Thuya Garden Northeast Harbor Maine

I have been off the map for a while.  It has been hotter than the hinges of he** in Central New Jersey. We have had 35 days of oppressive heat. Even with all of the natives that I have planted I have been watering every day.  So off I traveled to my most favorite garden much further north in Maine on Mount Desert Island.
Thuya Garden is about as inspiring as it gets for me. They are committed to organic horticultural practices.  They exclude the use of pesticides and herbicides.  All chemical fertilizers are strictly limited.
This a garden that must be visited more than once.  It is to be enjoyed in the sunshine or with the fog rolling in over the harbor with a view of the sailboats below.

The borders are lined with stones and conifer garden is lush on a rainy day.  The garden stands on its own merit.  Nothing is flashy here. No overdone hardscaping.  Here is it all about the plants.

Even with this beautiful bench it about the stunning moss that drapes this functional structure that now becomes a piece of living art.

Verdant Lawns ..Organic Lawns with a Greener Approach

I wanted to share with you a new business that is out there for those of you that want lawn care but don't want to deal with harsh pesticides.   Brian Ruddy who is a Princeton native is up and running with
Verdant Lawns.  He is young, buff, and enthusiastic! How about weedwackers with no gasoline?!?   I love to help clients with perennial gardens and containers and it is nice to think that our clients will overlap with the same mindset that we both have.

Baptisia australis Wild Blue Indigo

I really love this plant with its blue green foliage that blooms in May and early June.  Native, no pests, no spraying and just lovely. No pruning or staking either.  It stands about two to three feet after it establishes itself..Also it can withstand dry conditions.  I first saw this perennial many years ago at the old JP Morgan estate in Princeton within their perennial gardens.  Indians and later colonists used the plant for a natural dye in clothes.
This picture is after one spring at the carriage house.  It will continue to give me more blooms and pleasure.  Seed pods are developing now which I could use in flower arrangements for inside.

Nomad Pizza and Pots!

I want to share the container pots that I planted at Nomad Pizza today.  I decided to spin off the chartreuse umbrellas and the darling wine colored historic building that serves us all delicious pizza in an artisanal farm to table manner.

My goal is to have these plantings be easy to care for by the owners and enjoyed by all.  I love to think of the structure that is being enhanced and pop color off of it.

Succulents and some annuals will complete this design. I picked some more unusual succulents to give the public the opportunity to see what is possible in their own containers.  Nothing spruces up a welcomed front door, patio, pool or store front like a mini garden in a pot! How much do you love the Nomadic Pizza REO speedwagon truck in the background.  Anyone for pizza this weekend?!

Strawberries and Succulents

Here is a peak at some succulents with some day neutral bearing white strawberry plants that will grace a clients patio.  This client wanted to make sure if her pots were forgotten a day or two in watering all would not be lost.  Succulents provide that security and give off blossoms to boot.  How fun to have some fruit that can be added to salads or dessert the whole growing season long and all will come back next year!

Late Spring Blooms in the Hopewell Carriage House Garden

It got so bloomin hot in the Princeton Hopewellian area that I did not even show you all a bunch of peonies in bloom.  They came early,  as everything did and left pretty quickly.

The violas are still trying to survive in the heat and are pleased with a little shade. I planted a whole bunch of specimen hostas in containers that I will show hopefully this weekend.  They are only three to four inches apart.  Perfect for container and will weather over.  This is a super way to get your hosta fix if you have deer in your area and then you can keep track of your pots and move them around.

I started some climbing hydrangea on the funky telephone pole fence.  This takes a  while to establish but it is really lovely. English shrub roses I planted as bare roots are sprouting.
Millie my "garden gun dog" is enjoying clients' properties with pools with permission for a dip!

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.