The gardener's eye

The Gardener's Eye

Sunday, October 28, 2012

My View From Federal Twist


The garden bogging world is a small one and you never know who you might bump into at a symposium or conference. I went to the Perennial Plant Conference at Swarthmore College last week with some gardening friends and spotted a familiar name on a tag: James Golden. James, if you don't already know, has an excellent blog called View From Federal Twist chronicling his "New American" prairie garden, called Federal Twist, in Stockton, NJ as well as his contemporary urban garden in Brooklyn, NY. He has developed a beautiful, what he refers to as wet prairie garden, influenced by gardeners such as Piet Oudolf, Noel Kingsbury (who also visited Federal Twist that day) Dan Pearson, Henk Gerritsen, and Oehme and Van Sweden.

James invited me and my friends, Maude and Tovah, to visit Federal Twist on the way home to New England and we all agreed to take him up on the invitation immediately. We had a full agenda that day because Tovah had a book signing for her new book, The Unexpected Houseplant in the morning so we didn't make it to Federal Twist until after 4 PM. As luck would have it, the light was magical, as was the garden.

























Thanks, Jim, for a wonderful garden tour. It was such a pleasure to visit in autumn when the seed-heads and fall foliage were in their full glory. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend View From Federal Twist. James is a thoughtful and erudite writer who has a real pulse on what is currently happening in gardening.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

More pre-frost Combos


 Amicia zygomeris ‘John’s Big Splash’ contrasting with the red foliage of Hibiscus acetosella 'Maple Sugar' in the Upper Garden


Hibiscus acetosella 'Maple Sugar' again, this time contrasting with the colorful vine, Mina lobata 'Jungle Queen Yellow'


Arundo donax 'Gold Variegated' , Nicotiana knightiana,  Aster 'Little Carlow' backed by Gleditsia triacanthos 'Ruby Lace' and Buddleia alternifolia 'Argentea'


Cuphea laevis and Cotinus 'Grace' in the Lower Garden


A close-up view of the subtle charms of Cuphea laevis

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Nice Early (pre-frost) October Combinations


Nicotiana knightiana with spires of chartreuse flowers at the Pavilion Garden at Depot Park


The glaucous foliage of Crambe maritima contrast well with the rust colored leaves of Syringa pubescens subsp. patula 'Miss Kim'


Not a moment too soon, Salvia gargantua finally blooms at Boccelli Garden with the red foliage of Viburnum sargentii 'Onondaga' in the backround


Gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields', Nicotiana langsdorffii, Miscanthus 'Silver Shadow' and Cuphea llavea 'Bat Face'


Cuphea llavea 'Bat Face', Perovskia atriplicifoliaSalvia gargantua and Tanacetum vulgare 'Isla Gold'


Persicaria amplexicaulisHydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond', Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' and Euphorbia griffithii 'Dixter'

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails