I just returned home from my first trip to Europe. I was drawn to Grass Days at Kwekerij Oudolf, the home and nursery of influential Dutch garden designer and plantsman, Piet Oudolf and his wife Anja. I won’t elaborate on the Oudolf’s SPECTACULAR private garden in this post. I’ll save that for a later date.[...]
In search of inspiration I ventured to the Missouri Botanical Garden last week. In the back corner of the Trial Gardens at the Kemper Center I stumbled across a stunning new ornamental millet, Pennisetum glaucum ‘Jade Princess’. This upright, mounded variety with chartreuse leaves and dark maroon, pollen-less seedheads reaches 36-48″H x 18-24″W. It is[...]
Feather cockscomb (Celosia argentia plumosa) is an old garden favorite. I’ve used the annual (perennial in USDA Zones 10 to 12) in seasonal displays the past couple of years with great success. Plants provide high-impact color all summer long while requiring little to no maintenance. It’s no wonder cockscombs are a favorite of gardeners and[...]
In Fran Sorin’s March 4, 2009 post ‘Favorite Seed and Plant Mail Order Sources: From our GGW Contributors’ Steve Silk and I both mentioned Cottage Garden in southwestern Illinois as a ‘favorite’ mail order resource for their vast range of unique plants. Fortunately, I live about 45 minutes from Cottage Garden. My visits there are always[...]
As I have addressed in previous posts, much of the attention my corporate design work (e.g. Gardens at the Bank of Springfield) receives can be attributed to my use of tropicals in the mixed border. It is unexpected to see lush tropical foliage flourishing in central Illinois. This season I have installed a truly subtropical[...]