Poundridge Nurseries, Inc. - Blog

This truly has been the winter of our discontent in New York and New England. Snowstorm after snowstorm, after ice storm, followed by another snowstorm, and then icy rain made January 2011 a perpetual snow day for the kids…and the adults. I tell folks this is just like every Midwestern winter where once the first snow falls you don’t see the ground until the spring thaw—usually sometime in late April. Here we should see bare ground before that, but nonetheless this has been a winter for the books.

All these snow days got me thinking about my past as an estate gardener when, to stay busy—and employed—through the winter months I spent a lot of time in the greenhouse starting seeds. It was a point of pride (and practicality) to grow bedding plants from seed. This afforded me the opportunity to feature a more diverse range of pansy, impatiens, and snapdragon, and it, quite literally, helped us afford the thousands of bedding annuals we wanted to include throughout the garden. Gardeners grow plants from seed because more varieties of plants are available that way, and getting twenty or thirty plants from a single $2.00 packet of seeds is unquestionably cost effective.

While not everyone enjoys the luxury of starting seeds in a proper glasshouse, many gardeners start seeds indoors in February on their windowsills or under grow lights. Sadly, many of these attempts do not succeed, despite the effort and care of even the most dedicated propagator. But there is another way: Winter Sown Seeds. The technique involves preparing little incubators, or mini-greenhouses, from milk jugs, plastic Chinese food containers, or some similar item with a weather proof bottom and a clear top. What you do is poke drainage holes in the bottom of the container, fill it with potting soil, sow the seeds, poke holes in the cover, snap it on top, and then set the whole thing outside and forget about it. The contraptions, seeds and all, freeze and thaw until ultimately the seeds germinate in sequence with the season. The result is hardier, sturdier, tougher seedlings that you can prick out and plant in your garden that spring. It’s also great for starting cool weather veggie crops like cabbage and carrots!

I found a great website that tells you how to do it. Check it out at www.wintersown.org

I like to celebrate the winter solstice. As a gardener it is natural to observe the cycles of the season and while the celebrations that herald the coming of January 1st seem arbitrary, marking the exact moment when the earth begins to draw closer to the sun, thus signaling the countdown to the growing season, is a truly significant event. Much more so than the day when I have to start writing 2011 instead of 2010 on my mortgage check.

Human constructions such as calendars, and even time, serve a purpose in our society, but the natural cycles of the seasons bring us closer to the world we live upon. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no advocate for turning back the clock to pagan days. I like my car, my cell phone, and especially the little computer I use to communicate ideas like these on this blog, but as a gardener (I reckon I would feel the same if I was a farmer, like my great-grandparents) I choose to celebrate the natural cycles of the earth.

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2011. I hope you will forgive my belated well wishing but the days ran away from me. After all, my new year started on December 21 at 6:38 P.M. EST.

Daryl Beyers
Landscape Designer

In late November most garden blogs are about the end of the season blues, or relief, depending upon the kind of season we’ve had. This year was not so easy at times, but all in all it was a good one. We started wet, very wet, and then dried out too much over the summer. Fortunately the season ended with enough rain to bring everything back from the brink and mild temperatures extended the fall foliage season to a colorful crescendo. For most nurseries the end of the planting season and the coming holidays marks the beginning of the down months, but at Poundridge Nurseries we have one more month of excitement, and it begins the day after Thanksgiving with the opening of our Holiday Store.

A tradition for more than half a century, the Holiday Store at Poundridge Nurseries is where families come to choose the perfect Christmas tree, select custom decorated wreaths, and let the kids share their wish lists with Santa. The day after Thanksgiving may be a shoppers’ bloodsport for some, but those with an appreciation for timeless tradition look forward to stepping inside our garden center, now magically transformed into a holiday wonderland, where browsing is as fun as buying.

It’s good to know that some things stay the same. The smell of a fresh cut Fraser fir, the taste of hot cider, the tinkling of bells and sparkling lights are all reassuring reminders of the joy to be found in this season-after-the-season when families and friends come together to give thanks, and then celebrate.

By Daryl Beyers

It’s getting colder outside as November approaches and while there are only a few weeks left to plant trees, shrubs, or perennials, there’s still plenty of time to plant flowering bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, crocus, and lilies. I plant bulbs until the ground freezes. In fact, it’s better to wait until temperatures hold steadily cool because then there is no fear that warm temperatures will make newly planted bulbs prematurely sprout.

Daffodils are the easiest, and some might say the best fall bulbs, because squirrels don’t dig them up and the deer won’t eat the flowers. Though dafs are limited to shades of gold, yellow, cream, and white, there are numerous combinations of sizes and forms to choose from. You may select an all white miniature like Narcissus ‘Wateri’ or a large cupped variety with yellow petals and a golden corona such as Narcissus ‘Fortissimo’. Some dafs naturalize, which means they multiply in the ground each year and in time 100 bulbs can turn into 1000s of flowers. Other types, like paper whites, are commonly sold in kits with a pot to force indoors, providing a fresh fragrance and delicate blooms on windowsills in winter.

Tulips, while not as sought after as they were during the European tulip mania in the early 17th century when a single bulb could fetch more than the annual income of a skilled crafstman, are still a great prize for any garden—if you have a deer fence and no resident groundhogs. Their range of sizes, colors, and forms knows no bounds. Species tulips are my favorites, natives of the mountainous regions of Central Asia they are more delicate than the well known, tall and fleshy Darwin hybrids and they do a better job coming back year after year, unlike most hybrids that tend to loose vigor and so are best treated as annuals.

