You might be surprised to know that jasmine holds up quite well in a vase as long as you follow a few conditioning procedures. Where I live in Portugal, it continues to bloom in the depth of summer, which gave me the idea to bring a bit of fragrance and romance indoors with jasmine-only bouquets.
Read on to see how to tame curvy jasmine vines just enough for a vase:
Above: The star-shaped flowers emit a heady fragrance that can induce headaches to even the most ardent of flower lovers like myself.
A member of the olive family, jasmine vines bloom from spring to summer with a strong fragrance and vines that like to cling to walls and trellises. J. officinale, or common jasmine, is my personal favorite with almost-red buds that fade to pink. The vine is deciduous but if you continue picking the flowers throughout the spring and summer, it will go on providing flowers for you.
Above: There is no substitute for long tendrils of common jasmine to add movement, space, and romance to home flower arrangements.
A native of China and possibly Iran, jasmine was introduced to Europe on trading routes in the 1500s. Now, you see it thriving in Mediterranean climates and locations with mild winters. It’s often grown in warm greenhouses during the cold winter months as a blooming plant for Valentine’s Day. I’ve been known to buy greenhouse-bred jasmine just to clip a vine or two for flower arrangements, as they add that sort of movement for bouquets that you only get from rambling vines like jasmine.
Clipping the vines in the early morning or into the evening when they are most hydrated will ensure strong, long-lasting stems. Capture several very long tendrils as they will offer a sense of space and movement to your arrangement. Be sure to pick some stems that have the pink buds. When you bring them home, place them immediately into a bucket of water, in a cool, dark place. Ideally, you’ll leave them overnight, but if you can’t, you may start working with them after a few hours.
Above: Pick long vines that still have unopened, pink buds and a few opened flowers as well.
At this point, the flowers will be very well hydrated. Remove the lower leaves and blossoms (save them and put them in a bud vase in your bathroom because just a few stems will scent a room). As always, cut at an angle for optimal water intake.
Above: Here, I’ve combined the jasmine vines with just two stems of of cow’s parsley for a little bit of structure and height, placing shorter, full-blooming jasmine stems in the center for some support. Next, I add a very long tendril, off to one side for a bit of drama and space.
I chose a highly textured black vase in a cone shape to provide a contrasting color and interesting texture for the jasmine. The shape of the vase, with the narrow opening at the top, offers stem support that is essential for an effortless, instead of forced, arrangement but ensures that the stems will be held in place to drink water as necessary. The ceramic vessel from Caulino Ceramics in Lisbon offers a bit of drama and sophistication in the most understated way.
Above: Sitting atop some salvaged tiles, next to one of my vintage flower books, on my entry’s mid-century bench, the jasmine brings my minimalist living room to life.
Add shorter stems in the center for structure, and combine with taller, more stiff stems (such as the cow parsley I used here) for a hint of structure without taking the focus from the jasmine.
Above: Use stems at different lengths for height variation.
To keep your arrangement staying fresh for up to seven days, simply continue removing the white flowers as they fade or turn brown. Replenish the water every few days as well. Use any discarded water to water your potted plants. If you are sensitive to fragrance or live in a tiny studio, you may want to stick with one stem in a bud vase, as the fragrance can become overwhelming at times. In a larger room, with ventilation, it will offer a lovely hint of fragrance without becoming distracting.
Jasmine vines look good on their own, with just a couple of stems of cow parsley for height and support.
It is a mildly sad sight at the end of the summer when many plants lose their luster, with flowers fading and leaves looking a bit burned, as if they forgot their sunscreen. But late summer and early autumn is when perennial asters can save the day, and the garden.
Coming up: the most colorful season at Old Court Nurseries in England, a small family-run operation specializing since 1906 in propagating its own Michaelmas daisies (and many other varieties of asters). Photographer Britt Willoughby Dyer visited the nurseries’ Picton Garden at the height of the season:
Photography by Britt Willoughby Dyer.
Above: Old Court Nurseries is located in the Malvern Hills in the English Midlands.
Asters have a deep history in Greek mythology. According to legend, the goddess Astrea created asters with her tears. The story goes that she was so distraught at how few stars appeared in the dark sky that she started crying, and as her tears fell they turned into star-shaped asters on the ground. Aptly named for the ancient Greek and Latin word for star (because of its long, radiating petals), asters are a star of the late-summer garden.
Above: Symphyotrichum ‘Photograph‘, with small lavender-blue flowers that bloom in October, belongs to a genus in the Asteraceae family; available seasonally for £5.10 apiece from Old Court Nurseries. Plants ship starting in May.
As other perennials are starting to slow down, asters are winding up to add hints of necessary color. Asters come in a range of colors, including pink, purple, red, and white.
Above: S. novae-angliae ‘Barr’s Purple’.
With more than 600 species in the Aster genus, it also shares the same family as the daisy. Found wild in North America and southern Europe, asters are mainly perennials but a few are annuals and biennials. The two main groups of asters are the New England aster (Aster novae-angliae) and the New York asters (Aster novi-belgii).
While there is a galaxy of asters to choose among, a favorite is Aster frikatii ‘Monch’ for its long bloom time; it grows to a dramatic height of up to three feet and bears large lavender-blue flowers.
Above: Underplant around the bare lower section if you find asters’ nakedness to be a problem.
The downside to asters is they can be tricky when it comes to water. They tend to drop their lower leaves if not kept well-watered in the hotter months. Also, aster plants have a tendency to eventually die out in the center, making them a great candidate to rejuvenate by dividing and replanting in new clumps every two to three years.
Another issue is powdery mildew. If your garden is plagued with mildew in the fall and your asters are afflicted with this punishment, consider planting mildew-free varieties, such as the low-growing variety Aster dumosus. Another solution is to make sure asters have good air circulation around them and plenty of sun.
Above: S. lateriflorum ‘Lady in Black’.
Cheat Sheet
Heights vary dramatically, with varieties that range from eight inches to eight feet tall; there is an aster for almost every style of garden.
Aster’s flat, central landing pad attracts butterflies; the nectar is a last chance to fuel up before heading south for the winter. Birds and bees also appreciate the flower, and the aster depends on these creatures to pollinate them.
With a multitude of purposes, asters are a stunning addition to a wildflower garden, useful in a traditional border, or mingling in a rock garden.
Above: To avoid tumbling flower towers, stake the taller varieties. Also remember to routinely deadhead exhausted flowers and then cut back in the winter after the foliage has declined.
Keep It Alive
Grow in full sun or part sun in loamy soil (translation: well-draining but moist) and give asters regular water, especially in the summer.
Plant most asters in the spring and amend your soil prior to planting with an organic fertilizer and then mulch with compost to keep the soil cool.
While you can grow asters from seed, a more reliable method is to purchase a potted four-inch or one-gallon size from a nursery.
This week the Remodelista editors made a note of their best easy design ideas from summerhouses—and made plans to transplant them come autumn. Join them.
Homemade Dish Soap
Above: Turns out it’s easy and fun to make homemade dish soap. (Plus you can customize your concoction with the scent and container of your choice.) Photograph by Justine Hand.
