GardenDesignOnline

Happenings March 2018

SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY

Exhibitions:

thru August 31, 2018, "Cultivating America's Gardens," Washington DC
National Museum of American History, sponsor: Smithsonian Gardens & Smithsonian Libraries, 202-633-1522

ORCHID SHOWS:
thru March 11, Orchid Mania, Cleveland Botanical Garden, 216-721-1600
thru March 25, Orchid Extravaganza, Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA 610-388-1000
thru March 25, Orchid Mania, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO. 314-577-5100
thru March 25, Asia in Bloom, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL, 847-835-5440
thru March 31, Orchid Month, Hillwood Museum & Gardens, Washington DC 202-686-5807
thru April 1, Orchid Daze, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA 404-876-5859
thru April 8, Orchid Spectrum, US Botanic Garden, Washington DC 202-225-8333
March 3-April 22, The Orchid Show, NY Botanical Garden, 718-718-8700

Events:

March 1-4, Nashville Lawn & Garden Show, Nashville, TN
"Guerrilla Gardening & the Urban Jungle," TN State Fairgrounds, 615-772-6809
March 2-3, Ithaca Native Landscape Symposium, Ithaca, NY
8am-5:30 pm, Cinemapolis Theater, 607-533-7193
March 3-11, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
March 3-5, Bluegrass Trust Antiques & Garden Show, Lexington, KY
Alltech Arena, 859-253-0362

March 4, "Landscape Arch. & the Creative Process," Millbrook, NY
11am, Lecture, LA Susan Cohen, Garden Conservancy, 888-842-2442
March 5, LA Joan Iverson Nassauer, Berkeley, CA
6pm Lecture, Univ CA, 112 Wurster Hall. 510-642-2962
March 6, Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
March 7, Evenings with Experts, Cambridge, MA
7pm, "Botany Meets Design," Lecture,  Cambridge Public Library, 781-790-8921
March 7-8, ELA Conference & Eco-Marketplace, Amherst, MA
"Sustaining the Living Landscape," UMASS Amherst 617-436-5838
March 8, LA Michael Desvigne, Boston, MA
7pm, Lecture, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 617-278-5156
March 10, US Production Facility Open House, Washington DC
various times, Largest greenhouse supporting a public garden, US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333
March 10-18, Indiana Flower & Patio Show, Indianapolis, IN
IN State Fairgrounds, 317-705-8719

March 14-18, Chicago Flower & Garden Show, Chicago, IL
Navy Pier, "Flowers, Gardens & Chicago Roots," 312-241-1250
March 14, LA Alan Berger, "Infinite Suburbia," Philadelphia, PA
6pm, Lecture, Penn Design, 215-898-6591
March 14-18, Boston Flower & Garden Show, Boston, MA
Seaport World Trade Center, 800-258-8912
March 15, 18th  Land Ethics Symposium, Doylestown, PA
Delaware Valley University, Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, 215-489-2315

March 20, Japanese Garden Inspiration, Bronx, NY
1-3pm, Peter Grilli, Pres. Emiritus, Japan Society of Boston, 718-817-8700
March 22, "Design in the Age of Climate Change," Philadelphia, PA
6pm, Lecture, Susan Herrington & Cornelia Oberlander, Penn Design, 215-898-6591
March 22-25, Maine Flower Show, Portland, ME
"Rooted in Maine," Thompson's Point, 207-623-6430
March 24, Spring Symposium, Kenmore, WA
NW Hort Society, "Gardening on the Pacific Rim," 206-780-8172
March 24, Garden Conservancy Open Days, Trumansburg, NY
11am-3pm, 500 snowdrop varieties & early spring flowers, 888-842-2442
March 29, "The Gardener's Garden: Designer Edwina von Gal," Bronx NY
10am, Lecture, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700

LOOKAHEAD:
April 11, Northern Gardening Symposium, Randolph Center, VT
April 14-16, Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
72nd Annual Symposium, "Ordinary to Extraordinary," 757-565-8937
April 21-28, Historic Garden Week, Virginia
May 22-26, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK
Sept 8, Hollister House Garden Study Weekend VIII, Southbury, CT
9am, Heritage Hotel, "A Passion for Plants," Garden Conservancy, 845-424-6500

Philadelphia Flower Show Preview

This year's Philadelphia Flower Show -- "Wonders of Water" -- is a testimonial to the important role it plays in our everyday lives and in our environment.

