You know, not all gardens start with a love of plants. Sure, plants are important, perhaps even a requirement (some would argue) for a ‘garden’ to be a garden. But, as this amazing South African plot shows, they don’t have to be the raison d’etre for creating an amazing outdoor place. This a place where … Read more
My plants have just about passed on for the season. The last of the leaves are strew across the lawn with only a couple still hanging on. I rarely feel sad about this as I cherish the fertile darkness that is the back drop to the holiday season. But it is nice to see these … Read more
It’s the summer holiday season, and everyone is heading to the shore. Long walks and beach combing often turn up treasured souvenirs of a great vacation that can also be used in a variety of ways in garden projects. Have you ever found something on the beach that is culturally beautiful, you want to use … Read more
I could be tempted to use this plant just for the fun of saying it’s name – Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (ark-toh-STAF-i-los u-VA er-SI) or one of it’s common names, kinnikinnick. It’s like I am Jane Fonda in Dancing with the Wolves. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, commonly known as bearberry, is a low-growing shrub native to North America and … Read more
Some have an affinity for the tiny sweetness of the diminutive, but I (and my kin) seem to obsess over the monstrous, huge, and gross enormity of the gigantea plants. Colocasia gigantea, a little girl and a little dog – showing how big gigantea plants can actually be. image from Brian’s Botanicals (where you can … Read more
This past weekend has been a blur. We had a symposium on trees at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens followed by a propagation workshop the next day. Dr. Michael Dirr (author of the indispensible reference book – Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and shrubs) was our distinguished guest speaker. If you’ve had the good fortune to spend … Read more
Aspen trees (Populus tremuloides) have always been my favorite, likely due to my proud Colorado childhood. Do you recall the questionnaires you used to give your friends to fill out during your elementary school days? What is your favorite color? (me: green or blue). What is your favorite car? (me: Lamborghini – because that is … Read more
I’ve been reworking a planting scheme for a commercial project that I want to share with you. It is a huge area (as in multiple city blocks long). My team and I have been managing these beds for years, so we have a good idea of what will work and what won’t. Currently, we have … Read more
This week, I am in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, for the International Plant Trials Conference at Longwood Gardens. I came to learn about how different gardens formally trial plants and to glean many new plants for the gardens of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Speaking of CMBG, we have a ton of exciting things going on in Boothbay, … Read more
Hopefully, the title of this post has piqued your interest. What exactly do these three things have to do with one another, you ask? Today, we started planting 23,000 bulbs at Coastal Maine for a wonderful spring display. This is the biggest number of bulbs that we have ever planted in the fall. At the end … Read more