry', Sasa veitchii, sweetbay magnolia, variegated East Indian holly fern on December 9, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

The sunrise lights up the heavy frost outlining the semi-evergreen leaves of native sweetbay magnolia.

At Carolyn’s Shade Gardens in southeastern Pennsylvania, US, colorful fall foliage is mostly gone and deciduous trees and shrubs are no longer the focus of garden interest. We must rely on other plants to take over where fall color left off and help us satisfy our goal of providing ornamental interest 365 days a year. At this point, every plant still thriving assumes greater value in the garden, and we look to the understory to draw us outside for a stroll. Here are some of my favorites for December:

The berries of native winterberry hollies stand out in the landscape after their leaves have dropped. In my garden, robins strip the berries fairly early in the season, but I have noticed that in most locations they persist well into the winter.

Fall-blooming hardy cyclamen is done blooming, but the leaves are gorgeous all winter. If you look closely, they all have a different pattern like a snowflake. Although I plant them where I want them, they move and thrive in sites of their own choosing. Here they were planted at the front of the bed and moved to the back directly at the base of a stone wall, one of their favorite sites.

Here ants moved the cyclamen seeds about 30 to 40 feet up hill all around the base of a gigantic London plane tree where they have filled in and thrived. This is not an area of the garden that I visit often so you can imagine my surprise when I found this display. An Italian arum made the trek too.

Kuma bamboo grass, Sasa veitchii, has plain green leaves during the season but acquires this elegant white edge for the winter. I planted my sasa over 10 years ago, and this is the first time that it has spread to a decent patch. Generally it is considered quite aggressive.

Variegated East Indian holly fern, Arachnoides simplicior ‘Variegata’, is a beautiful evergreen fern. Before you go looking for it though, I think it is borderline hardy here and it doesn’t thrive.

Fall-blooming snowdrops like ‘Potter’s Prelude’ pictured here are a highlight of the fall season starting around October 15 and continuing until early main season snowdrops take over in January.

This photo could show any number of my evergreen epimediums, but this is E. stellulatum “Long Leaf Form”. They all have very interesting and attractive leaves which persist until spring when I cut them back.

Black fountain grass, Pennisetum ‘Moudry’, remains my favorite grass. After a few hard frosts, it turns a lovely tan. It does move around quite a bit but has never gone anywhere that I didn’t want it in 20 years. It is downright invasive for others though, so beware.

Italian arum stays fresh and beautiful all winter—it goes dormant in the summer instead. This cultivar is ‘Gold Rush’.

Another Italian arum with much more white on the leaves—for comparison a typical arum leaf is on the left of the photo. It is possible to get a variety of leaf forms from specialized nurseries.

Chinese fringe trees, Chionanthus retusus, produce lovely dark blue berries in the fall which persist after the leaves drop. This plant is the superior form ‘China Snow’.

Edgeworthia is beautiful all year round but especially during late fall and winter when the large silver buds start to swell. The leaves turn bright yellow and drop, leaving the bare branches covered with delicate silver ornaments.

‘Winter’s Snowman’ camellia blooms in November and December with large, semi-double white flowers.

‘Winter’s Joy’ camellia

‘Winter’s Joy’ produces hundreds of buds. When a hard frost turns the open flowers brown, new buds open and flowers cover the plant again as soon as it gets warmer. Although this is usually the case, it didn’t happen during the last two winters when the buds froze early.

The tea camellia ‘Lu Shan Snow’, C. oleifera, is particularly cold tolerant and has thrived in my garden for almost 20 years. Camellias planted from 2013 on have been very hard to establish in the garden due to our unseasonably cold temperatures during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 winters. The camellias that I planted prior to 2013 have all thrived.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Fall Foliage Color at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens

Posted in Fall, Fall Color, How to, landscape design, my garden, native plants with tags 'Angelly' witch hazel, 'Katherine Adele' hardy geranium, Acer palmatum, Acer palmatum Shishigashira', Asimina triloba, Cornus florida, corylopsis, Euphorbia 'Ruby Glow', flowering dogwood, Hamamelis x intermedia 'Angelly', Hydrangea quercifolia, Japanese maple, lion's head Japanese maple, oakleaf hydrangea, pawpaw, Ruby glow wood spurge, Viburnum x 'Mohawk', winter hazel on November 24, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Japanese maples are a great source of November fall color because they lose their leaves later than most other trees.

At Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, the landscape provides ornamental interest 365 days a year. To make this happen, I expect most trees and shrubs to have at least two ornamental qualities peaking at different times before they are given precious garden space. Ornamental interest can come from flowers, fruit, bark, leaves, habit, texture, and fall color. Brightly colored fall leaves are a wonderful way to extend your garden’s interest through November. Some of my favorite fall foliage stars are profiled below.