Above: The Anglepoise Type 75 Sconce is designed Sir Kenneth Grange and available in Brushed Aluminum, Jet Black, and Alpine White; $155 at Design Within Reach.
Above: The distance between slats on a four-foot fence gradually increases to let in light (at left) without revealing the existence of a parking court (at right) at a beach house on the eastern tip of Long Island. Photograph by Scott Frances, courtesy of T. W. Ryan Architecture.
Officially, it’s still summer for another 22 days, but unofficially, it’s Labor Day: summer’s last hurrah. Here’s your weekend reading—for the beach, the campfire, the front porch, or wherever you are.
Add the word “French” to anything and it sounds elegant. This works even with a boring, vaguely hostile word like “drain,” a feature of your hardscape which you generally don’t want to think about; let’s just hope a drain is doing its job and leave it at that. But a French drain? I want one.
Imagine my consternation upon learning that the French drain is not from France at all but was actually created by an American…named Henry French. In the mid 1800s, Mr. French came up with the idea of leaving a gap between roof tiles to allow water to drain efficiently. Thus was born the French drain. You can read more about it in Mr. French’s seminal 1859 book, Farm Drainage (does this make him a French author?), in which he discusses at length his ideas for draining land “with stones, wood, plows, and open ditches, and especially with tiles.” Or we can move on.
Despite its prosaic American past, the French drain is quite a useful method of diverting water and preventing floods or runoff. A French drain can be installed on a roof, around the foundation of a house, at the base of a retaining wall, around the perimeter of a cellar, or on any slope. The simple idea behind a French drain is this: dig a trench to channel water downhill and fill the trench with gravel so the water can filter down to the bottom of the trench. At the bottom install a pipe to capture water and encourage it to flow in a direction away from a house.
Read on to find out if a French drain should be part of your hardscape design:
Photography by Matthew Williams for Gardenista.
Do I need a French drain?
Above: A French drain is installed around the perimeter of a barn on Martha’s Vineyard.
If your basement floods after a rain or your lawn feels squishy and wet underfoot, you need better drainage. Consult a professional: a civil engineer can determine whether the problem is surface runoff or underground water and devise a solution.
Some people may feel hiring an engineer is overkill. But as someone who has installed three French drain systems in three different houses, I can attest to the fact that improper installation renders the whole system worthless. You do not want to pay a handyman or gardener to install a French drain only to learn the next time it rains that you still have a flooding problem because….well, maybe the trench wasn’t deep enough. Or the drain’s location was wrong. Or the pipe is getting clogged by roots. Or the pipe is overflowing because it’s not big enough to handle the water flow. I could go on and on, but frankly I have spent too many years trying to repress these memories to unleash them now. Please. Consult a professional.
What are alternatives to a French drain?
Above: A stone curb keeps the pebbles from wandering.
Sometimes a sump pump, particularly if water is seeping into a space below grade (such as a basement or crawl space). If you install a sump pump in a specially constructed pit, it can capture water and direct it outdoors to prevent dampness and flooding elsewhere in a basement. Consult a drainage specialist for advice.
Gutters and downspouts can direct water away from a house, as well. For more information, see Hardscaping 101: Rain Gutters.
What are the components of a French drain system?
Above: A gutter drains into a French drain in Texas.
Basically, you need to dig a trench on an angle to ensure that water will run downhill. Then lay a length of perforated pipe at the bottom, and fill the trench with gravel. This is your French drain system. You can leave it exposed, or you an cover it with a grille or other decorative element if you prefer.
Can I install my own French drain?
Above: An understated French drain sits at the base of a stoop at the edge of a courtyard in San Francisco.
If you like to dig endless backbreaking trenches, then yes you can install your own French drain. But generally speaking, you are better off consulting a specialist who will know—based on your particular water situation—how deep to dig, how sharply to angle the trench, and where to direct the runoff.
Generally, French drains direct water to the street, a drainage ditch, or a dry well. If you have a low-lying pond on your property, this also could be a destination.
How much does a French drain cost?
Above: An unobtrusive perimeter drain runs alongside the foundation of a house in Mill Valley, California.
Hiring someone to install an outdoor French drain costs on average $25 per linear foot in a trench that is from 1 to 2 feet deep” deep and from 6 to 18 inches wide, according to Costhelper.
If you install your own outdoor French drain (which as you already know I do not recommend), the labor is free and the cost of construction materials will include crushed rock for from $2 to $ per square foot; PVC pipe and fittings, and rental fees for equipment: a compactor rents for from $65 to $85 per day. A trencher costs from $50 to $80 to rent for half a day, and a small backhoe costs from $150 to $200 a day to rent, according to Doityourself.
If installing a French drain indoors in a basement, prices will vary widely depending on the size of the basement; expect to pay anywhere from $2,000 to $15,000 to cut a channel around the perimeter and fill it with gravel, says Costhelper.
Feeling drained? Or are you inspired to tackle more projects? See our curated design guides to Hardscape 101, including Decks & Patios and Fences & Gates. Read more:
At Brooklyn Bridge Park, horticulturalist Rebecca McMackin had to think fast to repair the damage after Superstorm Sandy churned ashore in New York City in 2012. Floods, saltwater, and waterfront devastation forced her and her small staff to come up with radical ideas for a healthier, more resilient landscape to stand up to our world’s rapidly changing climate.
For centuries gardeners have created landscapes by adapting their sites to the plants they have chosen to cultivate. Now horticulture innovators are questioning the age-old methods. At Brooklyn Bridge Park, landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh designed the the narrow 85-acre site built on piers on the East River shoreline to be resilient to a changing environment, making it possible for McMackin and her crew to come up with a plan to repair the damage and protect it from future floods.
A garden designer who also heads Mantis Plant Works in Brooklyn, McMackin holds advanced degrees in landscape design and environmental biology and is uniquely qualified as both a scientist and a hands-on gardener to develop strategies to combat climate change. The same ideas can work in your garden and mine.
Here are nine ideas from McMackin, who is now the park’s director of horticulture, on how gardeners can make a difference.
Accept your ecosystem.
Above: Ironweed borders a path at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photograph by Erin Boyle.
“The right plant for the right spot” is one of the traditional maxims of successful gardening, but McMackin would amend that to “the right plant for the right ecosystem.” Think of your garden as an environment where living organisms such as plants, birds, insects, and other animals need to coexist happily with other elements such as the soil (have you tested it?) and the weather (what is the annual range in temperature, and how much wind, rain, and snow do you get?).
With weather unpredictable and climate in flux, it is important to choose plants that want to live where you want to plant them. As conditions evolve, the plants will be better able to adapt.
Investigate your soil.
Above: Bonset and Joe Pye weed at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photograph by Erin Boyle.
Analyze your ecosystem thoroughly to determine the conditions of soil, water, sun, and wind. If you are designing a new garden, conduct a ribbon test for soil texture, a percolation test for drainage, and consult online charts for average rainfall amounts in your area. In an existing garden, look at the plants (even weeds) that are growing happily and determine what conditions are helping them thrive. Any new plants you introduce should also be comfortable with those same requirements.