Crocus and lilies open up a whole new world to a gardener willing to accept the delayed rewards of planting now and enjoying later. Maybe that’s what makes bulbs less popular today. In our instant gratification addicted society the idea of waiting 5 or 6 months to enjoy the flower you plant today is near anathema. I see things the opposite way. For me, planting a bulb is like making a deposit in my savings account of flowers. What I set aside today (in autumn) I will enjoy even more tomorrow (in the spring) because the wait makes those flowers feel like a gift instead of a purchase.

By Daryl Beyers

While summer is fine for vacationing on the shore it is often a very tough time in the garden, and we had a tough time of it this year with over 30 days of temperatures above 90 degrees combined with what seemed like days on end without rain. A lot of plants, some of them large trees, didn’t survive, and there were times, I’m sure, when we gardeners wondered if we would too.

Happily, Fall has arrived in New England, and though we probably can’t count on a very good autumn show of changing colors due to the tough summer conditions that have induced the trees to drop their leaves quickly and call it quits, these cooler days make me want to get back into the garden for some late season planting.

Whether it’s replacing the few plants that I lost this year, adding something new to a gap in the garden, or maybe just to reward myself with an interesting new cultivar, I stick by the old nurseryman’s adage that fall is for planting. Trees and shrubs are entering dormancy, making them safe to move, and perennials, while they might not look like much in their pots right now, have a full season’s growth of extra roots to help assure their survival. (Just be sure to water them in well when you plant in the fall.)

Another reason why gardeners love autumn: planting bulbs! More on that in our next post.

By Daryl Beyers

Did you know that September 23rd is the first day of Autumn? This is based upon the astronomical position of the Earth within it’s orbit around the sun. However, true seasonal autumn rarely coincides with astronomical autumn. In New England it’s pretty close, but September can still feel like summer. It isn’t until October that the evening temperatures stay consistently cool and the days aren’t as hot and humid.

This makes Autumn a great time to plant new trees and shrubs because there is less need for supplemental water. At this time of the year plants are entering dormancy and that makes it even easier to plant them with success, though it is important, if they are still actively growing, that they establish some new roots before the ground freezes.

I’ll have more to say about Fall in some upcoming posts, but for now, Happy Autumn Equinox to you all!

By Daryl Beyers

This isn’t a regular blog where we write about an interesting garden or landscaping topic, but we think you will find this topic as interesting as if we were writing about an amazing new perennial that, for instance, bloomed from March through November, that the deer will not eat, and that requires no maintenance whatsoever.

Poundridge Nurseries, Inc. is pleased to announce it’s first ever Preferred Customer Discount. Last week we sent out an email to all of our customers who have subscribed to our email list and offered them a 25% discount on everything for the entire month of August. They can simply print out the email and bring it in to recieve the discount. If they forget something and want to come back again they can print the email again and bring it in to get the 25% all month long.

It’s not too late to take advantage of our August promotion. You can print out a copy of this blog post and bring it to the nursery and you too will receive 25% off everything, including trees, shrubs, perennials, mulch, pots, artwork and more!

If you aren’t on our email list and want to receive these special notices about sales or promotions, simply follow the link below to sign up today.

By Daryl Beyers

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL LIST

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!

Earlier this year in March, well before the hustle and bustle of the spring planting season, a fellow designer and I attended the Philadelphia Flower Show. If you have never been to the Philly Flower Show you don’t know what you are missing. Make a point of attending next year. There is no better remedy for a wet and raw New England winter than to walk into a spacious hall bursting to the rafters with the flowers and foliage of countless plants.

After the initial shock of stepping into the midst of such intense greenery, like a couple of horticultural Charlies entering Wonka’s magical Chocolate Room, my colleague and I settled down and methodically visited every exhibit. The garden design installations were just the beginning. There were also flower arrangements, pressed flower collages, and best of all, the individual plant ribbon winners. There is something special about seeing a perfectly formed and absolutely healthy plant, such as tuberous begonias with flawless foliage, or orchids with petals impeccably timed to open for the show. My favorite was a wisteria vine trained into a tame little tree. Set among the other ribbon winners it stood like a proud lion taught to purr among the gazelles.

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.

Every plant at a flower show stands like a singular jewel, carefully poised upon a stage to display its beauty and perfection to full effect, and when you realize what it takes to grow plants this well–the skill, intuition, and what some might call horticultural magic, something only the greenest of green thumbs possess–you will never look at a show rose in the same way again. It inspires as it awes.

Though the major flower shows such as the PFS or New England Grows take place in the spring when we need their inspiration the most, there is a steady stream of local flower shows organized throughout the growing season. Whether its a local orchid society show or something larger with numerous categories, there is always something to be be learned by seeing the handiwork of expert plantsmen and women.

It just so happens that a flower show is coming to Poundridge Nurseries. “the proverbial gardener” A Standard Flower Show, sponsored by the Pound Ridge Garden Club, will take place on June 25th and 26th. Open to the public and with free admission, the show will represent the greenest thumbs within our community. I invite you all to attend.

Daryl Beyers

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.

Homeowners face similar budget dilemmas when they decide to improve their property. To pave or not to pave? Stick with oil heat or go with gas? Knock out that wall for a bigger kitchen or upgrade the appliances? But what about the landscaping? Landscaping is often the last item on the new homeowner’s to do list and as such it is often the first line item to suffer a budget cut. Studies have shown, however, that skimping on your landscaping is also a shortsighted way to save money.

Good landscaping increases the value of your home as much as 12-15%, and it does more for curb appeal than any granite counter top 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.

Here’s a link: Boston Globe Article

The idea is simple. Landscape your property well and it will look better and become more valuable. I’ve told clients that a good budget for comprehensive home landscaping is 10% of the value of the home. That raises a few eyebrows, 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.

By Daryl Beyers