Native oakleaf hydrangeas turn beautiful shades of red and then burgundy over a long period of time. The leaves in the upper left of the photo are still green while the foliage in the upper right is deep burgundy. I also grow oakleaf hydrangea for its fresh and dried flowers, peeling bark, unusually shaped large leaves, walnut and dry shade tolerance, and tropical texture. It is a true four-season star.

Plants in the witch hazel family often have elegant leaves and beautiful fall colors, and winter hazel, Corylopsis, is no exception. Here it is surrounded by ‘All Gold’ Japanese hakone grass.

The lovely purple spots on the leaves of ‘Katherine Adele’ hardy geranium darken as the fall progresses. In mid-November, as other perennials go dormant around it, ‘Katherine Adele’ fills out and reaches an ornamental peak. I also grow it for its pretty pink flowers in spring. However, I grow many varieties of hardy geranium and this variety is the worst for self-sowing, and the seedlings are hard to remove.

‘Mohawk’ viburnum resulted from a cross between Burkwood hybrid and Korean spicebush viburnums. It is a medium-sized shrub with elegant and highly fragrant flowers. ‘Mohawk’, a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society gold medal winner, is particularly treasured for its stunning and log-lasting fall color. I also love the rose-red buds that precede the white flowers in April.

My grove of native pawpaws turns a beautiful yellow in the fall. Very easy to grow, pawpaws produce an abundance of edible fruit with a taste and texture resembling banana-mango-pineapple custard. Fruit production is enhanced by planting two different cultivars.

Native flowering dogwood, on the left above, turns a gorgeous red in the fall. Its flowers, fruit, bark, and habit are also highly ornamental.

Witch hazels have a very unique yellow-orange fall color that stands out in the landscape. ‘Angelly’, on the right above, is my favorite witch hazel because of its striking, bright yellow, spring flowers, which made my choice easy when I was confronted with a greenhouse full of hundreds of witch hazels in bloom. ‘Angelly’s’ flowers stood out. It also has the crucial ability to shed its old leaves. Witch hazel flowers blooming among hundreds of old brown leaves are not attractive and removing the leaves by hand is a chore.

Another perennial that comes into its own in the fall is Ruby Glow euphorbia or wood spurge. The leaves and stems darken as the season progresses and are much more purple now than when I took this photo on November 7. I also value Ruby Glow for its unusual chartreuse flowers in spring and its upright, shrub-like habit. Although its common name is wood spurge, it prefers a sunny location.

Japanese maples have stunning fall color very late in the fall foliage season. They can self sow prolifically and have sometimes been called invasive. This tree was a seedling that appeared in my garden in the right place at the right time. In the lower right of the photo are the beautiful yellow leaves of native ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud.

Generally unselected Japanese maples have red fall color. However, I prefer the seedlings that have yellow or orange foliage in fall. The above seedling growing out of the side of a giant London plane tree in my nursery sales area has multi-colored leaves.

If you are considering adding a Japanese maple to your garden, you can choose from the hundreds of cultivars selected from Acer palmatum. The variety of sizes, leaf shapes, habits, fall colors, etc., available is amazing. Pictured above and at the top of the post is ‘Shishigashira’ or lion’s head Japanese maple, one of my favorites. It is under-planted with ‘Shell Pink’ lamium and fall-blooming hardy cyclamen, fall stars in their own right.

I will end this post with a photo of three spectacular native plants. The taller tree is yellowwood, valued as a medium-sized shade tree with beautiful, fragrant flowers and striking yellow fall color. The small tree is a flowering dogwood discussed earlier in the post. The shrub with the orange fall color is a flame azalea, one of our stunning native deciduous rhododendrons.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Unusual Garden Art

Posted in garden to visit, Garden Tour, How to, landscape design with tags garden art, garden sculptures, Scott Arboretum, Scott Arboretum garden tour, what is art on October 1, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Temporary art in a bowl of water at Chanticleer

In June, Michael and I went on the annual Scott Arboretum Associates’ Garden Day. This tour is one of the many wonderful events planned by the arboretum free of charge for its members. The tour was followed by a reception at world famous Chanticleer featuring delicious food and drink and providing an opportunity to stroll around the lovely gardens after hours.

Unfortunately, I didn’t record the name of this arresting sculpture.

