Showing posts with label #ArtfulGardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #ArtfulGardens. Show all posts

Friday, November 22, 2019

All Aboard! NYBG’s Annual Holiday Train Show® Powers Up Saturday, 11/23





The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show® opens to the public Saturday, November 23. This annual winter magic tradition weaves something old/something new, excitement, education, architecture, history, art, culture, and of course plants - to elicit astonishment and enchantment. This year, marking the 28th for this much-loved holiday event, the Garden pays homage to another urban oasis - showcasing Central Park—the most popular urban park in America.

At Tuesday’s Sneak Preview for the Press, we were given an overview and a guided tour through the new exhibit, led by Karen Daubman, Associate Vice President for Exhibitions and Public Engagement, NYBG and Laura Busse Dolan, President and CEO, Applied Imagination. Laura’s father Paul Busse is the original creator and craftsman of the plant-based art exhibit.

Greeting us and kicking off the press conference was NYBG’s president, Carrie Rebora Barratt, a garden glamour icon who never disappoints. Tuesday, Barratt was wearing Comme des Garçons.
It’s tempting to suggest that Barrett and her style always strike me as gilding the lily. I love it!
NYBG President Carrie Barratt 














The press had been huddling, broadcaster cameras set up and ready,

while tasting treats from Bronx Night Market. The red velvet miniature cupcakes with their rosette flower icing from Cozi Treats were perfect, as was her creme de brulee. Thank you, Sheri.
  

While Barrett spoke, we could hear the trains running on their tracks in the room next door. It’s important to note that the Train Show is a very immersive, transporting experience that tickles the senses. It also needs to be mentioned that the Train Show is not in the Conservatory, as usual. It’s regrettable because nothing can top being in a greenhouse. In the winter. With its incredible oxygen boost and lighting magic and sense of mystery. Yet alas, the Conservatory is under construction so the Garden has built a series of rooms in front of the iconic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

You have to suspend the feeling that this is too akin to a mall holiday presentation. Don’t be tempted. I recommend looking at the displays - really looking, No one, nowhere - can create these kinds of displays — all made from plant parts! Once you grasp that element and embrace the fact that these compositions are made from birch bark and limbs (more than 500), lotus pods, fungi, acorns, cinnamon sticks and more - not to mention the landscape design of moss (more than 200 boxes of North Carolina moss), berries, ferns, conifers, waterfalls, red-twigged dogwood, and hollies to mimic nature - you will be smitten - and transported. Of course, so will the kids.

This year, there are more than two thousand plants in the exhibit - double previous years because they needed to accommodate the new space and were not creating the composition with the benefit of the existing Conservatory plants that are part of the permanent collections.

It was pointed out that the buildings are not constructed on a one-to-one scale but rather from a perspective - in order to create a much more experiential approach. That is artful design …. The Imagination team researches the history of a chosen building, secures dimensions to render the building in plant parts, then builds the base, continues the embellishments and architectural details.

The show begins with a video on two screens in two separate theaters, right off the queuing area, where you can park strollers, etc. The video’s give you an idea of how the artists at Applied Imagination research and create these plant-based wonders.
Video Theater looking into the exhibit beyond
Then, you step into the miniature metropolis.
The first one you see is the NYBG Haupt Conservatory. Seems fitting.
Overall, there are nearly 200 landmark displays in the show.


There are compositions at three levels, low, mid or eye level and above - with trains traversing and zipping about seemingly everywhere. In the Holiday Train Show, more than 25 G-scale model trains and trolleys hum along nearly a half-mile of track


All the featured buildings have labels, citing the year it was built, the address, and in the case of misguided civic management where the building was torn down, such as Penn Station in its glory days, the date of demolition is noted. And when you think about it, the long-lost landmarks are the secret sauce of the show. You get to see what no longer exists… Every borough of New York is represented, in addition to the Hudson Valley.