Visitors to this year's show enter under a canopy of hanging flowers backed by a 25-foot waterfall cascading into a pool below from five different tiers. A rain curtain takes guests over a "suspended" rope bridge, through a rainforest, and on to major displays by leading garden designers.  Visitors will see landscapes inspired by tropical rain forests, native woodlands, deserts and forests.  The show will also feature its annual competitions in horticultural displays, presentations, special events, and much more.  One exhibit, "Windows on the Watershed," is dedicated to the Delaware River Watershed -- waterways small and large that flow through 14 thousand square miles of farmlands, cities, coastal plains, mountains, and wilderness areas, supporting myriad plants and animals.

At a news conference last month, PHS's chief of shows and events, Sam Lemheney, said this year's show includes "one of the largest collections of plants ever amassed" at the annual event.  He added that the displays will "highlight ways that people can involve water in their own yards and gardens."

The show opens to the public on Saturday, March 3 at 11am and runs through Sunday March 11th until 6pm.

 

 

Design: Outside the Box

click to enlarge

Someday, you should meet Nick McCullough of McCullough's Landscape and Nursery LLC in New Albany, Ohio. He designs high-end gardens, has three million+ followers on Pinterest, writes a blog -- Thinking Outside the Boxwood -- and is a hands-on plant person.

In a recent presentation to the DC-Maryland-Virginia chapter of APLD, Nick clued us in on some of the reasons for his success.  He designs high-end gardens exclusively; has his own nursery where he grows his own stock and that's not open to the public; has craftsmen on staff who can fabricate what he designs; and is partial to the English countryside look.

He uses big drifts of perennials, many of them self-sustaining, uses specimen hornbeams to create living walls, likes the combination of flowering whites and blues; and plants seasonal containers for clients that are attractive year-round.

What it's all about, he says, is "We're trying to create memories." Check out his website and blog for a whole lot of inspiration.

 

 

New Plants 2018 - II

These new plants this year from Spring Meadow Nursery.

Images: Spring Meadow Nursery

Tandoori Orange® Linden Viburnum
(Viburnum dilatatum 'SMNVDMDO')

Wow..a linden viburnum with orange fruits and fall color, plus outstanding white blooms in spring.  It's tolerant of shade and deer-resistant as well.  It's six to eight feet tall and wide, so it needs a lot of room in the garden. Mass it in borders or use as a single specimen.  Hardy to zone 5.  And plant it with Cardinal Candy® viburnum for lots of fruit on both plants.

Invincibelle Wee White® Smooth Hydrangea
(Hydrangea arborescens 'NCHA5')

Just think ... an Annabelle hydrangea that only gets two and a half feet tall and wide.  The flowers have strong stems, so they stay upright, and it blooms early summer through frost.  No surprise, it won the 2018 Direct Gardening Association Green Thumb award.  It takes part sun to sun, and is hardy to zone 3.  Great for mass plantings, edging, specimen.  Cut back in spring by about one-third of its height as new growth appears.

Wabi Sabi® Doublefile Viburnum
(Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum 'SMVPTFD')

Another great dwarf viburnum from Spring Meadow ... just two and a half feet high and three to four feet wide ... a size that'll fit in many a border or fill in those empty spaces here and there.

White lacecap flowers in spring, a horizontal habit, shade tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant.  It takes part sun to sun and is hardy to Zone 5.

Pollypetite® Rose of Sharon
(Hibiscus sp. 'Rosina')

At three to four feet high and wide, this rose of sharon has a tall, wide habit with lavender-pink blooms in late summer.  It's almost seedless as well, so you don't have to worry about it spreading all over the yard.  It's also deer resistant and is hardy to Zone 5.  Prune in spring, if necessary, as new growth appears.  Use in a mass planting or as a focal point in a border.

 

 

 

Books: Small Gardens, Big on Design

Just because your garden is small, it doesn't mean it has to be devoid of plants, garden accoutrements and interest. Author Susan Morrison shows you the way in her latest book, The Less Is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing Your Small Yard (Timber Press, 2018).

Loaded with photos of striking suburban and urban landscapes, Morrison explains classic design principles that will transform your yard into something very special.  She'll show you how to design a narrow back yard; how to tie awkward spaces together with curves; and keep everything simple for a calming retreat.

There are special take-aways on elements such as moonlight gardens, plants that are spring standouts; lawn alternatives; plants that create the illusion of water, and much more.

Chapters on hardscape elements and and beautiful, low-maintenance plants are particularly helpful for designers.

As Morrison puts it in the preface to the book, "Whether you are designing a new landscape from the ground up, rehabilitating an existing one, or just hoping to take your current yard to a new level with a few easy fixes, the less is more approach to garden design will get you there."  And indeed it will.