One of the homes on the tour featured a collection of very unusual sculptures or installations. I didn’t count them, but it seemed like there could have been at least 100 and maybe more. Most of them were not what for want of a better term I will call “pretty art”; in fact, some of them were quite disturbing. Would you want the boxer above greeting you every time you entered your driveway? It really got me thinking about the age old question of what is art?

There were many of these installations, if that is the right term, in the woodlands surrounding the house.

untitled, Will Dexter, cast glass and steel

untitled, Bob Harrington, mahogany

“Sleeping Beauty”, Debra Rosenblum

“Arboreal Timbre”, Greg Leavitt, copper and steel. This life size metal tree was right outside the front door.

“Throne”, Peter Diepenbrock, metal washers

“Emergence”, Debra Rosenblum, bronze and slate

This is not the accumulation of an eccentric included on the tour for some obscure reason, but the well-respected collection of an art connoisseur frequently visited by groups from prominent area art institutions. I am definitely of the opinion that beauty (or if not beauty, then interest) is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone is entitled to design their garden in the way most pleasing to them. I found the garden thought provoking, and maybe that’s part of the owner’s intention. It is still hard for me to think of some of this as art. What do you think?

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Camden Maine Garden Tour 2015

Posted in garden to visit, Garden Tour, How to, landscape design, Maine with tags Camden, Camden Garden Club, Camden Garden tour, Camden Harbor Maine, Camden House and Garden Tour, Camden Maine, Maine, maine gardens, midcoast Maine, Rockport Maine on August 21, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

An iconic Maine view from one of the tour houses.

For the third year in a row, Michael and I traveled to Camden, Maine, to attend the Camden Garden Club’s House and Garden Tour. My last two posts covered all the beautiful containers displayed through out the town. To read them click here and here. This post will show highlights of the tour itself.

The Alden House, an 1855 Queen Anne Victorian, was just one of the seven historic houses on the tour. The first president of the Camden Garden Club lived there when the club was founded 100 years ago.

2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the Camden Garden Club. To celebrate, all the houses on the tour were historic. The oldest was built in 1806 and the newest in the early 1900s. It was fun to see all the beautiful architecture and the amazing ocean views that often accompanied it. However, only two houses had gardens worth visiting, which was disappointing and didn’t result in many garden photos. Nevertheless, I thought you would enjoy seeing the buildings and views.

Alden House barn. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside the houses because I would love to show you how well preserved this home was.

The Alden House had a lovely and classic shade garden along the back side.

This Georgian-style brick home called Red Chimneys built in 1825 was the site of the first meeting of the club in 1915.

Lovely stonework found at Tranquility Garden in downtown Camden.

A close up of the unusual “paving” shown in the photo above. The owners traveled all over the world for 30 years collecting ideas and objects for their garden.

Tranquility Garden had lovely sun and shade borders. The bright sunlight and shadows made the gardens very difficult to photograph.

The combination of unusual textures was quite creative in this garden.

Although it had no gardens to speak of, this property on a prominent point in Camden Harbor had almost 360 degree views of the ocean.

One of its views was of this little island.

Another view was of this beach.

Gray Lodge is a shingle-style summer “cottage” built in the mid-1890s.

The view at the start of the post was from this porch and is of Curtis Island Light.

So-called Spite House was the prettiest building on the tour. It was built in Phippsburg, Maine, in 1806 and floated on a barge to its current site in Rockport in 1925. I never found out the origin of its name.

Spite House gardens

I discovered one new plant on the tour: Digitalis ‘Illumination Flame’. Although it is only hardy in zone 8 and above, the color and habit is so beautiful that I may have to grow it next year.

The Camden-Rockport-Rockland area is such a gorgeous place to visit, but after three years Michael and I plan to attend the Bar Harbor Garden Club’s tour in 2016.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Window Box Ideas from Camden Maine

Posted in annuals, annuals, container gardening, container gardening, containers for shade, garden to visit, Garden Tour, How to, landscape design, Maine with tags annual containers, annuals for containers, annuals for window boxes, Camden, Camden Garden Club, Camden Garden tour, Camden Maine, container gardening, container ideas, hanging baskets, Maine, midcoast Maine, window box ideas, window boxes on July 31, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

This beautiful window box full of my favorite color flowers was outside a storefront in Camden, Maine.

As I mentioned in my last post, Michael and I recently visited Camden, Maine, to attend the Camden Garden Club House and Garden Tour. The town is full of inspiring container ideas. So many, in fact, that I split the photos into two posts. This one covers window boxes, and the previous post pictured pots and hanging baskets. To read it, click here.

In containers, you can often use colors that wouldn’t necessarily go well together in the garden.

