GardenDesignOnline

Happenings April 2018

Selected Events Around the Country:

Orchid Shows:
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:

April 4, "Revealing a Sense of Place," Cambridge, MA
7pm, Lecture, LA Matthew Cunningham, Cambridge Public Library 781-790-8921
April 4-8 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, San Mateo, CA
San Mateo Event Center, 415-684-7278

April 11, Garden Dialogues, Boca Grande, FL
4-6pm, Tour with landscape architect Carl Abbott, TCLF, 202-483-0553
April 11, Northern Gardening Symposium, Randolph Center, VT

April 14-15, What's Out There Weekend, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill NC
Expert-led tours of the cities' landscape highlights, TCLF, 202-483-0553
April 14-15 Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: FL, NJ
Jacksonville, FL; Essex County, NJ
April 14-16, Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
72nd Annual Symposium, "Ordinary to Extraordinary," 757-565-8937
April 15-23, California Native Plant Week, CA
Lectures, garden tours, workshops, more 916-447-2677
April 21, 14th Great Gardens & Landscaping Symposium, Woodstock, VT
8am-4pm, Woodstock Inn & Resort, (note: sold out, but waiting list)
April 21-28, Historic Garden Week, Virginia

April 22, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: CA, NY
Pasadena & Environs, Putnam County, NY
April 22, EARTH DAY - Events Everywhere
April 29, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: Westchester Cty, NY

 LOOKAHEAD:

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

New Plants 2018 - III

New Plants this year from Bailey Nurseries:

photos: Bailey Nurseries

First Editions® Virtual Violet® Lilac
(Syringa 'Bailbridget' PPAF)

An upright stunning lilac with shiny new leaves that emerge violet, deep purple stems, violet leaf petioles and of course violet flowers.  Mildew free, it reaches a height of six to eight feet and a spread of five to seven.  Great as a hedge or a stand alone specimen, as you can't miss it in the garden.  Zones 3-7.  Bred by Don Selinger, it's a cross between Charles Joly and two varieties from the US National Arboretum.

First Editions® Neon Burst™ Dogwood
(Cornus alba 'ByBoughen')

This shrubby Tatarian dogwood stands out for its chartreuse leaves that emerge following the bare, glossy red stems in winter. And in autumn, the leaves turn shades of red, yellow, and orange.  It has a compact habit, just four to five feet tall and wide, and is hardy in Zones 2-7. 

First Editions® Opening Day™ Doublefile Viburnum

(Viburnum plicatum 'PIIVIB-II')

This doublefile has dark green leaves, a tight habit, and blooms that emerge with a hint of green before opening to pure white, just in time for Opening Day. The leaves turn a lovely deep red to purple in fall.   It's five to ten feet tall and five to eight wide, hardy in Zones 5-8.  Bred by Plant Introductions, Inc.  It should become a standard plant in almost any garden.

 

Signs of Spring

Hard to find a better example of a flowering Cornelian Cherry Dogwood (Cornus mas) -- this one at American University in Washington DC -- flowering beautifully on March 11th -- yes, quite early for this tree, even though it's a very early bloomer. 

It's one of the earliest flowering trees in spring, a true harbinger of warmer weather on the way.  The bright yellow flowers give way to cherry red fruits in June & July, much favored by birds. and a great contrast with the dark green, glossy leaves.  The fruits are also edible, often used to make syrup or preserves. In winter, the bark is noticeable and a nice addition.

A trouble-free tree, it grows to about 25' high and wide, and it's hardy up to zone 4. 

There are also some interesting cultivars.  'Flava' has bright yellow fruits that ripen earlier than the species; 'Golden Glory' has a more upright habit; 'Variegata' has leaves edged in white; and 'Aureoelegantissima' has yellow-edged leaves with pink shading as they emerge after the flowers.

In the landscape, the tree is often used for hedging and screening -- or simply as a specimen, as it's used in the photo above.

And, if you didn't already know, the grounds of American University are an arboretum -- well worth a visit to see many fascinating plants.

 

 

 

 

Books: Flowers in Danger

If there's no way to save endangered species, we can at least document their existence, and that's exactly what A Tribute to Flowers: Plants Under Pressure (teNeues, 2018) does.

Photographer Richard Fischer has taken it upon himself over the past 15 years to bring endangered flowers into his photo studio and capture them in all their glory. There are striking images of flowers such as the fragrant orchid Stanhopea embreei, the clusterhead pink (Dianthus carthusianorum), Angraecum aloifolium, and many, many others.

The book is divided into three sections: Endangered Species, Floral Sculptures, and Dying Divas. There's an introductory essay about each theme that explains why it's so important.

For many of the photos, there are also brief essays, in English, German, and French, which celebrate the flowers.  As the author says describing Papaver somniferum, "Light beards, thread suns, ball carriers -- botanical science provides us with poetic floral designations.  'Hieroglyphics of nature,' remarked a perplexed Goethe.  And always the realization: creating beauty is not easy for humans -- for flowers it is." 

In the introduction to the book, Dr. Thomas Holzmann, vice-president of the German Environment Agency, explains that Fischer has, for many years, been taking photos of rare specimens or plants that may become extinct -- flowers donated by numerous botanical gardens in Germany and elsewhere.  As Holzman notes, Fischer is "putting these plants -- in the truest sense of living on borrowed time -- on center stage for perhaps the last time."

If you're enamored of flowers and their mesmerizing aspects, this is the book for you.

 

 

 

 

 

Philadelphia Flower Show 2018

 

click on photos to enlarge

This year's Philadelphia Flower Show -- Wonders of Water -- takes you to the tropics as you enter the show -- through cascades of colorful blooms hanging above and surrounding you on all sides, complete with the sound of tropical birds.

As you walk through the rainforest, you're greeted on the other side by a 25-foot waterfall in five tiers of water falling into a pool below and surrounded by more colors of the tropics -- palms and birds of paradise and much, much more.

 

 

But if you're in a location with a deficit of water, and you're in the right hardiness zone, there's a lot you can do in the way of landscape that does not require irrigation. 

I did like this landscape ... a living wall to the rear, waterfalls above the pool, a perfect setting for a wedding, which is what this planned for.

The show has much, much more to offer, and it's open now through 6pm, Sunday March 11th.  And of course much more to see in Philadelphia, too.

 

 

 

Orchids: NY Botanical Garden

NYBG Orchid Show March 3-April 22, 2018

This year's orchid show at the NY Botanical Garden is designed by acclaimed Belgian floral designer Daniel Ost.   He's been called the world's leading flower designer, and his orchid creations at the NYBG will complement the Victorian style of the Enid Haupt Conservatory while transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.

For a preview of the show, click on the link here to see a video preview.

Special events during the show will include orchid evenings, tours, demonstrations, and special performances; and there will be many exotic species available for sale.