Garland Nursery

Our Art in the Garden

Now that the summer weather is here, I'm spending a lot of time outside dining on the back patio and enjoying the cool of the evening while sitting in my herb garden.  My husband grills chicken and I harvest blueberries and lettuce from our garden.  I may even weed and water.  It's very casual and relaxing.  When we finally sit down, we gaze at the overflowing beauty of the plants and the special garden art that adds contrast.  There is the garden fairy wall plaque that hangs on the fence and the gazing ball in its creamy concrete stand.  Above the ball is the choir girl made from a shovel that we purchased from Charles Creighton at the nursery's art fair several years ago.  Another handmade item is the hypertufa Gunnera leaf that was supposed to become a fountain but never did and now has this amazing moss growing on it.  I'm a collector, a pack rat unless I control myself, and you can see a theme in my yard.  So there are several angels, fairies, dragonflies and frogs. The frogs are all concrete statues from Campania International.  My newest addition to my frog collection is the tea and coffee drinking frogs.  However, my favorite is the dancing frog couple, since my husband and I really enjoy dancing together.  I may have to add the Zen frog next.  Scattered through-out are the functional decorations: the whimsical, orange trellises; metal obelisks; and colorful ceramic pots.  My husband even managed to use a broken border fork as a support in the herb garden.  Each of these items have a story, a memory or a special meaning to me and they express our interests and tastes.

                Adding art to your garden can be as simple as a blue glass bottle on a branch or as elaborate as a formal,  4-tiered Italian fountain.  You could choose a colorful, metal butterfly or a subtle, life-like concrete cat.  It could be a classic red Adirondack chair or a bizarre pyramid of bowling balls I saw in a photo once.  Old windows and mirrors can add an interesting accent. One thing I have wanted to create is a saying painted on a piece of wood to hang on the fence.  I just haven't gotten around to it yet.  My husband wants to turn one corner into a tribute to time, complete with a gravestone and a melted clock.  We're still negotiating on that one.

                Looking for that special addition to your landscape?  Come explore our annual Art and Wine in the Garden August 7th and 8th from 10am to 4pm.  Over 20 local artists will be at Garland Nursery selling their wonderful and unique garden art.

Singing the Blues By Karen Hopson

July Monthly Color -Blue

Blue is the epitome of coolness and serenity. It blends beautifully with pink, white, lavender and silver and forms excellent contrasts with yellow, orange and red.
The earliest blues in my garden comes from bulbs such as Anemones, Iris reticulate, Crocus, Muscari and Siberian Squills (Scilla). When the bulbs arrive in September be sure to add some of these blue treasures to your garden.
By April Forget-Me-Nots (Myosotis) form clouds of tiny blue flowers, self-seeding in between other emerging perennials. Columbines (Aquilegias), Siberian Iris, Mountain Knapweed (Centauria), Lithodora, Brunnera and Pulmonaria add blue tones throughout spring.
June brings elegant spires of Dephiniums, masses of hardy geraniums and mounds of Nepeta to add to the show. Blue annuals such as Ageratum, Cerinthe, Larkspur, Echium, Salvia and Love-in a-Mist (Nigella) provide color in every shade of blue in both the garden and bouquets.
In summer magnificent blooms of Hydrangeas are the stars of the shade garden. If you want to make your Hydrangeas more blue next year try adding aluminum sulfate in spring and fall (Ask for our handout on Hydrangeas).
For sunny spots the blue spiraea (Caryopteris) and Chaste Tree (Vitex) are stunning, deer resistant and drought tolerant once established. Another deer resistant plant, Harlequin Glory Bower (Clerodendrum) blooms with fragrant white flowers in August followed by jewel-like blue berries.
Blue is one of the most rare colors in nature but gardeners can select blue gems for every season.

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