I was very impressed that most local businesses in Camden invested in flower-filled containers along the sidewalk. It was very attractive and complemented all the plantings maintained by the Camden Garden Club. The Camden Library grounds are especially beautiful. Even if you are just passing through Camden, it is worth stopping to walk around. The harbor is gorgeous, and there are lots of wonderful restaurants—more on that later.

This display was particularly creative with the use of a wooden oar and driftwood in this seaside town.

It is not necessary to get fancy: very traditional and very pretty.

There is a tendency to go with bold colors in containers, and I do that myself. However, this combination of yellow, white, and silver is quite elegant.

We saw the chef from this restaurant collecting nasturtiums for culinary use. Containers are not just for viewing. I intend to put my basil and parsley in my window boxes next year.

Unlike plastic pots, baskets lined with moss or another organic material are aesthetically pleasing when first planted and the container is still visible.

This restaurant down by the waterfront went all out with window boxes lining both stories. All the remaining photos are of planting combinations from this location.

Restaurant patrons seated by the windows got not only a beautiful harbor view but also lovely flower arrangements.

I hope you have gotten a few ideas from Camden’s flowers—I know I have!

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Container Planting Ideas from Camden Maine

Posted in annuals, annuals, container gardening, container gardening, containers for shade, garden to visit, Garden Tour, How to, landscape design, Maine with tags annual containers, Camden Garden Club, Camden Garden tour, Camden Maine, container gardening, container ideas, hanging baskets, midcoast Maine on July 24, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

The display outside a storefront in Camden, Maine.

Michael and I visited Camden, Maine, for the third year in a row to attend the 68th Annual Camden Garden Club House and Garden Tour. Readers love my posts from Maine so I took lots of photos while I was there. The garden club maintains most of the public spaces in Camden and seems to have inspired the town to go wild with containers outside many of the homes and businesses.

I take lots of photos of creative containers over the summer. I have been reluctant to post a lot of them because most people probably have their pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets filled by late July. This year I am forging ahead though, hoping that readers will get some creative ideas for next year. In fact, I found so many beautiful combinations in Camden that I have split the post into two parts: this one will cover pots and hanging baskets and the next will be window boxes. For some advice on container design techniques, click here and follow the links in the first paragraph to three other posts.

It is not necessary to get fancy: a container of ordinary pink petunias and blue annual lobelia is lush and beautiful.

Hanging baskets echo the colors at this local bed and breakfast, The Blue Harbor Inn.

A close up, hanging baskets look the best when they are filled to overflowing and the pot is not visible.

This more subtle and elegant combination was sitting on the top of a trash can in downtown Camden.

The other side of the container on the trash can. Petunias used to be somewhat boring, but there are so many elegant cultivars available now, here white with delicate yellow and pink shading. The yellow blooms are double-flowered million bells.

If you are looking for a tall, narrow effect, this container and another identical one flanked a store entrance.

A cheerful combination of red annual verbena, yellow million bells, and blue annual lobelia.

Another pair of containers at a store entrance using verbena and double million bells. The grasses give the the pots an added bit of interest and elegance.

This large display (also pictured in the first photo) was definitely my favorite. The color combination is subtle yet eye-catching, the textures are interesting especially the kale in the back, and the rustic containers are very attractive.

A close up

This pedestrian bridge was lined with containers of pink petunias, tomatoes, and squash, a utilitarian yet attractive combination.

I love the idea of walking out on my deck to harvest vegetables and may try this next year.

This last photo shows a traditional Maine scene with a simple but beautiful combination of pink petunias, yellow million bells, and the less common and very lovely pale blue annual lobelia.

I hope you are enjoying summer!

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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The Elements of a Beautiful Garden

Posted in container gardening, containers for shade, Garden Tour, How to, landscape design, miniature hosta with tags Carolyn's Shade Gardens, elements of garden design, garden design, garden maintenance, garden ornaments, Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears', Hosta 'Cracker Crumbs', miniature hostas, Shade Gardens on June 26, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

I love this combination of ‘All Gold’ Japanese Hakone grass and pink astilbe.

My son Alex Walker-Drennan took me to visit one of the gardens installed and maintained by his landscaping company Practiced Hands Gardening (practicedhandsgardening@gmail.com). The garden has a strong Carolyn’s Shade Gardens connection as almost all the plants came from my nursery, and it was designed by Joan LaLeike whom many of you know from my open house sales. It is owned by Hope and is on less than 1/4 acre very close to the City of Philadelphia.

The front of Hope’s house has great curb appeal.

