A pleasurable way to while away a gorgeous day in high summer is to take in a garden tour. Add the opportunity to see very dear friends who are equally plant crazy and toss in a midday meal at an outdoor café to celebrate a birthday……well, count me in.
So a recent Saturday found me up and out of the house early and on my way to meet Maureen, Jill and Cathy. We gathered, as usual, at Starbucks in Forest Lake where we refueled on coffee and grabbed irresistible donuts, lemon bread and yogurt parfaits.
Our destination was Minneapolis and Tangletown Gardens, the ultra hip garden center that was sponsoring their annual Garden & Art Tour. None of our group had ever been on this tour and we were eager to check it out—and, truly, not just for the wine tastings in the gardens.
Here are a few highlights.
Hidden behind a rather formal, buttoned-up-looking landscape was a lovely intimate space. Walled on two sides and protected by the back of the house and a garage-turned-garden room was an outdoor dining room constructed somewhat like a pergola. The wooden ceiling was lit by several strands of fairy lights and long, billowing curtains hung from rods. The big rustic table was flanked by comfy chairs and we all thought, “What a fine party spot.”
The most fabulous specimens of Tiger Eyes sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’) any of us had seen. Believe the catalogs when they list mature size at 6’ x 6’. The wicker chair is cute, too.
Why not hang a basket from a boulevard oak tree? This unique container included a red-blooming bromeliad, ferns and polka dot plants.
An island bed that exemplified my ideal: massed plantings; nice mixture of both woody and herbaceous plants; excellent contrasts in texture, shape and size; good bloom sequence. Amongst the chamaecyparis, birch, hydrangea, heucheras, thalictrum and grasses was a geranium new to all of us, Geranium endressii. It was low-growing, a pretty shade of soft purple and very tidy in appearance.
Quick thoughts about my recent solo excursion to Maine while visiting friend and business colleague, Chris Mathan of The Sportman's Cabinet in Gorham.....
Who knew May would be the perfect time to visit? The weather cooperated in that fine spring way with fresh breezes and bright skies. It's pre-season (i.e., not crowded) in an area that crawls with out-of-state tourists during the summer months. Also, lilacs were in full bloom everywhere.
I have never seen so many lilacs. They seem to be planted in the garden of every Maine home and planted with gusto. A lone lilac was rare; usually they were part of a shrub border or hedge. For the most part, the plants were the old-fashioned purple lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Sprinkled in, though, and just enough for contrast, were white lilacs (Syringa vulgaris 'Alba') and occasionally, some darker lavenders and pale pinks.
I felt completely at home for, in many ways, Maine is like Minnesota and full of pines, moose, loons and blueberries. Maine looks like Minnesota but with an ocean instead of 11,842 lakes.
My trip was a series of bests.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best caramel roll, called a Morning Bun at Standard Baking Co., located just off the wharf in Portland. The dough was the perfect consistency–light, almost croissant-like–and swirled with just enough caramel and cinnamon. Plus the size was exactly right. I felt like Goldilocks.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best container and fountain selection at very cool garden shop, Fiachre, in Portland.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best dry-laid rock walls fashioned of granite or field stones outside of the British Isles.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best hand-poured, fragrant (Orange & Sage), beeswax candle at chic boutique, Minka, in Kennebunkport.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best lobster meal at Bob's Seafood in Windham.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best label, Sea Glass, for a bottle of sauvignon blanc.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best walk with a friend on an expansive bit of sandy Popham Beach on the Atlantic Ocean when the tide was receding.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best two-fer: huge slice of real blueberry pie at Sarah's Café in the quintessentially quaint seaside village, Wiscasset.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best crab at the casual family restaurant, Estes Lobster House, at the tip of a picturesque neck of land in South Harpswell.
?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe (swoon) and Cate Blanchett (ethereal).
On my final evening in Maine, the best garden tour in the enchanting, romantic garden of Mary Emerson in Gorham followed by take-out cartons of Thai food and a jug of pinot grigio.
