Showing posts with label Plants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plants. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Bushels of Begonias

We were recently asked to plant a trio of indoor container gardens for a client's home. He had purchased a beautiful vintage plant stand at a home store in New York City and found three complimentary containers, aged aluminum boxes fitted into wire produce baskets. Together the pots filled the stand which he hoped to use as a room divider behind the couch. The space is bright - but  most indoor locations are considered quite dark by plant standards so we knew we would need plants that were shade tolerant, could handle some degree of neglect (as the homeowner travels) and would add a sophisticated touch of color to the well-decorated room.


Here you can see the three planters lined up on the stand awaiting the installation. Since there are no drainage holes in the containers, the bottom was lined with charcoal to help purify any water not immediately used by the plants and to keep their roots elevated above the excess moisture.

Sharon filled roughly half of the the containers with a commercial planting mix.

She selected a variety of fancy Begonias, ferns and ivy to add height, texture and color while tolerating the existing environmental conditions.

The plants were carefully arranged in the pots and soil was added around their roots.

Here you can see the foliage of these plants; a mix of burgundy, purple and silver leaves.


The plants add color, texture and height to the room as they divide the living and dining spaces.


The plants will receive enough light from the large windows in the room and need minimal water because of the shady conditions.

In detail, you can also see how the silver foliage compliments the plant stand and containers.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Fall Landscaping Tips



How to stay warm outdoors & what to grow
This year is flying by - it's time to switch gears from worrying about how your yard will make it through the summer heat, to enjoying cooler temperatures. LandscapingNetwork.com has gathered together excellent tips that will help you extend the use of your outdoor living space into fall and guide you in selecting the best plants for the season.
Staying Warm
Tip 1: Constructing a shade structure with a solid roof and then installing patio heaters along the roofline traps the heat, making your outdoor kitchen or patio much warmer. 
Tip 2: Erecting a windbreak helps to keep decks and patios warmer during transitional seasons. A windbreak can be a man-made fence or wall, or a row of shrubs or trees. 
What to Grow
Tip 3: Think vegetable season is over? Think again; Plant a fall crop such as kale, broccoli or radishes. It also isn't too early to start thinking about building a protective cover for your raised veggie beds that will prevent frost damage come winter. 
Tip 4: Select plants that will have maximum curb appeal during the fall for your home's front yard. Try combining smokebush, blue switch grass, yarrow and oakleaf hydrangea.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Rain, Rain, Go Away!


Isn't August suppose to be hot and dry? The rainfall has been very heavy this month across a large portion of the region, which has led to areas of flooding and complicated our work schedule. With todays storms and hurricane Irene's predicted landfall this weekend these totals will certainly rise! The rain totals have also been climbing the records list as well at some sites. The following is a ranking of the areas Augusts and other wettest months:

Philadelphia

Wettest Augusts
1) 13.00 inches in August 2011*
2) 12.10 inches in August 1911
3) 11.49 inches in August 1873
4) 10.29 inches in August 2009
5) 9.84 inches in August 1933

Wettest months
1) 13.07 inches in September 1999
2) 13.00 inches in August 2011*
3) 12.09 inches in September 1882
4) 11.50 inches in August 2011
5) 11.49 inches in August 1873

(records date back to 1872)

*Monthly total for August 2011, as of August 22
12.81 inches Philadelphia 4.7 NE

Most plants will tolerate this without any trouble, especially since July left the soil so dry, and new plants appreciate frequent watering. If you have any low-lying areas that tend to puddle for more than 24 hours though, those plants could be showing signs of stress, unfortunately there is not much you can do to remedy a temporary situation like this, but you can take steps to improve consistently wet areas including drainage or select plants known for their tolerance of wet soils, some of these include:

SHRUBS
Bottlebrush buckeye Aesculus parviflora,  Inkberry  Ilex glabra, Sweet pepperbush  Clethra alnifolia, Virginia sweetspire  Itea virginica, Winterberry Ilex verticillata

PERENNIALS
Bee balm Monarda didyma, Blue flag iris Iris brevicaulis, Japanese iris Iris ensata, Joe-Pye weed Eupatorium purpureum, Lady fern Athyrium filix-femina, River oats Chasmanthium latifolium, Royal fern Osmunda regalis, Siberian iris Iris siberica, Spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana, Swamp sunflower Helianthus angustifolium, Sweet flag Acorus gramineus, Yellow flag Iris pseudacorus

Another, and very descriptive list can be found at the following site:
http://www.cloudmountainfarm.com/pdf-guides/PlantsforProblemPlaces_Wet.pdf