The garden was started about five years ago, and Hope works on a different section each year. I always recommend that customers take this approach rather than trying to work on their whole property at once. Completing an area, even a small one, gives you a sense of accomplishment and the inspiration to tackle the next project. Hope has created a very satisfying garden in a relatively short period of time, which got me thinking about the important elements of a beautiful garden. Here’s what I came up with:

1. A Good Design: complementary textures, heights, and colors.

A mixture of perennials, annuals, and deciduous and evergreen shrubs plus the lovely bark and habit of the birch keeps the garden flanking the front door interesting all year.

A close up of the front garden, hellebores—-my favorites!

A good design can be achieved without hiring a designer but knowledge of the plant material and how it performs is crucial. Visit local public gardens like Chanticleer, Longwood, Winterthur, and the Morris Arboretum to view mature specimens thriving in an established environment before you choose and place your plants.

2. Lot of Plants: Hope’s garden is densely planted giving a lush and vibrant look and cutting down on maintenance by keeping out weeds. If you are working with a big space and a small budget, tackle one section at a time and fill it in.

I am not sure who came up with the idea that plants should not touch and should be surrounded by a sea of mulch, but from a design perspective the results are not pleasing. Leave room for each plant to reach its mature size without crowding, but once it does no soil should be visible.

3. Lots of the Same Plant: Massing of this Japanese hakone grass makes viewing from a distance a pleasure and guides the viewer around the garden.

I rarely plant one of anything except trees. When you shop, stay within your budget by purchasing the same total number of perennials but choose more of each variety you plant and less varieites. Here, ‘Caramel’ heuchera and hydrangeas are massed.

A simple mass planting of Japanese painted ferns and perennial forget-me-nots used as ground cover under a tree are much more pleasing than one or two of a lot of different plants crowded into the space.

A new planting masses ‘Dawson’s White’ brunnera leaving enough space for it to reach its mature size.

If you don’t make any other changes after you read this post, do this: for the next year (or even better two years) do not buy any new plant varieties but instead add more of the same plants to groups that are working in your garden already. I did this in my garden and the results were spectacular.

4. Pay Attention to Details: While the big picture is very important, little details really add to garden interest. Hope has a very attractive but tiny bed filled with small scale plants edging her front walk, here petunias, ‘Antique Grill’ sedum, and ‘Cracker Crumbs’ miniature hosta.

The bed really shows off her ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ hosta, which is planted all along the walk.

5. Expect Trial and Error not Perfection: The leyland cypresses behind this bed (upper right of photo), put in before Joan took over, are failing. Instead of nursing along these ugly plants, Hope is removing them and trying something new. Plants are living things so every one that you or a designer chooses will not necessarily work or even live. Give your plants a few years to perform and if they don’t, move on.

6. Use Hardscape: Walls, walks, patios, decks, fountains, ponds, etc., add tremendous interest to a garden design. They also significantly increase the cost so they should be added with a lot of forethought. Here Hope removed her dated deck and replaced it with a two-level stone patio complete with “fountain stairs”.

7. Add garden ornaments and containers: You don’t have to go wild with sculptures, birdhouses, sundials, and urns everywhere, but a few well-placed garden ornaments really add interest. At Hope’s, this lovely pot anchors this part of the garden.

Ornaments don’t have to be big or expensive—I love this little mushroom sitting under the oakleaf hydrangea.

Containers of plants are visually interesting, here dwarf conifers on Hope’s patio wall.

A dish of mini hostas and sedums.

8. Maintain Your Garden Well Especially the Edges: A beautiful garden needs work to stay that way. Trees and shrubs require regular pruning, beds should be cut back and mulched in the fall or spring, borders need edging at least once a year, and weeding is ongoing. A beautiful design with lovely plant material is wasted if the garden is overgrown with messy edges and full of weeds.

I admit that I am not always diligent about following my own rules, but when I finally do the results are always superior to what went before.

Carolyn

Nursery Happenings: You can sign up to receive emails about nursery events by sending your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net.

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

If you are within visiting distance and would like to receive catalogues and information about customer events, please send your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net. Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information.

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CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS

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Fall Foliage Color at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens

Unusual Garden Art

Camden Maine Garden Tour 2015

Window Box Ideas from Camden Maine

Container Planting Ideas from Camden Maine

The Elements of a Beautiful Garden

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Welcome

Site Stats Since 11/3/10

Email Subscription to Blog Posts

Pages

Click image for links to all articles on snowdrops

Search My Website

All photos and text on this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without my express permission

Top Posts & Pages

Recent Posts

Click image to see Carolyn’s photos in The New York Times

Reader Locations (click to enlarge)

Plant Information (click for website)

Reference Books (click for website)

Places to Visit (click for website)