Annuals, annuals, and more annuals.
One thing I see less and less in gardens these days are gardeners that mix annual plants with perennials and shrubs. I’m not sure why, but it seems to be that fewer and fewer gardeners take the time to design border combinations using all kinds of herbaceous materials: annuals, perennials, and tender perennials like dahlias. Most of us regulate our annuals to traditional bedding areas or containers. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love annuals in containers, and a good bedding display in a park is always a pleasure, but you tell me if there is a better way to ensure season-long color in a garden than by including ever-blooming annuals in and around the hostas, hydrangeas, or boxwoods.
In thinking about it I began to wonder if the growing trend toward native plants and the use of local plant communities in garden design has stunted the appeal of designing with annuals, the majority of which are exotic varieties from tropical climates. When it comes to garden design I prefer to use every horticultural tool available, and I see no reason why a three-foot tall nicotiana won’t look amazing among the coneflowers. Or for a truly native feel try cleome (photo, right). They look like something right out of a nearby meadow and as they grow taller week after week they keep producing new blooms with no dead-heading required.
This time of year nurseries put their annuals on sale. The mad rush of spring is over and now nurseries must either sell what’s left at a discount, or toss it onto the compost pile. I believe in “belated seasonal gardening,” which means I buy my plants after their peak time. This strategy is good for tree purchases, great for perennial shopping, and perfect for grabbing up annuals. I save money and still have a great looking garden filled with flowers until season’s end when the first frosts of autumn set in.
By Daryl Beyers
Poundridge Nurseries is having a sale on annuals right now. Get 40% off all annuals today!
The art and passion for growing plants can be carried to extraordinary lengths. While I consider myself a skilled horticulturist, the folks that participate in flower shows (and be sure to know that the foliage is just as important as the flowers in a flower show) possess a dedication that makes the ardor of an ordinary gardener pale in comparison. Understanding how tricky it is to grow good plants, mere mortal gardeners appreciate what it takes to raise a perfect horticultural specimen, and so rather than becoming jealous of the success of these dedicated few we can appreciate and admire their accomplishments. 
Last week the residents of my town voted on a budget for the next fiscal year. There was some contention among the citizens regarding the need to raise taxes during difficult economic times, but the roads need paving, the police and fire departments must be funded, and the schools for our children staffed and maintained. The proposed budget failed by 76 votes. Now there is talk to slash the education budget in order to get the next budget approved. As the parent of two school-aged children I’d like to think that the money could be saved someplace else. Closing schools, laying off teachers, and canceling educational programs seems like a short sighted way to save money. 
or Viking appliance ever will. I’ve preached the value of good landscaping for years to my clients and students and I met with many skeptics, but in 2001 I found an article in the Wall Street Journal backing up my opinion with statistics. More recently, another study has been released and there is a great article about the benefits of landscaping your yard in an article in the Boston Globe. 
but a million dollar house deserves a $100K landscape. Anything less looks cheap. A Master Plan should be created from the beginning to avoid a hodge podge design because it may take several years to achieve the total budget and implement the plans. Much of the budget will be used up by the high cost of hardscape features like terraces, retaining walls, and walkways. Once those items are completed don’t skimp on the plants. Well established, healthy looking plants are what make a yard into a garden, and a garden is what turns a house into a home, the value of which, like a good education, is worth more than dollars and cents. 
The thing about rain is that it never rains right. When we need a good soaking we get squalls, more wind than wet and not enough water to soak through the mulch. When we’ve already had more than enough rain then we get even more, several inches more over several days. Rarely, if ever at all, does the perfect amount of rain fall slow and steady (between the hours of midnight and 5 AM) striking a perfect balance so that it falls from the sky as fast as it it seeps into the soil, thus avoiding runoff, erosion, and puddling.