I love the whimsy of Coney Island (and never having visited, the composition makes it a place of dreams):

And the otherworldly charm of the Hudson River School and one of its leading painters,

Frederic Edwin Church’s home: Olana:

The TWA Building is getting its due of architectural love of late and here at the Train Show, the gateway to flight transport is a standout. It was pointed out that the roof is a giant coco lobo plant!


Look at this cherub on the parapet of Kykuit:


Look at Macy’s department store awnings - made from gourds; the Macy’s logo made from barley and red pepper flakes:

Look at Yankee Stadium - it has its own corner - and Thomas the Tank runs circles around the stadium!


The new replicas of Central Park’s architectural treasures, including Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Terrace, the Naumburg Bandshell, the Dairy, and two graceful pedestrian bridges are along one side of the show - with graceful, lacy, white birch branches as backdrop. While lovely in the day, I can only image the twinkling dream at night…




The landmarks are arrayed in a tableau with existing Central Park replicas in NYBG’s collection, including the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater and the Old Bandstand.


Enjoy this video of Central Park at the Garden:

In addition, famous New York buildings that are either next to the park or just inside it are on display, including the Plaza Hotel, the Metropolitan Museum of Art,


The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,
And the Rose Center for Earth and Space, part of the American Museum of Natural History.


By the way, all the “windows” in the landmark buildings are made from poured resin.

NYBG provides this interesting background to the Central Park Landmarks:
“The Belvedere Castle was built as a Victorian “folly” on the highest natural elevation in the park, offering visitors a “beautiful view”—the English translation of its Italian name. Completed in 1872, the turreted castle includes Gothic, Romanesque, Chinese, Moorish, and Egyptian motifs. In June 2019, the Belvedere reopened after a 15-month restoration. Bethesda Terrace opens on the Lake at the heart of Central Park. The 1873 Angel of the Waters sculpture crowns the Terrace’s majestic Bethesda Fountain. In one hand, the angel holds a lily, a symbol of purity. Designer Emma Stebbins, the first woman to receive a public art commission in New York City, likened the healing powers of the angel to that of the Croton water system, which brought clean, fresh water to the city beginning in 1842. The Dairy, built in 1870, was intended as a place where children could enjoy a glass of fresh milk, which was not always easy to get in mid-19th-century New York. The hybrid design is a playful combination of a Swiss chalet and a Gothic country church. The Naumburg Bandshell, a neoclassical structure of cast concrete built in 1923, has hosted performers from Irving Berlin and Duke Ellington to the Grateful Dead. The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater was Sweden’s exhibit at Philadelphia’s Centennial Exposition in 1876. The enchanting Swedish architecture and craftsmanship, suggestive of a model schoolhouse, caught Olmsted’s eye, and he brought it to the park in 1877. A theater designed for marionette performances was built inside in 1973. The Old Bandstand was a 1862 Victorian-style cast-iron bandstand designed by Jacob Wrey Mould. It was demolished in 1922 to make way for the Naumburg Bandshell. Also dating from 1862 is the graceful Bow Bridge, the first cast-iron bridge in Central Park. Spanning the Lake between Cherry Hill and the Ramble, its subtle shape is reminiscent of the bow of an archer or violinist. Designed by Calvert Vaux and originally built of white oak, Oak Bridge crosses Bank Rock Bay and is a popular destination for bird watchers.
Enjoy this video of the Holiday Train Show




For more information, you can visit the Garden’s web site at: nybg.org or call: 718.817.8687.

But Wait - there’s more!

While there’s no doubt the annual Holiday Train Show® is the centerpiece of the Garden’s winter extravaganza, don’t overlook the lineup the Garden has produced -- it’s chock-a-bloc loaded with fun, cultural, and education elements, including Evergreen Express, Sounds of the Season Performances, films, Bar Car Nights, and more,

Here are some highlighted events, activities, and programs that are scheduled during the exhibition: (please check NYBG’s web site for a full listing.)

  • The festive and popular Bar Car Nights return to NYBG on select Fridays and Saturdays. This has to be my favorite - this kind of winter holiday magic can only be experienced at the Garden - a combination of cocktails - yeah! - dance, artful ice carvings, along with the authentic beauty and warmth of fireplaces to heat up the cocktail chatter. What else do you need? Exclusively for adults 21 and over, the wintry landscape of NYBG sets the scene for lively outdoor adventures, with an after-dark viewing of the Holiday Train Show as the centerpiece. Purchase a spiked hot chocolate or a holiday specialty cocktail from one of our seasonal bars and a bite to eat from the Bronx Night Market Holiday Pop-up, then set out to explore the night’s offerings. Warm up around the handcrafted fire pits (so romantic!) in the Leon Levy Visitor Center, feel the excitement of the season with artistic ice carving and festive performers such as contortionists and acrobats from American Circus Theatre, sing along with dueling pianos in the Pine Tree Café, and dance the night away to DJ sets curated by Uptown Vinyl Supreme.
Bar Car Nights take place 7–10:30 p.m.; November 23, 29, & 30; December 7, 14, 20, 21, 27, & 28, 2019; January 3, 4, 11, & 18, 2020. Performers vary each night and advance tickets— Non-Member $38/Member $28—are recommended.
  • During Evergreen Express in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, children can pretend to ride the rails aboard the child-sized play train and caboose, hike winter trails to discover evergreen trees and shrubs, and put on a winter woodland puppet show. In the Discovery Center, they can design an evergreen-scented swag (a simple miniature evergreen wreath with a bow), craft a cone critter with googly eyes, and learn how to create a conifer collection at home. Young scientists can discover why evergreens stay green all winter and then test their identification skills outdoors.
  • NYBG’s Annual Bird Count is for both novice and expert bird-watchers. Collect data on resident bird populations and migratory species across the Garden’s 250 acres. The information helps scientists assess the health of bird populations and guides conservation action. December 14, 2019, at 11 a.m.
  • New York poet, NYBG Poet Laureate, and former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins returns to NYBG for The Poetry of Trains: Billy Collins and Young Poets. Collins will read poems inspired by trains, the holidays, and The New York Botanical Garden on Sunday, December 15, 2019, at 2 p.m. As part of the Young Poets Contest and in partnership with the Poetry Society of America, he will also select 12 winning poems to be displayed at NYBG during the Holiday Train Show and will be joined by the selected student authors to share their work during this special reading. They look great adorning the Garden at key spots.
  • Enjoy favorite holiday movies on the big screen in Ross Hall during the Holiday Favorites Film Festival, featuring a rotating selection of titles for kids and adults alike. Films include Trolls Holiday, ‘Tis the Season to be Smurfy, and Merry Madagascar. December 21–24 & 26–29, 2019; 11 a.m–4 p.m.
  • Embark on an invigorating 45-minute walking Winter Wonderland Tree Tour. View the Garden’s stately conifer collection and old-growth forest in the beauty of winter. Saturdays, December 7, 2019–January 25, 2020, at 12:30 p.m. Get a fascinating overview of the Garden’s history and its importance as a vital New York City cultural destination since 1891 on our Holiday Landmarks Tour. Walking with an expert 3 guide, explore the Mertz Library Allée, the Lillian Goldman Fountain of Life, and the LuEsther T. Mertz Library. The tour concludes at the Garden’s iconic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Sundays, December 1, 2019–January 26, 2020, at 2:30 p.m.
  • Children join Thomas and Driver Sam on a fun-filled, sing-along, mini-performance adventure during All Aboard with Thomas & Friends™. In Thomas Cleans Up, everyone’s favorite blue locomotive arrives at Knapford Station with a trainload of materials to dispose of. Kids help him and Driver Sam figure out how to recycle everything to protect the environment and save Earth’s precious natural resources. Make sure to have a professional photo taken with the Really Useful Engine to capture the special day. January 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20, 25, & 26, 2020. © [2020] Gullane (Thomas) Limited
Enjoy the Holiday Train Show and as many of the great programs as possible. Get out. Walk the garden. Meet folks. Bring a friend and family. You can plan your winter schedule and return often. It’s a happy, warm, green way to celebrate a season more often marked by white - snow - that is.

