By LISA W. FODERARO
Published: February 26, 2012
At the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, an experimental plot was in full flower on a recent February afternoon, as the thermometer edged toward 60.
“This is the earliest I’ve seen all of these things in flower,” said Todd Forrest, the garden’s vice president for horticulture and living collections. “The ground isn’t even frozen. That’s shocking.”
After Chrstopher Lloyd died in 2006, “many at that point wondered what would happen to his celebrated garden, Great Dixter.” There is a fascinating story here by Tim Richardson about how Fergus Garrett maintain’s “Great Dixter’s spirit of originality.”
What’s the secret? “The key to the garden’s originality and verve is partly due to the working method laid down by Christo. This consisted of a daily perambulation around the garden which lasted about an hour, during which time Christo and Fergus would make perhaps 60 decisions, small and large. About half of them were to be dealt with immediately, the rest stored up for the right seasonal moment. ‘Everything was looked at and carefully considered,’ Fergus says. ‘We asked: is it worth it? Does it grow well? Does it stand on its own?'”
I love English gardens. Check out the stunning photos of these fabulous English gardens here, including: Burton Agnes Hall, Ilford Manor, Borde Hill Gardens, Houghton Hall, Mellerstain House, Athelhampton, Arley Hall, Exbury Gardens, Kiftsgate Court and Parham Park.
Check out this great post (with pictures) of Adam Woodruff’s visit to the Oudolf Nursery & Garden over at Gardening Gone Wild:
“On a personal note, I introduced myself to Piet after I had toured the property. He was incredibly open and generous with his time: going so far as to step away from his guests and give me a tour of his studio, where he graciously entertained all my questions, shared some of his current projects and recommended a few other gardens to visit.”
This is a tour I would love. From Clair Martin at Great Rosarians Blog: “I signed the contract for the Summer of British Rose Gardens tour for next year. The tour meets up in London on Tuesday, June 15 and we end on June 25, 2010.” Montisfont Abbey Gardens, David Austin Rose Garden, and more!
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Clair Martin is the first Shannon Curator of the Rose Garden at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens located in San Marino, California a position he has held since 1983.
I was reading The New York Times when a photograph from the New York Botanical Garden caught my eye. It was in an article by Anne Raver about the new Four Season Border designed by Piet Oudolf and it was almost the exact same picture that I took a couple of weeks ago.
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According to the website for the garden (www.seasonwalk.com):
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“In 2008, The New York Botanical Garden invited two international garden design superstars, Piet Oudolf of Hummelo, NL and Jacqueline van der Kloet of Weesp, NL, to create a custom four-season garden installation to delight New Yorkers. Both designers are known for sophisticated plant mixes, an artist’s eye for form and color, and complex naturalized plantings that evolve over the seasons.”
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The Seasonwalk website includes photographs of the every-changing border every couple of weeks. Check out The New York Times photograph here.
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On my recent visit to the New York Botanical Garden, we also made a visit to the Home Gardening Center, where they have home demonstration vegetable gardens. Since last season, they have had to do more pest control around the gardens and I was surprised to some very familiar barriers:
1. Chicken wire around their post and rail fence.
2. Completely fenced in walls around their new raised beds.
This is exactly what I have had to do this year! Maybe they’ve been reading my blog for ideas (just kidding).
Related posts: Adding Chicken Wire and Gates to an Open Post and Rail Fence; New Eight Foot Tall Screens Around the Raised Beds
Heirloom Gardener 