It sounds crazy but I went shopping the day after our big garden tour. I don't think I would have done it if Mark hadn't pulled a sale flyer for K & A Greenhouse out of the newspaper Saturday morning. Splashed across it were the words:"20% OFF all trees, shrubs and gallon perennials." Really, how could I resist — especially as I'd picked up some nice things at their Fitchburg location at the beginning of the season.
I came home with a nice little haul. But I couldn't stop thinking about what I didn't buy and so I went back again on Tuesday.
But this time I remembered to bring my iPad so I could take a few photos. I always read the blog posts about nursery visits by The Outlaw Gardener and his PNW gardening pals, but somehow I never think to document the nursery along with my purchases. You walk by the displays in these first two photos on your way into the greenhouse. But I walked between them directly into the trees and shrubs.
I usually don't think about end of season plant sales until late August and then it is often too late to find anything interesting or in good condition. I saw many unusual woodies at K & A but there were also lots of local favorites like this Pagaoda Dogwood. We have three of them in our garden. A hardy tree with a lacy form and four seasons of interest. Here it is starting to get some fall color. With those red stems with the purply-blue berries, you can see why this tree is a winner.
We also have one of these 'Gold Rush' Dawn Redwoods. Another tree with gorgeous form and color. Though it loses some of the screaming yellow-gold of its new spring foliage, it offers a lot of drama no matter the season.
Inside and out, I would have to say someone worked on "staging" the plants, the planted containers and all the other items that the greenhouse is selling. There were pre-planted pots of mixed perennials, of annuals and of herbs, along with lots of flowers grouped near each other to suggest potential planting combinations.
I bought a Christmas fern, a Heuchera called 'Pink Pearls' for its fat flowers, some ground cover plants, and a 'Mahogany Splendor' Hibiscus. That last one is an annual for us but I love its dark, maple-like foliage. The clerk who rang me out said that it can be wintered over indoors and gave me directions. So perhaps I will try it. They also had lots of big lush pots of herbs, including gorgeous basils. Brought one of those home as well since my basils in the ground have not performed particularly well this season. And now that it is tomato time, one must have basil!
When I go to a nursery I tend to only look at plants unless I need something specific like hoops or gloves. Even though our garden is full of ceramic pots they are all the work of Midwestern potter friends. Thus I rarely look at containers when I'm plant shopping. But this time I did.
Though they had colorful containers, I found these rustic and traditional styles more appealing.
I think a pair of these monster pots would look fabulous on either side of a front door. Not mine, but perhaps yours? Picture them planted with Japanese maples or a standard lilac. Dreamy.
I loved this little vertical garden planter which would be perfect for a patio or balcony.
I took this side view but it wasn't until I looked more closely at the photo at home that I got to thinking. I just assumed this was all one piece. But if you look closely I think each layer is actually a separate container and that they just alternated two styles. Have you seen this setup elsewhere? No matter how it's put together, I think it is clever and attractive.
Mark and I both tend to like simple rustic items in the garden; nothing that calls attention to itself. But I could fall for this little water-lily inspired fountain.
I really loved this water dripper. Let it get a little patina of moss or lichens and it would look positively medieval. I am going to put it in my next garden along with a lot of those big gray planters. Maybe I'll make a knot garden. Nothing like a nursery visit to send my imagination into overdrive.
Back home with my first round of purchases. Is this a gorgeous haul or what?
The beautiful little shrub in the center of the bench is 'Ice Breaker' Korean Fir. It will give me that same coloration as Horstmann's Silberlocke but at only a few feet tall as opposed to a tree.
I've already planted Salix candida 'Silver Fox' or hoary willow (on the left) and will get the Mariesii Hinoki Cypress in the ground over the weekend. That one will get about 4 feet tall x 3 feet wide; big enough to make a statement without overwhelming nearby perennials.
On my second visit I bought another 'Mother Lode' juniper and a cute little ball of a Chamaecyparis. They will both go at the top of the driveway rock wall.
I actually went back to K & A to buy a 'Mops' Mugo Pine (below) as it has a very tight structure and needs little or no shearing. I had to go searching for it and discovered they had it in two sizes. I went for this bigger size for instant impact. This will go on the back side of the Buddha Mound which gets lots of sun along with the 2nd 'Mother Lode' juniper. Cutting grass on a slope is getting to be too much work so I thought we should start filling that area in with conifers, including spreaders. 'Mother Lode' juniper stays low but should spread out into a 3-4 foot wide carpet — eventually.
Before the tour, the woman who had been helping me with special projects in the garden dug out old Hostas and ferns from the slope by the street and filled the spaces with Geranium macrorrhizum. I said I wanted an ever bigger swath of the Geraniums to make the area more lower maintenance. As she was working on her hands and knees while I supervised, she laughingly pointed out how much work it takes to make a garden lower maintenance! I think my new shrub purchases are a perfect example of her theory: They will be low maintenance someday, but first I have to plant them all.