True garden glamour is waiting for you at the Garden.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Metro Hort's Plant-O-Rama Recap: Glamorous Plants Premiere; Landscape Design featuring Dan Pearson

Plant-O-Rama banner

This was the best Plant-O-Rama ever. (Do I say that every year?)

Seriously, I’d argue, it was. I’ll be willing to wager there’d be few disagreements among the more than 1,000 attendees - the largest in the nearly quarter of a century that Plant-O-Rama has produced its peerless plant extravaganza, dedicated to horticulture in the New York metropolitan area; with implications for the world of horticulture.

Horticulture is one of the few careers whose professionals are ceaseless in pursuing more knowledge, more education -- the pros want to explore the latest plant discoveries and releases and plant design trends - all to improve and enhance a client’s garden beauty and health and to create landscapes that dreams are made of... Tracing evolving climate conditions, we learn about new drought-tolerant beauties, or plants that thrive in sunnier or shadier spaces; along shapes and textures that contour to smaller urban or suburban gardens - and then there’s new colors and fragrance plant gems that add the glamour to our gardens. It’s like the spring runway collections on view.

Officially, this was the 22nd annual Plant-O-Rama event. The day-long program hosted by Metro Hort was brimming with its plant ‘pillars” or foundation elements, including:

  • Symposium 
  • Breakout Sessions
  • Trade Show
  • Jobs Fair
  • Silent Auction
  • Book Sale 
Adding value and sizzle to the plant “pillars” or foundation of this horticulture tradition is what enfuses and distinguishes the marquee event for the area’s hortie hoi polloi.

There’s a running joke now about how every year there is a snow storm for Plant-O-Rama (POR) -- so much so that even if you were a meteorologist in training - you’d be safe in forecasting snow - no matter what the Farmer’s Almanac or the satellites were predicting!

POR is held annually at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), ever since Bob Hyland, who had recently served as BBG’s vice president for Horticulture there - hatched the concept and presented it to then BBG president, the venerable Judy Zuk. And I am forever grateful for Bob’s enduring garden design at BBG: Bluebell Wood. It’s an enchanting spring garden destination. And was the site for Dave Matthews’ Dream Girls video featuring Julie Roberts. It was fun managing this production one fine spring day when I worked at BBG.

This year, the newly installed president of Metro Hort, Charles Yurgalevitch, greeted the SRO morning audience, outlining the day’s agenda, along with touting the benefits of Metro Hort membership - including field trips to area gardens and parks, lectures, job postings, calendar of events, resources, and plant professional’s networking.
Charles Yurgalevitch, President of Metro Hort greets audience at Plant-O-Rama 

BBG’s president and CEO, Scott Medbury, welcomed the audience to the Garden, noted the annual snow that dusts the plants and marks the occasion -- and the Garden did indeed look breathtaking, I must add. Very Instagram-worthy:



Medbury invited all to tour the garden in its “winter white,” highlighting new and renovated gardens and described a new, woodland garden that will premiere in 2018, to be named for Elizabeth Scholz, BBG’s Director Emeritus, former president and at 97 - a beloved icon to all.


Bob Hyland,

POR’s father/founder, who now lives in a kind of plant paradise in Portland, Oregon where he designs gardens from his Contained Exuberance - wouldn’t miss the annual event for love or money. Well… Bob thanked all the important sponsors who make the event possible: Town & Gardens, Brooklyn Brewery, media sponsor: Heritage Radio Network - along with the full list of POR sponsors. Thank you.

With full fanfare - Bob then introduced the featured speaker, Dan Pearson the celebrated English garden designer, naturalist, and media personality.



This is why we got there early to enjoy a front row seat!


Featured Speaker - Dan Pearson

With a colorful presentation that was narrated by Dan in his light, British cadence, we were taken on chronological journey detailing the life - so far - of Dan’s horticultural transitions from a child who gardened with his father to today.

His first garden triumph was a yellow border he planted at his childhood home -- an early 1900’s cottage. “This was my first recorded garden plan,” explained Dan - showing a garden design drawing. “I used planting combinations to create space.” he said. This strategy seems to have become a core tenet of Dan’s landscape design throughout his illustrious career.

