End of the Season Container Report

It’s October 20th, and although we’ve flirted with temps in the low 30’s…we haven’t had a frost yet! We had reasonable summer weather, although not much rain in August and September. The containers we planted in June have held up well, although a few plants had to be edited out or cut back midseason. Once […]

Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’

Plectranthus is a large genus from South Africa, related to Coleus. This selection, ‘Mona Lavender’, was bred at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town, S Africa in the 1990’s and was introduced into the US market by Ball Horticultural. Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’ is a stunning plant bearing dark green foliage with eggplant purple undersides. She […]

Thalictrum x ‘Splendide’

There are some plants which you have to meet in person, as photographs just can’t convey their personality or presence. Thalictrum ‘Splendide’, a new giant Meadowrue from French breeder Thierry Delabroye, is one such specimen. Vigorous stalks shoot to the sky  ( 6-9′ in height), are heavily branched and bear clouds of dime sized lavender […]

Early Summer Container Report

My goal each season is to plant containers that are easy to maintain and will carryon summer through fall. For sunny areas, I’ve come to look at succulents as such reliable performers. They always oblige… often looking even more fabulous at season’s end. For areas with more shade, I lean towards Begonias and other plants […]

Container Report: late September 2020

Two words sum up this summer’s weather here along the coast of southern New England: hot and dry.  Here at the end of September, our parched gardens are still waiting for the rain predictions to materialize.  Sigh. The gardens are looking tarnished  but the container plantings held up better since their watering needs are more easily met. As […]

Abutilon ‘Dwarf Red’

Are you looking for something different for a fall display in your containers? Check out Abutilon ‘Dwarf Red’…it celebrates autumn with multitudes of dark orange flowers, and can, if brought indoors and kept in a sun filled space, will continue to carry on the show. We grow a number of Abutilon selections  in containers which […]

September Report: Containers 2016

Here it is, the very end of September 2016, and at last we are finally getting the rain we’ve begged for all summer. Good thing, but I’ve been waiting for a cool crisp sunny day to capture images of the end of the summer containers, and with a prolonged rainy spell in the forecast I probably should not […]