Princeton Pools and Pots of Perennials and Annuals

I planted these today for a client that is looking forward to Memorial Day and parties to come all summer long.  I absolutely love installing container plantings.  They really add so much dimension to a patio around the pool and outside living space.  Butterflies will dance over the pool and perhaps a hummingbird or two.  The most important thing I try to share with a client is to not be afraid of size, the worst mistake is going too small and the statement is lost.  That can truly be the difference between an arrangement and design.  I will change these out  in the late autumn and then again in the winter. These will bloom until frost.

Herbaceous Peony for your Wordless Wednesday

Check out the lovely peony and think Georgia O Keefe.  Peonies are heavy feeders and loved to be staked but other than that.... Just enjoy them .  I love to make sure a client has a few.

Gun Dog and Garden

A dear friend of mine turned me on the the magazine GARDEN&GUN...  It is  published with a true flavor of the South and its culture and gardens.   Three weeks ago my daughter and I rescued a English Springer Spaniel puppy who we have named Lady Millicent.  We call her Millie.  I love the fact that it is an old name from the Middle ages and loved by the British.  The name means "work and strength" so it fits for this working "gun dog".
 She is navigating herself well between the plants and respects her potty to be only in the rocks on the side of the carriage house.   I have been taking her with me to my landscape jobs and she is a fine companion even if she does not know all the names of the plants.
I also give her a cocktail of organic tomato juice in the morning so that she won't burn out anyone's plants or grass.   We hope to see you in the garden, either yours or mine!  Make sure all your peonies are staked NOW!

Clematis Blooming on the Hopewell Carriage House Fence

I transplanted this from my other house and here she is in her first season in new digs.... Not bad.
I mixed in some mushroom compost and a bit of organic fertilizer and she is a blooming.

Native Wisteria..... not Japanese or Chinese for your Princeton Garden

Check out the native Wisteria which is more delicate and less invasive.  You will need sun and more sun! It will not hurt a fence or grow out of control.    Remember your natives in the garden.  They are easier to care for as a whole and will really be enjoyed by the bees!

Hopewellian Perennial Garden in Full Bloom

Early spring perennial are in full bloom.. Dicentra, Rosalie Pink Tulips, Mount Hood, Thalia, Hawera Daffodils, and the fruit trees looks great!  I am noticing some fungus on the heuchera already. I am treating that organically. It will work if I stay on top of it.

Check out the lovely tree peony.  Never prune these.  You will end up with an herbaceous peony.  I find these so easy to care for and quite stunning.

I finally decided to espalier a camellia shrub.  Long Island Pink is what I decided on. It is a favorite of many and was found on Long Island perhaps out in the Hamptons.  The grey shingle as I have said before, begs for pink. This is a fall blooming variety that will add color in October, November, some of December when nothing else with be giving me a show.  It is a vigorous variety and enjoys being on the northern  exposure or eastern. This will have a northern.  If I had chosen an apple to espalier I just know that it would not have had enough sun and it only means more spraying.  And I love that this is a bit different. Notice the helleborus at the base of this shrub.  Wonderful thing about these is that they are candy to no animal. So the deer in the back field might as well give up.

The bare root roses arrived from England.  They look like sticks and are soaking as we speak.  I decided on a David Austin English rose named Gentle Hermione.   They will be very fragrant and a good rebloomer.  I am hoping this will greet visitors with some welcome as they come through the garden gate.