This charming anecdote demonstrated the garden designer possessed the gift at a very early age.



He continues to adhere to the belief that gardens are “places that recalibrate you - that make you sing.” How lovely.

Dan secured a scholarship at Wisely, the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) world-class garden to study horticulture. Here, and later traveling to such locales as Jerusalem or the Valley of the Flowers in the Himalayas, he explained was a true revelation seeing the gardens in natural setting. He showed images that he said “Draws itself back.”

From that home acre of a hedged garden to the world’s natural gardens was a journey that allowed Dan to explore, observe, learn and eventually, create a natural landscape design portfolio that has brought him worldwide acclaim.

At 17 years old, Dan was able to secure his first commission. His client was a French fashion designer with three gardens and a four-acre pallette. Here, he was able to implement a “No Boundaries” look, working a Borrowed Landscape design style with waves of plants - not unlike his garden travels showed him.

Dan also discovered how color changes mood. The “hot” colors of the color wheel could send pulses racing. As a proof point, Dan noted how Fast Food establishments use this body and mind alteration to augment their need for speed -- you get you in and out faster because the color is helping to generate a sense of urgency. Yikes. Not your Gramercy Tavern idea of dining…

Next, Dan shared his first garden designs for the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Classic designs.

It was there that he met a garden design client from Rome. She slipped travel tickets under his door -- and soon, he was roaring down an Appian highway with his chain smoking patron!

Here he worked with the landscape to create a naturalistic, wild garden on the 400 hectares filled with steps, walls, vistas - and plants.

I love the way he described that it wasn’t a garden “a toll” rather it was “small moods and atmospheres” -- a dramatic, fragrance-filled retreat.

Love the white floribundas wisteria near the house...


Back in the Britain, Dan worked on Maggie’s Center - a cancer care facility that was clearly close to his heart.

This project was a “restoration but looking forward” according to Dan. He was inspired by the Arts & Crafts movement as inspired by Gertrude Jekyll.

This was to be a healing garden - in the truest sense. He described how often, it takes the patients (members?) more than three attempts to just get in. The enormity of their cancer is just too overwhelming… The gardens have allowed them a serenity and “a way to look at time differently” as the plants are always changing - calibrating the times of the year - pulling people in to stop and see and experience the environment. The courtyards and ornamental and edible gardens are designed to heighten the transporting plant immersion and experience.

There is a rhythm to the gardens there that all appreciate.

What did the gardens here provide? “Hope.”


Next, Dan brought us to work he did in some public spaces. Sadly, the government budgets are being cut in Britain too. But he was delighted to have the opportunity to work on London’s Kings Cross Development and its pocket parks and squares -- employing his signature back-to-nature and the seasons style. He used a series of rills and a reference to old train lines to showcase a sense of place and a respect for the history there. “We got to work with really good plants; use really good horticulture practices in order to create the series of spaces,” Dan explained.



The next project was fueled with an ethereal respect for nature and the landscape.




Located in the Tokachi district in the Hokkaido prefecture of Japan -- close to Russia - where the temperatures can plummet -25 degrees possesses a haunting beauty.

Owned by a Japanese newspaper magnate, he approached Dan to collaborate on a series of landscapes and to create a reconnection to the natural world; to safeguard the trees who call the 400 hectares home. The team was charged with making an ecological park that would last for 1,000 years.

It’s a soft-sell education that appeals to multi generations.

Dan envisioned and then designed a series of spaces. Once again. While designing a look that appears like the clearings at the edge of the forest.

He gently manipulated the native plants there: Forget Me Nots, Primula, a kind of skunk cabbage and persicarias.

He designed a landscape plan that included 18 plant combinations. The strongest plants take hold and are then the gardener can steer & direct the plants.

He created and worked with plant drifts in the glade and lots of ornamental grasses.