Accept your soil.
Above: Milkweed for monarchs. Photograph by Marie Viljoen.
Analyze your soil and then basically accept it as is. If your soil is extremely compacted, you might want to explore methods of decompaction, but in most cases simply planting enough different plants with vigorous root systems to penetrate various soil layers can, over time, create a looser, more hospitable plant environment. What McMackin doesn’t advise is the old practice of hauling in big heavy bags of compost, humus, and other soil additives. She believes that plants should be left alone to go about creating the habitat they want to live in. For instance, she notes that oaks and pines drop acorns and needles in an attempt to acidify their soil.
Let plants care for themselves.
Above: Cardinal flower in bloom at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photograph by Erin Boyle.
As McMackin says, “gardeners love to fuss” over their plants. But placing plants in environments where they have the light, soil, moisture, and nutrients they need eliminates the necessity for a lot of ongoing maintenance. Plants that are comfortable where they are tend to be stronger and more resilient and require less staking, watering, feeding, and pest management. The goal of the gardener, says McMackin, is to get plants to be more independent by matching them well to their habitat.
Be an ecological gardener.
Above: Flowering elderberry in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photograph by Erin Boyle.
While organic gardening replaces chemical fertilizers and insecticides with natural methods, ecological gardening goes further by allowing a garden to become more self-sufficient and home to a whole system of mutually dependent organisms. For instance, McMackin notes that the organic gardener rakes up leaves in the fall, composts them, and then adds them back to the soil. The ecological gardener simply allows the leaves to stay on the ground to decompose and feed the soil all on their own.
Says McMackin, “Deciduous trees are not throwing their leaves away when they drop them in the fall. They are laying them on top of their roots for protection and building the soil they want to live in.” She adds that beneficial insects overwinter in the leaf layer, which also provides crucial habitats for small mammals and birds.
When you are considering a tree for your garden, it is wise to determine its water needs. If your site lacks irrigation, you will probably want to plant a tree that will take up and store a lot of moisture in the spring to help it get through periods of summer heat and drought. Trees in this category are known as “ring porous” and include such hardwoods as oaks, hickory, black locust, and sassafras. If, however, your site can provide an adequate supply of water throughout the year, you could choose a “diffuse porous” tree such as American beech, sycamore, or maple.
Plant in autumn.
Above: Photograph by Marie Viljoen.
McMackin is a strong advocate for planting perennials in the fall and believes the idea of spring planting may be something American gardeners copied from British gardeners who work in a much different, milder climate. Plants installed in the autumn have a longer timeline to establish themselves before the stress of summer heat arrives. While you have to monitor the plants for heaving in the freeze-thaw cycle, you will need to spend less time watering. McMackin says plugs in particular benefit from the extra time in the ground.
In Brooklyn Bridge Park, McMackin says her philosophy is to wait out insect infestations. She points out that, in the eyes of insects, gardens are basically vast buffets of food so it is natural that your plants will have to endure some nibbling. She advises closely observing your garden to see if you have predators such as ladybugs or lacewings in residence. In many cases these beneficial insects will help to curb infestations and should be actively encouraged.
McMackin believes that the once-traditional fall cleanup is an outdated procedure. She cautions that when you remove dead plant material, you wipe out the good biological helpers that your garden needs. For example, by cutting down plants with hollow stems you risk harming pollinators such as bees, which often overwinter inside them. At Brooklyn Bridge Park, the policy is to delay the cutback until early spring; do it after a couple of 50-to-55-degree days. The warm temperatures will give solitary bees a chance to become active and leave the shelter of the stalks.
Above: Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) in bloom at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photograph by Erin Boyle.
These new strategies react to a changing climate, but they also follow nature’s practices closely and honor the earth’s natural processes. We as gardeners may ultimately have less labor to do, and it is possible we will be rewarded with healthier plants and a deeper respect for what nature can do on her own.
The deadbolt lock, or “thumb turn” as it’s also called, is like jewelry for your porch or entry door. A well-made, weighty deadbolt gives you the feeling of safety at the turn of your fingers. Here are our favorites: some priced like jewelry, others more economical.
Above: Designed by German photographer and designer Max Burchartz for Izé, the Bathroom Turn works for a variety of different doors (not just the bathroom) and is available in the full range of Izé materials and finishes. Contact Izé for pricing information.
Above: The D Line Thumb Turn in polished brass is designed by Annelise Bjørner. Contact D Line for pricing information.
Above: The Inox Unison Hardware Deadbolt comes in satin stainless steel, polished stainless steel, two-tone stainless, and oil-rubbed bronze and starts at $54.40 at Knobs Etc.
Above: The Nanz N 4050 Modern Thumbturn coordinates with mortise locksets and is available in the full range of Nanz finishes. Contact Nanz for pricing information.
Above: The Tumalo Single Cylinder Deadbolt is available in aged brass, oil-rubbed bronze, and polished nickel; $119 at Rejuvenation.
Above: From Zangra in Belgium, the Bathroom Thumb Turn and Release is available in white and black porcelain; €19 at Zangra.
Above: Designed by architect Michael Mossessian for Izé, the Bathroom Turn is available in the full range of Izé materials and finishes. Contact Izé for pricing information.
For their historic home in the enclave of Clifton in Bristol, UK, an energetic couple wanted an informal landscape where their grandchildren and dogs could romp with a focus on biodiversity and sustainability. They called on landscape architecture firm Artisan Landscapes to design a dream garden, but the firm recognized that the grand Georgian-style home imposed a degree of formality on its landscape that couldn’t be ignored. As a compromise, they kept the classic formal courtyard layout and overlaid “soft, naturalistic meadow planting” to fulfill the clients’ desires for an environmentally friendly landscape that remains sensitive to the location.
Above: “The homeowners are lucky enough to have both a front and a back garden,” say the architects, “so we could devote the entire back garden to ‘garden,’ while the front garden has a large lawn for the dogs and grandkids, a greenhouse, and informal borders of vegetables intermingled with perennials.”
The back garden, they say, is a more intimate space, “although the grandchildren love whirling about the paths.”
Above: The sunken octagon is a focal point of the garden but was also one of the more challenging features to install. “There was a one-meter-thick piece of limestone bedrock located under it that had to be removed to install drainage,” say the architects.
Before
Above: The courtyard had a generous footprint, but the neglected landscape was uninspiring.
Above: A long, slim reflecting pool is one of two major water features in the project. “They have a combined volume of five thousand cubic liters,” say the architects, and both are controlled by pumps on remote-control switches.
Above: Adding the water features “took a considerable amount of engineering and planning,” but it was worth it for the calming effect they have on the entire landscape.
Above: A row of antique copper spouts feed into the fountain.
Above: A row of pleached hornbeam trees adds structure to the perimeter.
Above: Astilbe softens the edges of the concrete pavers. The stones were existing and not the designers’ first choice for material, “but they’ve weathered beautifully with age,” they say.
Above: “The homeowners love sitting out together, wandering about the garden, and spending time gardening there.”
