2009 First half of Spring in the Garden

An important part of spring for us is going to the NYBG Antique Garden Ornament Show. We couldn't resist buying this basin . It dates to the 1930's and is concrete with a wonderful aged patina. Right now it has been sited in the front of our house. surrounded by plantings of Baptisia and some other flowering perennials. Who knows it might eventually find its way to a good home at a client's but right now we are enjoying it. Soon I think my wife and I will plant something in the basin although I have thoughts of putting in a small pump and filling it with bubbling water and some aquatic plants.

This spring has been very busy at our house. We rebuilt part of our old wood deck replacing it with a blue stone patio and natural stone steps. The weeping mulberry tree that we have kept a few years in a large pot is now a planted feature along the new steps. I bet some are wondering why the metal wrap around it's trunk. That is to keep the ground hog from climbing up. For two years straight just as the leaves filled in and the berries grew plump he climbed up and ate every berry and every leaf off the tree.



Opposite the mulberry we now have a little bubbling fountain. Its great to hear the soft whispers of the water while we relax in the shade on our new patio.



Visiting a long time client in Scarsdale this Saturday I was rewarded with a great show of tulips planted last fall.




In several of her shrub boarders we planted tulips for punches of accent color . Here they are contrasted against the white of the Mt. Laurels and other spring bloomers and the chartreuse of the early Hosta.


A bird bath we sited in the walled garden of a client is accented here with Tulips. This is a simple but eye catching display that costs very little to do but adds a lot to the spring.

We spent days last fall planting bulbs all over and now we have many great displays of daffodils, tulips and muscari this spring. Miraculously the deer have not decimated the tulips as I feared. The rabbits however did get to a couple of tulip heads just as they were growing but not enough to stop the show.

A designer friend is redoing her parents home near by and my crew and I will be helping with the work. We were offered a wonderful Betula nigra that just did not go with the planned gardens . Wanting it to have a good home we worked long and hard to dig it out. Here it is loaded on our trailer ready for the ride to my house.

A new endeavor this year is caring for a good client's large pond . We have spent time in the past redesigning the plantings around the pond and now we are tackling its care. Our first project after cleaning the filters was to rebuild the waterfall. Here it is just after we re-worked the stones to cover the ugly filter box which is so important to keeping the water aerated and clean.


So that is all for now. I have got to get back to planning work for the second half of spring. I hope to have a new posting soon. I bet you would like to see how the River Birch looks in its new home.