Along with Midori, the onsite horticulture lead on the landscape, Dan created a space that leads out through planting areas via a series of waves. “Children seem to disappear or to go over the edge.” Dan laughed as he described how parents watching their children from inside react with alarm at seeing what they think is their children dropping away - then run out to retrieve them - and then they too drop away.”

He added, “It gets people into landscape.”

They are making a difference - changing way people think - about landscapes and horticulture with design.

“We’ve created a dreamy feeling. Visitors can get lost in the immersive, natural landscape,” said Dan, pointing out how here again, color creates a mood.

Speaking of dreamy - before showing us a few images of his own country house in England -- which is very much dreamy -- he showed a massive project restoring and designing for the future of Lowther Castle and Gardens that’s been nestled in the Lake District since the 1700’s.

Peppered with a family history that rivals a film narrative, but grounds that boast Capability Brown elements too, this is an incredible garden story that includes some magic, lots of discoveries, and personalities. He’s been working on this scale since September, 2016, taken in bite sized, 2 year project pieces.

He said he doesn’t tend to use specimen plants but here it worked -- stately trees that set off the oak benches in the courtyard that’s used for events such as Halloween or Guy Fawkes.
Here's a time-sped video of the planting in the courtyard:



And creating parterres as tapestry.


Those walls are an incredible gift of a backdrop.

Also, Himalayan poppies are special things with high Horticulture value seen in the high windows as aperture.

He’s also creates a rose garden with a maize to move through - using a rose as the blueprint for the paths to lead you through.









I love that he designed the benches with legs as thorns.




His own place is 20 acres in Peckham, near Bath.

“It has Incredible soil!” he shared with glee. Of course he has incredible soil. What luck…

He created series of landfalls here, the first was an edible garden.

Again, he uses the borrowed view to design his garden rooms.

“I’m in tune with the seasons. With the environment, here. I can experiment with plants and designs.Not on client.”

It’s a living portfolio.

You can follow along on his Blog, Dig Delve.

And you get order his book, Natural Selection. I got my autographed copy for my home library.

More from Plant-O-Rama

Underused Plants of Interest

This was a breakout session hosted by Jim Glover, Glover Perennials and Joyann Cirigliano, Atlantic Nurseries. (What a happy hortie name: Joyann!)


Jim was a very good speaker - I liked his honest and pragmatic - and passionate delivery. “Some aren’t so great!” and “These are good performers” appealed to me and the audience of working gardeners.

A few of Jim’s stars included: Primula sieboldii ‘Fuji Snow’ that is a good choice for hot, humid summers.

He also showed ‘Drag Queen,’ ‘Seneca Star’ and ‘Musashino’.

Jim pointed out a number of great Ferns - that are great companions too for Platycodons for the ephemeral spring gardens. The Bellflowers are excellent cut flowers and hardy to Zone 4, he noted.

There were so many great plants Jim showed and described.

Here’s a partial list:

Geum triflorum - a spring-blooming reddish pink herbaceous plant - the Native ‘Prairie Smoke’ that is astonishingly pretty in pink.

I will surely use this in border garden designs this year.

Deer resistant Zone 3

Zizia aptera 'Alexanders'



Heart shaped leaf big yellow umbles . May - July attract pollinators

Full sun - some shade

Zone 4. Three-feet tall natives - and they self sow. So be careful.

Jim said they work well in Rain Gardens or a Meadow -- as they are best with a plant interplay.


Monarda bradburiana, Bee Balm.

May- July. Exceedingly drought tolerant pinkish, small 12-18-inch tall; doesn’t take over. Blushed copper on new growth. Beautiful seed head fall to winter.

Love this. Will joyfully pursue using this beauty.

Astrantia major 'Abbey Road'

(Photo:NetPS Plant Finder)

Pink Masterwort pin cushion to white to purple 2-3 ft tall Versatile. June to August bloom prefers light shade

Attracts pollinators.

White Giant and Roma are gorgeous bloomers in the same family.

Spirea alba MeadowSweet is a July to August bloomer that grows 3-4 ft and is “Super versatile” according to Jim. Because of its moisture requirements, it’s a top recommendation for Rain Gardens. It has a dry flower stem in a chestnut brown with native burnt orange fall foliage

Deer resistant pollinator.