First and foremost, a day of steady rain will show you the low spots in a landscape. These wet spots where water collects signal a need for better drainage—perhaps a new French drain or an improvement in soil structure—or it can suggest an opportunity to grow riparian shrubs like pussy willow and tatarian dogwood, or wetland trees such as taxodium or tupelo. Even better, you might choose to take advantage of the low spot and maybe go so far as to direct even more water towards it to create a rain garden. 
Late winter in New England is never an easy time. The weather turns quickly, changing from frigid, to raw (a term I never used for the weather until I came to Connecticut), to warm, and then back again to cold or raw. Wet and heavy snow, like the kind we had a few weeks ago, seems to occur at least once this time of year. This year’s storm was worse than most. Although the snow itself melted quickly afterwards, its destruction is still evident, especially west of the nursery into Bedford, Katonah, and Chappaqua.
There is something disconcerting about seeing the tops of mature trees snapped off like so many matchsticks. Even worse: older trees torn in two where the weight of the snow exposed unknown structural weaknesses. 
A pruner prunes to make a better plant. More specifically, pruning corrects plant growth to create a pleasing shape or form. Pruning keeps a plant in bounds by controlling its growth and it removes dead branches or diseased wood. Pruning can also be part of a cultivation program designed to stimulate the production of flowers, fruit, or finer foliage.
So be a good parent to your plants and either learn how to prune them yourself or hire someone who knows how to help you. You’ll be rewarded with healthy and strong, beautiful trees and shrubs that will accompany you well into old age. 
After 15 years as a professional garden designer I feel confident that I know what it takes to grow healthy plants in the landscape. The variables of sun exposure, soil condition, availabilty of water, and seasonal climate are all factored into my plant selections because what each plant needs to grow and thrive is just as important as the aesthetic qualities that make it suitable for a design. I know how to find the right plant for the right place but I must admit that when it came to house plants I often struggled. 
This is the time of year, as the catalogs arrive in the mail and seed displays pop up in the garden centers, when experienced gardeners start to think about seeds. This is also the time of year when we will be subjected to at least one heart-felt missive from a magazine editor, TV show host, or blogger, describing the magical moment when as a child they discovered the miracle of seeds. Although there is certainly something special about the idea of a full-sized plant, be it a zinnia or an oak, originating from something as small as a seed, it is foolish to carry your sense of wonder any further than that initial bean-sprouting-in-the-cup-on-the-window-sill moment of amazement.
The best seed starting advice I ever got was from Panyoti Kelaidis, a horticultural philosophizer and avid seed starter from Denver, Colorado. “Seeds want to grow,” he told me. That’s what they are designed to do. All they require of us is that we give them the opportunity. Panyoti’s technique for starting seed is to sow as many as you have in seed trays filled with a nice, light, soil mix. Then set the trays out in the garden and wait. Some seeds, like store-bought annual flowers and vegetables, will sprout right away, while others like self-collected, native perennials may need to go through an entire season exposed to the elements before they finally do their thing. The basic idea is to provide them with the right conditions (nice soil and a sunny spot) and step aside.
It’s winter time and what’s a gardener to do? Cold winds blow outside and snow covers the ground as night time temperatures drop into the teens and twenties. Snow and cold, however, is fine by me. I grew up in a Midwestern state where winter starts in early November and spring doesn’t show any sign of arriving until the end of April, so I am used to hunkering down for a long winter gardener’s nap. 
Life at a nursery changes with the seasons. It begins with a flurry of activity in the spring followed by doldrums through the dog days of summer and then a final mad dash in autumn. In the temperate climate of New England winter has little to occupy a nurseryman unless he or she chooses to rig their trucks with plows. There is, however, one last hurrah that a nursery can experience, and that is by transforming itself into a Holiday Store and Christmas tree lot. 
Beginning in October the transformation began and each day I noticed new holiday displays added to the store until it was literally filled to the rafters with pre-decorated Christmas trees and huge poinsettia plants.
The smiles of the children who arrived with their parents to pick out a Christmas tree, sit on Santa’s lap, and then visit the menagerie was enough to set a sparkle in this weary landscaper’s eye.