Laying out a new garden or updating a hardscape element in an existing landscape? Start with our curated guides to Garden Design 101, including Decks & Patios and Fences & Gates. More inspiring courtyards:
Paper plants are having a moment, and no wonder. They are fanciful, three-dimensional versions of houseplants. In some cases better versions—they don’t die, the foliage never fades, and you don’t need to hire a sitter to water them when you go away.
Paper plant sculptures may awaken your inner crafter. Certainly the sight of a hand-painted paper geranium in artist Livia Cetti’s Bronx home or a six-foot-tall paper fiddle-leaf fig tree in Brooklyn-based artist Corrie Beth Hogg’s living room gets my X-Acto knife fingers twitching every time. With some colored paper, florists’ wire, and a green gel pen, could you or I make our own adorable paper pilea plants?
“Absolutely,” says Hogg, whose brand-new book Handmade Houseplants: Remarkably Realistic Plants You Can Make with Paper offers step-by-step instructions for 30 paper plant sculptures. “I’ve taught a couple of classes and it’s fun to see people walk away at the end having made such beautiful plants.”
To celebrate the book’s publication by Timber Press this week, Hogg has created 10 one-of-a-kind potted paper plant sculptures—which will go on sale at Brooklyn garden shop GRDN on September 13, at prices that range from $125 to $650, depending on size. Here are a few of our favorites:
“I wouldn’t want to be one of those artists who makes the same thing day after day,” says Hogg.
For DIYers, the time commitment to make a paper plant will vary, from a paper oxalis that requires only two or three hours’ effort (“with just three or five stems, it’s something sweet to put on a bedside table,” she says) to a fiddle-leaf fig tree, which can take a full weekend to fashion (you’ll be “paper maché-ing and painting and drilling” for that one).
Above: Epimedium poses for its closeup.
What’s the first step to making a paper plant? Photographing a real plant. “I walk around and take pictures with my phone, including close-ups of leaves, and I also really try to understand the color of a plant,” Hogg says.
Oxalis
Above: Oxalis tetraphylla ‘Iron Cross’ is a classic “lucky clover.” It will be for sale for $145 at GRDN.
When it comes to choosing paper to make foliage, Hogg picks colors that are realistic. “But I’m not like a realism painter. I’m trying to imply color, in such a way that it doesn’t look too labored over, with minimal strokes.”
Above: A closer look at the ‘Iron Cross’.
After growing up in the South, Hogg studied painting and photography at Memphis College of Art in the 1990s before coming to New York City. As the art-and-craft director for designer David Stark, her job description includes styling photographs (as well as shooting them), arranging florals, and creating craft and art projects from scratch.
“It’s a great job and by necessity, it has made me tap into into every craft skill I have ever cultivated,” she says.
The first paper plant she made was a six-foot-tall fiddle-leaf fig tree. “It all started when fiddle-leaf fig trees were at the height of their popularity and I wanted one, but my Brooklyn apartment windows were on one side only, so I couldn’t grow one,” she said. “I decided to make a glorious one out of paper. Four years later, it’s still going strong.”
Pilea
Above: The large potted paper Pilea peperomioides will be $375 at GRDN.
What supplies do you need to get started to make a paper plant? Wire cutters are a staple, says Hogg, who also frequently uses dark green alcohol markers and bright green gel pens to add emphasis and texture to foliage. She uses regular old paper because it’s easier to fold and shape than card stock. “I get really excited if I hear there’s a new glue or a new paint that came out, and then I have to try it,” she says.
Above: Doesn’t look that hard to make, does it?
How long will a paper plant last? “It’s pretty permanent, but it’s not going to last as long as a plastic plant,” says Hogg. “I’m sure it does have a life span. If it was sitting next to a window, the paper could potentially get bleached but i haven’t noticed any major decline in sculptures I’ve made so far.”
Begonia
Above: A one-of-a-kind Begonia ‘Looking Glass’ will be $245 at GRDN.
Above: What’s next for Hogg? “I currently have a long list of begonias I want to make, and I am inspired by things like caladiums, which you don’t typically put indoors.”
Above: Photograph by Christine Han.
Above: With step-by-step instructions to make 30 paper plants, Handmade Houseplants is $13.36 from Amazon. Photographs by Christine Han.
Today we’ll discuss everything you need to know about four common raspberries—canes, flowers, fruit, the works. But first, a little background. The Rubus (edible bramble) genus contains many hundreds of species. And despite being one of the easiest plants to recognize in broad terms, even my plant-geek mind is bamboozled by some common and attractive raspberries that have close look-alikes.
Read on to learn the differences between three native and one invasive species of Rubus, each bearing delicious fruit but easily confused with one another. With the invasive exception, raspberries are excellent additions to edible and wild gardens.
Photography by Marie Viljoen.
Purple-flowering raspberry: Rubus odoratus
Above: Blooming in early summer, the rose-like flowers of purple-flowering raspberry are exuberantly ornamental, as well as lightly scented. When not in bloom, the maple-shaped leaves distinguish it from the palmately compound and prickly leaves of wineberry, which shares the same habitats.
Flowers: Large and lilac-purple, in clusters Canes: Smooth with exfoliating bark on older canes Fruit: Flattened, red, and matte Native to: Eastern North America
Unlike wineberry, purple-flowering raspberry canes are woody and smooth, rather than densely furry.
Purple-flowering raspberries’ fruits are borne in loose clusters and resemble domesticated raspberries with broader, less pointed caps. They ripen in late summer.
Confusingly, purple-flowering raspberry is often called thimbleberry, and the fruit looks very similar to western thimbleberry, which is native to the Pacific Northwest (and has white flowers).
Flowers: Large and white Canes: Smooth Fruit: Red and matte, like a broad raspberry Native to: Western North America
Western thimbleberry fruit closely resembles that of the Eastern native purple-flowering raspberry, but its large flowers are helpfully white (and also fragrant). It blooms in late spring.
Western thimbleberry fruit begins to ripen in midsummer, over an extended season. The shrub tolerates dry soil and dislikes having moist feet.
Wineberry: Rubus phoeniculasius
Above: Juicy wineberries were introduced to North America in the 1890s as breeding stock for raspberries and have now naturalized widely, displacing native berries and other species.
Flowers: Very inconspicuous and white Canes: Densely hairy Fruit: Glossy orange-red Native to: Eastern Asia; invasive in the US
Above: The densely furry and prickly red canes make wineberries easy to identify, especially in winter when no foliage covers them.
Wineberry flowers are so small they are close to invisible. Their leaves have silvery undersides. The glossy orange fruit closely resembles salmonberries, but the plant occurs in the Northeast, unlike their Pacific Northwestern cousin.
Salmonberries’ beautiful flowers are very hummingbird-friendly. The shrubs can grow large, up to 12 feet in spread. They form excellent natural barriers or living fences.
Welcome to Your First Garden. If you have questions about the basics (as in: what is topsoil?), you’re like me. For newbies like us, I’ll answer them one at a time—with advice from experts—twice a month. Our gardens are going to love this.
