All the difference...

Today I had the pleasure of visiting my friends Gianna & Rich up the street. Gianna is the most talented container designer ever. Rich is the most knowledgeable plants person ever. Together they've created a garden that tugs at my heartstrings every time I visit.

If you ever need some top notch garden advice you can go to Main Street Nursery in Huntington to talk to Gianna about container plants or to Rich at Zaino's Nursery in Old Westbury for info on the best shrub/tree/perennial for your Long Island garden.

What is most amazing about their garden is the way they showcase their collected pieces, accents, accessories and containers and use them as jewels to display their amazing plants.

Gianna has ducks and swans tucked into many spots, bunny rabbits too (even a few live ones).

See the swan in the larger container? It's so incredibly elegant I just wish this photo did it more justice.

This shot is my favorite, I'm going to try to recreate it exactly with my better camera and hope for more clarity and color saturation. If it works out I'd like to have it printed out and framed.



While the above containers were Gianna's, Rich has a few knockouts too. How's this trough? I'm in love :-)

Just the way it's set up on the boulder is enough to keep me salivating for days. I love gardening on this scale but let's be honest, you need a man if you want to do something like this!

This last container isn't even a container, it's just a wonderfully textured rock with pockets that are perfect for planting. I had to include this photo for my other dear gardening friends Kim & Paul because they are into many of the same concepts.

I've posted a number of other photos from this garden on my other blog at Melanie's Old Country Gardens...stop by and take a peek :-)

Melanie

Spring Containers

Container planting has to be one of the most rewarding types of gardening. When it comes to containers, you can be in full control. Chose the ideal type of soil, the bloom season, the light conditions (after all, you can move those containers around) and of course, the watering requirements.

Just the other day I posted about ferns in the spring gardens. Ferns are wonderful in containers, this photo was taken the other day in the Lincoln Park Conservatory in Chicago.


For those of you who haven't read my other blog, Old Country Gardens, I've just returned from the most wonderful four days in Chicago. The plantings were amazing, street corners, parks, median strips, sidewalk plantings and of course lots and lots of containers.

I thought I was taking too many photos but as usual, I now wish I had taken twice as many!

Visible from the hotel room window was this amazing array of planters. Best of all was getting to walk past it several times a day.

The weather was quite harsh, cold downpours, gusting winds and bright sunny days with nights near freezing. Yet look how lovely these hardy spring plants look!

The color combinations were spectacular, I couldn't get enough of the blues and once you add some gold, wowza!


Color combinations don't have to be hot or cold, I found this yellow, green and white arrangement very pleasing.

Putting all those colors together was even better, you could hardly guess that it was so cold that my fingers were numb while pressing on the camera button.

Three cheers to the folks of Chicago for showcasing such a lovely city!

Melanie

Tropicals in Pots

Last month I had the pleasure of touring the learning gardens at SUNY (State University of New York) Farmingdale. They are known for their tropical plantings but it was still early for those tropicals to shine.

I just love the structural form of these containers. At first I used to buy cheap containers that looked like real ones but over the years I've learned to save up and buy a few good ones when they go on sale. There are containers in my garden that are 25 years old and they're in perfect condition. The cheap ones look cheap and I get tired of them very quickly.

This afternoon I have an appointment at Farmingdale. I hope to enroll in their ornamental horticulture program beginning late August. Imagine that, me in my late 40's becoming a college student!

I'm going to try to get there early so I can take more pictures. The tropical plant material should be twice as lush as it was last month.

Wish me luck!

Melanie

Perennials in Pots

People usually put annuals in their pots or containers. Impatiens, Petunias or some of the newer fancy annuals. When it comes to pretty foliage, the choice tends to be Coleus or those little Dracena spikes.

Yesterday I had so much fun making up some small perennial pots for our PTA. Instead of using those annuals, I chose small perennials. Isn't it nice to know that you can leave your plants in these pots and they will come up again next year. I've left Hosta and Astilbe in Pots for 3 years and then divided them out and let them continue again in pots.

This pot is for a shady location with a Hosta and Galium odoratum (Sweet woodruff). I just stuck in an impatiens to fill in the spot until the two perennials fill out.

Half the pots I made up are for sunny locations. They have different succulents, Sempervivums (Hens & Chicks) and Sedums in them. If we ever get some more sun they will fill out quickly.

Instead of wasting my money on a spiky plant that will die in the fall, I chose to use a lovely little blooming grass called Sisyrinchium or blue-eyed oat grass.

These pots were so fun to make, I can't wait to get out there and make some more.

Melanie

Got Pots?

I need pots. Lots and lots of pots.

When it comes to planting things in pots, I can be pretty creative. Here you can see our Mrs. Potts and an old wagon also used as a pot.

I've used baskets as pots. They work ok for one season but will rot out by the end of the year.

Bowling shoes are great as pots. I have two pairs of bowling shoe pots in the garden but this year they've been out there for 4 years and I just might have to give them the old heave-ho and hope somebody drops off a new pair or two.


Don's work boots are quick and easy to pot up. You'll find shoes with plants in them all over my garden.

The pots I need though are these kind. Serious pots, pots to plant with perennial divisions so I can sell them. Right now you could probably find a few hundred pots here in my garden but that's not even close to what I go through in a single season. I guess I'd better start stalking those landscape trucks and see if I can grab some pots when they are through with a job.

Got pots? If so, let me know!

Melanie