If you ask me, the lovely month of May is made for one thing when it comes to gardening: trolling nurseries and buying plants. I have a pickup truck and I'm not afraid to use it. ~ Maria Rodale, Organic Gardening Magazine
I couldn't agree more.
Greenhouses and nurseries are open for the season and my vehicle keys are jingling. For the most part, greenhouses and nurseries are the source of all that will be planted in the garden this year. In other words, we can only buy and plant what they're selling. Ergo, we must visit.
Even though it's too early to plant tender annuals, vegetables and herbs, go now. You can plant trees, shrubs, woody vines, cool-season vegetables, rhubarb and asparagus. Besides, the nurseries are jam-packed and overflowing with vibrant flowers and lush greenery. Too, greenhouses smell good–fresh, earthy and, if one is lucky enough to brush by a flat of heliotrope or stock, sweet.
Every spring, a group of friends and I make a pilgrimage to various greenhouses and nurseries. Special provisions are made, vehicle-wise. Trunks are stripped bare. Miscellaneous debris and detritus are tossed. One memorable year, I drove our pick-up truck which has an eight-compartment dog topper. On the return trip, all eight of those cubby-holes were chock-full of plants.
Greenhouses, nurseries, garden groups and nonprofits are offering all kinds of events to lure you out of the house and to rouse your gardening genius. Listed below is a sampling. You might have to travel a bit, but I swear on a stack of garden books, it will be worth the effort!
Art in Bloom, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, April 30 – May 3. artsmia.org/art-in-bloom-2009, (612) 870-3279.
Audubon Center of the North Woods, Sandstone, hosts wonderful events including a Maple Syrup Brunch and a dinner program featuring dragonflies. audubon-center.org, 320-245-2648.
Bachman's. The epitome of spring flower shows in Minnesota is The Macy's Bachman's Flower Show, Dream in Color, April 5 – 19 at Macy's in downtown Minneapolis. bachmans.com, 612-861-7600.
That's a grabber of a headline! What gardener who adores travel wouldn't read that story? The front page of the Travel section of the New York Times recently featured a photograph of an outdoor café surrounded by a leafy bower and that headline. I wanted to be on the next plane to Paris!
The writer, while not a gardener herself, has lived in France for six years and has spent weekends strolling through the various arrondissements of Paris. She discovers gardens everywhere–even in quiet, out-of-the-way neighborhoods–and all are replete with flowers and plants and tranquility.
For further information on this most enticing subject, check out The Secret Gardens of Paris by Alexandra D'Arnoux and Bruno De Laubadere or the following websites: www.paris-walking-tours.com/parisgardens.html or www.nytimes.com/travel and go to the slide slow entitled The Quiet Corners of Paris.
Empty the vehicle! Fold down the back seats! It's time to "brake for plants!"
In the April 2008 issue of Midwest Living magazine, author Deb Wiley wrote of a plant-buying trek she made through southeast Wisconsin. The title of the piece was "I Brake for Plants," a concept I can definitely identify with.
Apparently, so can many gardeners. My friend, Josette, recently drove to Wisconsin and planned to visit many of the same nurseries Wiley did. From Ely, my sister-in-law, Dea, travels south every spring–leisurely driving from nursery to nursery and filling the back of her vehicle.
For many years, my gardening friends and I made a day-long (a.k.a. a long day, promising our husbands we'd be home in mid afternoon only to arrive in an exhausted heap just before the sun was setting) excursion to favorite nurseries on the other side of the Twin Cities. Over the years, we perfected our itinerary and our routine. Breakfast of coffee and scones were enjoyed in the vehicle on the way to the first stop–the nursery farthest to the west. We then slowly made our way back east but always timed one greenhouse visit to coincide with a badly needed pit stop in Excelsior for huge custard cones.