Here’s the dirt on dirt. I’ve got some myself, a quarter acre of it that my husband and I acquired when we moved from Brooklyn to the suburbs four years ago, full of hope and excitement for our family of four. Buh-bye alternate-side parking and piles of dog poop on pavement. Hello, fresh air and flowers. That first summer, at a plant sale organized by the local gardening club, I eagerly bought whatever struck my fancy—astilbe, peonies, lavender, sedum—without much forethought or consideration. So what if much of my garden was in the shade? Or if that new sedum might clash with the coral bells? I was drunk with the idea of being a landowner.
Not surprisingly, about two-thirds of what I planted that season withered. By the second year, aside from weeding and watering, I had given up on gardening. Today the perennials that made it through that first summer come back year after year, but they’re like grumpy teenagers. They are leggy, blemished, and tired-looking, as if they were woken up too early by spring.
This is not the garden I was meant to have. This is not the garden you are meant to have. Which brings me to topsoil. I’ve been wondering if the problem could be the state of the soil (which was already there, so not my fault!). Maybe I need to add more nutrient-rich soil? And what is topsoil, anyway? Read on.
Above: Natural topsoil (as opposed to store-bought topsoils) is the nutrient-rich layer of soil just under the surface. It is darker and less compact than the layers below it because of all the biological activity that goes on in that layer. Photograph by Nicole Franzen, from Garden Visit: A Modern CA Garden Inspired by the Classics.
A: A soil scientist—such as Dr. Stephanie Murphy, the director of Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory in New Brunswick, New Jersey, who answered my many questions for this story—would say that real topsoil is different from what you purchase in bags in stores: it’s the mineral-dense top layer of earth.
It’s “characterized by an accumulation of organic matter (living, dead, and decaying organisms), which gives it a darker shade than the soil below it,” she says. “Real topsoil is the most valuable layer of soil.”
How is store-bought topsoil different? There are two types you can buy: blended topsoil (a mixture of mineral material, usually excavated from a construction site, and organic matter such as compost) and organic topsoil (containing matter such as shredded wood, moss, and peat).
Q. Which kind of store-bought topsoil is best?
Above: Before you bring home blended topsoil from the store, check the stockpiled soil for unwanted materials like large stones, broken glass, paint chips, and plastic. In addition, there should be less than 10 percent gravel content. Photograph by Michelle Slatalla, from Hydrangeas: How to Change Color from Pink to Blue.
A: Dr. Murphy cautions against buying organic topsoils. Unfortunately, that’s also what’s most commonly sold in stores. “Rarely have I seen a bagged soil contain any mineral component at all,” says Dr. Murphy. Some stores, though, do have stockpiles of blended topsoil for bulk purchase and those are better than bagged organic topsoil. And you can always “ask topsoil suppliers for a copy of a recent soil test. Reputable suppliers perform quality-control testing regularly.”
Q: How is store-bought topsoil different from garden soil and potting soil?
A: Potting soil is designed for use in containers only and actually has no soil in it at all. Instead, it’s often a mixture of peat moss and other organic materials such as composted sawdust. “Its physical characteristics are often more important than the fertility,” explains Dr. Murphy “Potting soil is usually lightweight (organic matter being much less dense than soil minerals) and should have high water-holding capacity but drain excess water rapidly. Any nutrients from the decaying organic matter is quickly depleted or leached, and the plants rely mainly on continual input of fertilizer nutrients.”
Garden soil, on the other hand, tends be made up of topsoil and a mixture of other materials and nutrients (compost and fertilizer) designed for specific types of plants. It tends to be more expensive than topsoil. In general, use potting soil for container gardening, garden soil for planting in flower or vegetable beds (you have to mix it with existing soil), and topsoil for larger projects or if your lawn or garden is in need of greater soil volume (for instance, if there’s been soil erosion from strong winds or heavy rains).
Q: How do you add topsoil?
Above: One good reason you may need to buy topsoil: to replace soil lost to erosion. Photograph by Matthew Williams, from Hardscaping 101: Erosion Control.
A: Ideally, you should till the soil that’s already in your garden (especially if it’s compacted) and add a 3-inch layer of blended topsoil, tilling it all together again to create a 6-inch-deep surface layer; this will best mimic real topsoil. “You do not want to simply lay a three-inch layer on the surface of a soil and attempt to plant into that layer,” advises Dr. Murphy. “Creation of artificial layers almost inevitably creates drainage problems. Roots may proliferate in that layer and never grow deeper into the mineral layer.” Spring or fall, when rains keep soil moist and encourage biological activity and decomposition, are the best times to add topsoil.
Q: Do you need to add anything else to store-bought topsoil?
A: “Probably not compost, since most blended topsoils and bagged topsoils already have or are composed of compost,” says Dr. Murphy. As for fertilizers, you’ll need to have your soil tested to find out what nutrients your soil could use more of.
Q: Is it necessary to buy topsoil at all?
Above: Amending your existing topsoil with compost is a more sustainable and better option than hauling in store-bought topsoil. Photograph by Jim Powell, from Composting: Are You Obsessed?
A: If you simply need to increase soil volume—whether it’s to replace soil that has eroded or to even out property or to create a garden from scratch—then yes, buying topsoil is an inexpensive way to do it. But if you’re interested in encouraging a healthier, more fertile topsoil, according to Dr. Murphy, amending what you have with compost is preferable to buying topsoil. “The more we can re-create natural topsoils, the less fertilizer input is needed—and long-term sustainability can be achieved. For example, it has been shown that very old lawns require less fertilizers and less irrigation,” she says. “In most cases, improve what you have with soil amendments, unless you specifically need greater soil volume.”
Do you have a question about your first garden? (Or your second or third or fourth garden)? Let us know what they are in comments section below, and I’ll try to answer them in upcoming installments of Your First Garden. In the meantime, find more beginner gardening lessons here:
In my garden I rely on pittosporum shrubs to behave like a sheer curtain, creating a shimmery 10-foot-tall privacy layer to block street sights and sounds. But that’s just me. With more than 200 species of these versatile evergreen shrubs and small trees, you can use rely on pittosporum to solve almost any problem—these versatile plants are amenable to being sheared, clipped, shaped, or left alone to develop shaggy, friendly silhouettes.
Is pittosporum the right plant for your garden? Read on to find out.
Widely grown throughout New Zealand and Japan, pittosporums are native to Asia and Africa and enjoy mild climates, full sun, and well-drained soil. But really, what plant wouldn’t if given the choice?
Above: ‘Silver Sheen’ has delicate, silver-green leaves and rustles in a breeze. For this variety, ask for Silver Sheen Kohuhu grown by Monrovia; it’s hardy in USDA zones 8 to 11.
How do you know which pittosporum to buy? Many widely available cultivars belong to the species P. tenuifolium, which can be trained as hedges, shrubs, and small trees (with heights that can reach 30 feet or more if left unchecked). In addition to ‘Silver Sheen’ (my favorite), consider variegated ‘Silver Magic’, with light green leaves edged in cream. ‘Tom Thumb’ is a low-growing, mounding variety with handsome purple leaves.