Chamaecrista fasciculata, Partridge Pea: Self sows! - Be careful. Yellow blooms July and August. The pea pods are 2 feet tall. Attracts pollinators = Jim showed us an unbelievable congregation of bees and butterflies in one place.

Native, deer resistant.

Jim suggested to sprinkle seeds in the garden for following season- no gaps - and you will get a tapestry affect. I say, “be careful.”

Fargesia robusta - Clumping bamboo 10ft tall best privacy screening. Evergreen wide 6-8 foot wide. Takes pruning.

Solidago - Goldenrod: drought and deer resistant

Leucosceptrum japonicum - Fall bottle bush

Selaginella braunii is an arborvitae - looks like a fern - with a bronze winter foliage

Joyanne’s suggestion for Woody Plants

First off, Joyann claimed she’s an Ecosystem Specialist but not “Native Nazi.” Rather, she follows the pollinators as a way to explain her love for certain woody plants and trees.

Quercus alba - white oak. Her favorite. “We need resistant cultivars” she admonished.

Paper Birch - Prairie Dreams stress tolerant Zone 6-3, Single or multi stem

Sweet Gum Tulip Poplar - 'Little Volunteer' - 30 feet or less

Nyssa sylvatica, Red RageⓇ - Wildfire Black Tupelo - single stem that birds adore.
'Sheri’s Cloud' - variegated clone of a black gum. Medium sized tree with green leaves and a creamy white variegation that turns to pink then bright red in autumn!

Picea - orientalis golden tipped spruce yellow foliage that gets better as it ages.

Abies koreana - Indigo blue pine cones, silver color

Pinus strobus ‘Angel Falls’ weeper with a mini twist waterfall branches

Cryptomeria japonica ‘Gyokuryu’ that has green foliage growing in pretty sprays. (cryptomeria means “hidden parts!”)

Cercis ‘Pink Pom Poms’ is a new fruitless redbud!

Cotinus coggygria 'Velveteeny' - a royal purple Smoke Bush that stays red all summer. Gotta have it!




Crepe Myrtle Ebony Series- flowers seem to glow against the almost black foliage.




Ilex crenata ‘Jersey Jewels’ - dwarf shrub holly.

Ilex Crenata 'Drops of Gold'



Thuja 'Ember Waves' plicata, has bright gold foliage that matures to chartreuse, and in winter, it turns deep gold with orange tips. Thuja plicata has a ripcord like grass and is compact.

Spirea japonica Candy CornⓇ with leaves that are orange to yellow. I’ve never been a fan of what I consider a “too-common” shrub but this baby is pretty glamorous.


Same goes for Blue KazooⓇ another hearty but now pretty with its cool blue foliage.


New blue berries: Bluecrop blueberry with two harvests - self-pollinating and works in colder climates.

Plus, vines and ground covers, two new Knockout Roses (a peachy coral and pink floriflorious): and new small hydrangeas and more.

Plants are so glamorous...

Some of the highlights from the Trade Show included: Womanswork.  I purchased two pair of garden gloves - one pair is an Arm Saver - that thumb-to-elbow protection often needed when working with some tough plants.
I also learned our beloved and respected horticulturist and author, Ruth Clausen, has an "Ask Ruth" column featured on the Womanswork website.  No better authority than Dear Ruth.  Kudos!

I also highlight my friends at Pennoyer Newman whose antique and handcrafted resin pots, containers, and sculpture I recommend and use for my clients. I love Virginia and team so much that I bid on the pot they provided POR for the Silent Auction - and won!  (I just need to figure out how to get it home from BBG!) 
I also loved seeing Siebert and Rice - the leading American importer of handmade terracotta planters and urns from Italy.
There was the Structural Fiberglass Planters by Tintori Castings that caught my eye. I like their grey, lightweight planters that work so well for rooftops and places where weight is an issue. A kind of skinny pot!

The Horticultural Associates are a grower's resource for the landscape artist.