If you are looking for a specimen shrub to add interest to a corner of the garden, P. tobira has large, glossy green leaves and clusters of tiny white flowers in springtime.
If you’re looking for a small tree to thrive in a warm, humid climate, consider P. dasycaulon (native to India).
Above: In garden designer Flora Grubb’s own garden in Berkeley, California, Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Silver Magic’ in the background frames the fountain and contrasts with the texture of Acacia cognata ‘Cousin Itt’ is at right. Photograph by Caitlin Atkinson. See more at Landscape Designer Visit: At Home with Flora Grubb in Berkeley, CA.
Cheat Sheet
Consider pittosporum if you’re looking for a faster-growing, hardy alternative to boxwood.
Think: fence alternative. A hedge of pittosporums will generally grow as tall and dense as you allow, but you can also keep it in check with twice-a-year clipping.
Pittosporums are unfazed by deer, and resistant to disease and garden pests.
Above: I replaced a fence with a hedge of Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Silver Sheen’. The savings for buying small plants versus established shrubs was more than $1,000. Within 18 months of when this photo was taken, the small plants had grown in thickly and the hedge was more than six feet tall. Photograph by Matthew Williams.
Keep It Alive
Pittosporums are hardy in USDA growing zones 8 to 11, depending on the cultivar.
It’s not unusual for a pittosporum to grow 24 inches in a single year (the grow rate will slow as a plant matures).
Plant in spring or fall and water well, weekly, until the root system establishes itself.
Above: A clipped hedge of Pittosporum tobira. Photograph by Farm via Wikimedia Commons.
Calling all gardeners and armchair horticulturalists: Sign up to have our weekly Gardenista Plant Guides delivered to your email inbox for our latest growing, care, and plant design posts.
Back to school, back to work, but not necessarily back to basics. Elevate your office routine with five design ideas the Remodelista editors discovered this week in their favorite workspaces:
Workspace Niche
Above: A window desk in an apartment in Denmark via Lowe Home.
Above: The perfect pencil sharpener? Margot spotted the Elmer’s Boston Ranger Manual Pencil Sharpener in her guest room at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch, London; we sourced it for $37.22 from Amazon.
“Sometimes you want a desk chair without wheels—particularly if you have carpet or vulnerable flooring,” writes Alexa. She rounds up her favorites in this week’s 10 Easy Pieces post.
“Lighting a home office is akin to dressing for a climate with changeable weather: It’s all about layering,” writes Christine. Translation: use a mix of ambient lights, task lights, and dimmer switches. See more in Remodeling 101: How to Light Your Home Office.
Does your office feel a little too Dilbert? Here’s a quick fix: banish institutional cubicle culture with a little greenery (a plant or two will improve air quality too).
Studies show you’re more creative–and productive–if your workspace feels like home. Here’s some inspiration, featuring 10 of our favorite indoor plants to perk up your desktop:
Pothos
Above: Photograph courtesy of The Sill. See more in 10 Tips for Selecting Office Plants, from The Sill.
One of the easiest houseplants to grow, Pothos will tolerate low light and dry soil.
Above: An air plant (Tillandsia) is a low-maintenance choice for a desktop; dunk it under water once a week to keep it happy. For more, see A One-of-a-Kind Jielde Signal Lamp on Remodelista. Photograph by Emily Johnston Anderson.
From dried-flower arrangements to finding hiking trails wherever you are: here’s what came across our screens this week.
Above: Are dried flowers trending? Grace & Thorn in Hackney, London, is holding workshops on the art of the dry terrarium, pictured. (The next one is on Tuesday: get all the details here.) And, David Stark recently debuted eight arrangements for Vogue Living, with dried ferns, grasses, and flowers; see the results here.
Get a daily dose of garden inspiration delivered to your in-box: sign up for our newsletter. (Might we suggest the daily Headlines dispatch? It makes good reading on your commute or during a moment of pause in the garden.)
Gomphrena is a cheery little clover lookalike that for centuries has graced classic cutting gardens. American gardeners have relied on its pleasing bachelor button flowers since the early 1700s. With pink, purple, or white gumball flowers, globe amaranth has a reliable marathon bloom time (from early summer until the first hard frost).
Somewhat short in stature (topping out at 1 to 2 feet) it is frequently seen in the front of the border where it obligingly fills in any bare spots left by ephemerals or spent spring bulbs. Gomphrena makes a durable cut flower and, when dried, can literally last for years.
Read on for everything you need to know about how to grow and care for Gomphrena:
Recently, plain little dependable globe amaranth has undergone a Cinderella-like transformation. Instead of a fairy godmother, research horticulturists are the ones responsible for Gomphrena’s new look.
Starting in the late 1990s breeders began to produce dramatic new cultivars, particularly those crossed with its relative, Rio Grande globe amaranth.
Above: Gomphrena ‘Fireworks’ in bloom in an August border in the Conservatory Garden in Central Park, New York. Photograph by Cultivar 413 via Flickr.
Long-stemmed Gomphrena haageana is taller and lankier than G. globosa and is a native of Texas, New Mexico, and northeastern Mexico, which may account for its ability to stand up to high wind and blistering heat. Distinctive new selections such as the bright fuchsia ‘Fireworks’, stoplight red ‘Strawberry Fields’, and ‘Lavender Lady’ are becoming widely used.
Above: Gomphrena globosa by Dinesh Valke via Flickr.
Whether you stick with the classic Gomphrena globosa or choose one of the newer, flashier varieties, you will be getting a plant that is virtually maintenance free and almost completely impervious to disease and pests.
Above: Gomphrena ‘Fireworks’ by Dwight Sipler via Flickr.
The colorful globe amaranth “flowers” are actually bundles of stiff, papery bracts or modified leaves that support the real flowers which are white or yellow trumpets so small that they are barely visible to the naked eye. The bright gold stamens of the flowers on “Fireworks” appear like tiny explosions on the fuchsia bracts.
Cheat Sheet
Pinch back blooms on young plants to encourage a bushier habit and increased flowering
Shorter varieties of Gomphrena work well in containers while taller, airier cultivars look great in borders planted among other sun lovers such as zinnias, salvias, Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia diversifolia), and dahlias.
This plant is not attractive to deer but will reliably draw butterflies into your garden.
For the best dried flowers, cut Gomphrena as soon as the blooms are completely open. Strip the leaves, tie the bare stems in bunches and hang them upside down in a dark, dry, well-ventilated place.
Keep It Alive
Grow Gomphrena in full sun as an annual in all zones except 9 to 10 where some varieties may be perennial.
This plant will grow well in dry conditions but it is wise to water when plants are young and in drought conditions after they are established. Always water at ground level to avoid wetting the leaves and inviting leaf spot.
Globe amaranth will grow in poor soil but requires good drainage.
Gomphrena is usually available in garden centers in the spring but can be frequently ignored because its flower display doesn’t gear up until later in the season. If you want to grow your own plants, soak the seeds first for a day or two to speed up germination. Sow indoors in spring from six to eight weeks before the date of the expected last frost, or plant directly in the garden after the soil has warmed. Experts advise planting a large number of seeds as the germination rate of Gomphrena tends to be low. Sometimes this plant can become a permanent garden resident by obligingly re-seeding itself.
Arthur Curtiss James was a railroad titan, as the newspaper obituaries would later put it, and in 1911 he and his wife, Harriet, built a grand estate with sprawling gardens designed by the Olmsted Brothers on a 125-acre property in Newport, Rhode Island.
It was here, students of the Gilded Age may remember, where Mrs. James threw a fabled summer garden party on August 15, 1913 to introduce high society to her “secret” Blue Garden. Nearly 350 guests were greeted by dancing mermaids and sea nymphs—and by Mrs. James in a 16th-century “Italian costume of old blue and mauve brocade, embroidered in sapphires and amethysts,” a New York Times correspondent reported. Her headdress (also dripping with blue and purple gemstones to match the flowers) was “held in place by strands of diamonds.”
The lavish party cemented Mrs. James’ reputation as a spectacular hostess and—it was said by some—overshadowed the other major event of that summer, Mrs. Mamie Fish’s “Mother Goose Ball” (at which guests arrived costumed like nursery-rhyme characters).
Gardens usually don’t outlive their owners, and sadly for the Blue Garden the Jameses both died in 1941. But more than seven decades later, the landscape has been resurrected—thanks to Campbell’s Soup heiress Dorrance Hill Hamilton, who bought the land and tore down an ugly 1980s-era house that had been built on the site.
New Haven, Connecticut-based landscape architects Reed-Hilderbrand, who completed the project in 2014 for Mrs. Hamilton (who died last year), have just won a 2018 Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. The new layout honors the historic Olmsted Brothers’ design, updated with an environmentally friendly plant palette.
Let’s stroll around the grounds (where mermaids still would look right at home):
Photography by Marianne Lee except where noted, courtesy of ASLA.
Above: “The garden’s main axis, defined by a series of pools and fountains along a channel, was rehabilitated,” the landscape architects said.
Located near the tip of Aquidneck Island, the Blue Garden was “shaped within a hollow of exposed bedrock characteristic of the area, which, over time and with great devotion, became known as a mythic place of alluring beauty,” the landscape architect said. Enclosed by evergreens, walls, and pergolas “visitors found an effulgent, classically disposed garden of blue flowers. Along the length of the axis of the formal beds, a channel of water connects a square pool of water lilies with a long pool of blue tiles inspired by Persian rugs, punctuated by fountain jets.”
After the Jameses died—three weeks apart, in 1941—their Newport property endured a few sad decades: the main house burned in 1967, the property was subdivided, and the ephemeral beauty of the Blue Garden, some feared, was lost forever.
Before
Above: Sixty years after the death of the Jameses, most of the garden was gone. In the 1980s, a new house was sited on what had been the western portion of the original garden (shown above in 2010). Photograph by Reed Hilderbrand.
Mrs. Hamilton had the new house torn down. “With the house demolished and volunteer trees removed, the garden’s main axis, defined by a series of pools and fountains along a channel, was rehabilitated,” the architects said.
Noted the American Society of Landscape Awards jury: “The quality of the restoration, the consistency with the Olmsteds’ original vision, the fact that anyone would do this—buy a parcel of land, tear down a house to restore a garden—seemed that it ought to be acknowledged in some way.”
After
Above: “The enclosed Blue Garden is intensified as a hortus conclusus by preserving and reestablishing the agrarian context that surrounds it,” the landscape architects said. A runnel connects the reflecting pools.
“The scheme adapts the original Olmsted Brothers’ design intentions to a changing climate and to the constraints of contemporary maintenance levels, with a smaller palette of more reliable, longer-flowering, drought-tolerant plants, and greater use of perennials in place of labor-intensive annual,” the landscape architects said.
Above: When the landscape architects took on the project there were “only fragments remaining of the original garden,” they said.
The landscape architects worked with historians, masonry conservators, and horticulturists to unearth the original plans for the garden, learning along the way that the 1913 planting scheme “relied heavily upon bedding-out practices, supported by a bevy of gardeners, to maintain the garden in prime condition.”
In contrast, the garden today is planted with drought-tolerant, low-maintenance annuals and perennials that bloom in shades of blue, purple, white and gray-green.
Perennials include monkshood (Aconitum), asters (A. laevis ‘Bluebird’), delphiniums, and Baptisia decadence ‘Sparkling Sapphires’.
Annuals to add a long season of color include Agapanthus ‘Baby Pete’, bachelor buttons, dwarf morning glory, and lantanas.
Above: An aerial view of the restored Blue Garden. Photograph by Reed-Hilderbrand.
Framing the garden are evergreen trees, including English holly (Ilex aquifolium) and Eastern red cedars. Boxwoods, lace cap hydrangeas, and other shrubs provide structure within the garden.
Above: Looking south past the pool, a pergola is framed by “mixed evergreen plantings of appropriate heights for the garden’s light requirements.” Photograph by Millicent Harvey.
The original design of Mrs. James’ pergola included granite columns; beyond the pergola was a waterfall and rock garden. Guests at the 1913 “Masque of the Blue Garden” party gazed upon “Corinthian columns and an Italian well of the Renaissance period, while the trees and plants were illuminated with electric lights of many colors to represent colors.”
By 2012, the pergola was gone. The landscape architects found physical clues—fragments of steps, tiles, and walls—and unearthed original plans and extensive construction drawings to help guide their design of the new pergola.
Above: The landscape architects add “a network of mown paths (which) meander through mixed evergreen trees and grassland, with hints of the blue-flowering perennials and occasional glimpses of the surrounding agrarian landscape.”
The restored section of the Blue Garden is adjacent to a parcel of conservation land, where the design celebrates and amplifies the landscape’s agrarian roots.
Above: Photographic illustration by Reed-Hilderbrand.
“Rural conservation land, originally part of the James estate, extends beyond the Blue Garden, thereby preserving the garden’s original northerly and westerly context,” the landscape architects said.
Above: Beyond the evergreens that shelter the Blue Garden is native grasslands with mown paths. Photograph by Millicent Harvey.
Above: “Fields of exposed bedrock and scrublands” lie beyond the mown paths. Photograph by Millicent Harvey.
Are you designing a garden from scratch, or rehabbing an old one? Whether it’s a grand survivor of the Gilded Age or a modest suburban plot, you’ll find inspiration in our Before & After archives and our curated guides to Garden Design 101. Read more:
If you are old enough to remember the early Martha Stewart days, you also may recall that she was the first person to elevate drudgery to diversion. Back in the 1990s, she transformed the most menial chore into a pleasant pastime by advocating the use of beautiful tools made to last a lifetime.
While the heady days when she hawked only the best of the best are long gone, when I discover a mundane object made with special attention to detail, I still reflexively think of it like this: Martha Material.
This brings me to the Cultivation Tray set. Made in Europe of heavy, galvanized steel, it’s a seed-starting kit with dozens of tiny, removable steel pots specially designed to make it easy to transplant seedlings. It’s Martha Material.
Above: Available in two sizes, a Cultivation Tray runs €48 to €73, depending on size from Manufactum. The large size (shown) has 70 individual pots for seedlings.
Above: The little pots are bottomless and have sloped sides to make it easy to push out seedlings without damage to roots.
Above: The larger tray comes with folding feet so “the panel can also be placed in an elevated, raised manner,” notes Manufactum.
Above: The smaller cultivation tray has 30 pots for seedlings. “With its noticeably narrow dimensions, the smaller tray can easily be placed next to any windowsill, so that you, for example, can grow tomatoes in your apartment instead of out on the deck,” says Manufactum.
Above: The smaller cultivation tray has 30 pots for seedlings. “With its noticeably narrow dimensions, the smaller tray can easily be placed next to any windowsill, so that you, for example, can grow tomatoes in your apartment instead of out on the deck,” says Manufactum.
Get ready for muddy season in the garden. I grew up in Boston, where a number of British ways have managed to linger: we call our mothers Mum (and our bottoms bums), eat our share of fish and chips, and, at least in my house, refer to our rubber boots as Wellies (short for Wellingtons). But the boot rack, a simple, ingenious staple of British back entries and mudrooms, has mysteriously yet to be discovered in these parts. The time is right.
Here are 10 favorite boot racks for Wellies:
Above: With its tapered pegs, the Henderson Oak Wellington Boot Stand also shown in the top photo is £70; from Cotswold Co., it has a Shaker-esque silhouette.
Wellies, by the way, get their name from the 1st Duke of Wellington, an early 19th-century style setter, who had his shoemaker model his footwear after Hessian soldiers’ boots.
Above: Daughter-in-law and mother-in-law duo Natalie Evans and Jacqueline Wilmington of Natajaq make racks in the Annie Sloan chalk paint colors of your choice. Their Two-Pair Welly Boot Rack, shown here, is £55; and Four-Pair Welly Boot Rack is £75.
Above: The two-pair Wellington Boot Stand by Creamore Mill (the same maker as Cotswold Co.’s designs) is £42.65 from the Stuffed Box.
Above: Garden Trading’s Wooden Welly Rack, £50, has natural oak pegs and a charcoal base.
Above: Wellyracks’ Countryman Boot Rack comes in six sizes, painted or in natural pine. This three-pair rack is £38.99.
Above: The double-duty Welly Boot and Shoe Rack (three-pair) is £99 in pinefrom Boot & Saw, which offers larger versions of the design and a range of other standing and wall-hung boot racks.
Above: Cotswold Co.’s standing rack, shown top, also comes in a wall-hung version; the Henderson Oak Rack is £35.
Above: Made in Germany, a 38-inch-long Wooden Boot Rack holds five pairs; for more information and pricing see Gressco.
Above: A Wall-Mounted Welly Rack is £59 from A Place for Everything, which has an extensive boot storage department.
One of my earliest gardening blunders was a six-pack of tiny verbena seedlings I bought because the tag promised they could grow in partial shade. The poor little plants never bloomed and were quickly covered in mildew because, of course, they are well-known sun lovers. Like mint juleps and verandas, verbenas are well suited to the blistering heat and unrelenting sunshine of the Deep South and were certainly not good candidates for my humid New York City backyard shaded by a leafy stand of 50-year-old London plane trees.
In defense of the grower who chose to label my verbena plants as suitable for partial shade, experts do recommend dappled afternoon shade in extremely hot climates. However, this is really a plant that belongs where it will get from eight to 10 hours a day of bright sun. If you can provide that location, verbena will happily reward you with nonstop flowers from late spring through fall while requiring surprisingly little attention.
Is verbena the right plant for your garden? Read on to find out.
Above: Yellow and purple: a happy combination. Here black-eyed Susans mingle with Verbena bonariensis against a backdrop of stipa grasses. See more in Gardening 101: Black-Eyed Susans. Photograph by Amanda Slater via Flickr.
Before getting into the details of how to grow verbena, one point bears clearing up. The verbena I am talking about, a genus of about 250 species of ornamental annuals and perennials, is not the same thing as lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla). They are related, distant cousins that are both members of the Verbenaceae family, but they are totally different plants. Lemon verbena is useful—but not known for its beauty, being rather scrawny and producing small, unexceptional flowers. Its claim to fame is that it has traditionally been widely used in natural remedies, cosmetics, teas, and cooking.
Ornamental verbena plants, on the other hand, are prized for their long-lasting, brilliantly colored blooms and attractive foliage. Many hybrids have been developed and these plants come in a range of sizes and colors, with vigorous clusters of tiny, five-petaled flowers in red, pink, white, mauve, lavender, blue, purple, and apricot. Verbenas are native to a number of regions around the world. Those from North America and Europe tend to be perennial in our climate, while the varieties from South and Central America are usually cultivated here as annuals. Both types will bloom reliably from late spring to fall.
Above: Verbena ‘Annie’. Photograph by Patrick Standish via Flickr.
Cheat Sheet
Short varieties such as Verbena canadensis ‘Homestead Purple’, V. ambrosifolia (now known as Glandularia bipinnatifida) and moss verbena (V. tenuisecta) make excellent decorative ground covers.
Tender perennial verbenas (V. hortensis) tend to be somewhat taller (up to 18 inches) and are upright or bushy and work well in containers, twining around their companions and spilling over the sides of hanging baskets and window boxes.
Verbena attracts butterflies, bumblebees, and hummingbirds but is resistant to deer and rabbits.
This plant works well combined with other sun lovers such as marigolds, petunias, calibrachoas, angelonias, geraniums, and snapdragons.
Verbena is best planted in bright sun in USDA zones 7 to 10.
Soil can be poor but must be well-draining.
Be careful not to crowd plants; verbena requires good air circulation to prevent the buildup of excess humidity.
Water requirements are moderate (about an inch per week) and established plants are somewhat drought tolerant—but shouldn’t be allowed to dry out completely.
One popular tall variety is Verbena bonariensis, a tender perennial that is native to Brazil and can grow as high as 4.5 feet. It self-seeds and goes well with prairie-style plantings, particularly grasses. Pairing it with bronze fennel will increase this verbena’s allure for butterflies and other pollinators. It is frequently recommended for the back of the border but doesn’t really have to reside there because, although it is tall, its form is so delicate that it does not block shorter plants behind it.
My friend Katherine Powis grows her Verbena bonariensis in pots near the back porch of her upstate home. She says she has chosen that location close to the house so she can watch these dainty, lanky specimens dance in the breeze. Her plants bear small pink flowers, but lavender blooms are also common. Verbena bonariensis can be prone to flopping over, especially if it doesn’t get enough sun. A possible solution is to use one of the shorter, sturdier hybrids such as ‘Lollipop’ or ‘Meteor Shower’.
In the northeast, most verbenas cannot survive the cold winters outside. Grow them as annuals, taking stem cuttings for next spring’s plants, or overwinter them inside if you have a sunny cool spot that can be kept to around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Verbena is such a vigorous, cheery plant—who wouldn’t want it close by when the weather turns gray and cold?