Since we needed space for plants, we learned to exploit every nook and cranny in our vehicles and, with the exception of the driver, even resorted to traveling with flats on our laps and hanging baskets at our feet. (One year was especially fun and memorable. I drove our pick-up truck which is outfitted with an 8-compartment dog topper. Every one of those eight cubbies was jam-packed with flats!)
I just returned from this year's trip and I'm very proud of my haul. Perennials include variegated Solomon's Seal, a darling violet, golden moneywort, bleeding heart and, freshly dug from the nursery's own fields, a wildflower with the cool name of Merry Bells (Uvularia grandiflora, which is a large-flowered species of the genus I discovered in our woods.) I also found a favorite artemisia, 'Powis Castle', which I'm planning to use in a container garden. It's not hardy to our area but I'll dig it in next fall in hopes of over wintering it.
I bought more common plants like ivies, vines, herbs and annuals (including heliotrope). Some unusual annuals include a 'Butterfly' impatiens, Verbena bonariensis 'Little One', 'Kent Beauty' oregano and neat cultivars of salvia, gomphrena and eucalyptus.
Do you love to travel? Think you might be descended from vagabonds or gypsies? (And who wouldn't after seeing Johnny Depp as a gypsy in Chocolat?) Hear the call of the open road? Me, too!
While I agree with certain lyrics from the song, If Ever I Would Leave You, from Camelot… "It wouldn't be in summer…It couldn't be in autumn…Oh no, not in spring-time!" …I very definitely can leave Minnesota in winter.
Even the most even-keeled, level-headed person can become a little cranky in February. So I say, head south. Lift your face to the sun and feel genuine warmth. Savor moist, balmy air on bare arms and legs. Wiggle toes in flip-flops.
I have a couple quirky habits. One could blame them on being a horticulturist and a foodie, but they definitely enhance the holiday experience.
I adorn the room/cabin/bungalow with fresh flowers. A bouquet or flowering plant brings instant color, fragrance and joy no matter where I'm staying. Find the nearest flower shop, grocery store and buy a little something. Very often, a plain glass jar from the bathroom makes a satisfactory vase. As a small thank-you to the staff, leave the flowers in the room.
Also, I always take time to visit local botanic gardens, arboretums, parks, natural areas, greenhouses, nurseries, garden centers or flower shops. Some research can be completed prior to the trip, but I nose around a bit at my destination to get good advice about local sights and shops.
If traveling by car, I stock our old-fashioned, wooden picnic basket with tea lights, cookies and happy hour supplies of corkscrew, cashews and paper cocktail napkins.
Just because it's winter, doesn't mean you can't: #1 go to a greenhouse or nursery; or #2 purchase something for the garden.
Many greenhouses and garden centers close for the season but I'm partial to those that remain open. I'm a year-round gardener with ideas and cravings that need year-round satisfaction. I have a list of favorite shops scattered here and there and I regularly pay them all visits. Recently, I hit the jackpot!
At this particular greenhouse, my first stop is always the colorful and fragrant cut flower cooler. Timing can be everything and, that day, the designer was just adding her newest creation to the display: a u-shaped crystal vase out of which she had fashioned a pussy willow wreath entwined with roses and lilies. Wow! (I have visions of a forsythia wreath and perhaps a grapevine wreath twined with wax flowers.)
As I wandered over to the greenhouse, I discovered a beautiful blue and white porcelain container. Come summer it will look perfect outside with my blue chairs but for now, it's a classy catch-all for the dogs' various chew toys.
I also noticed a new display of very cool beaded glass art. There were flowers, birds and butterflies on sturdy galvanized metal wire in bright colors and many sizes. I couldn't resist a purple and green dragonfly gracefully swinging at the end of a tall garden stake. Whether enhancing the indoor or outdoor garden, my dragonfly will add that touch of whimsy.
Even if you don't buy anything, a visit to a greenhouse can be the perfect antidote to winter angst. Just take deep breaths of the moist, earthy air and, like a hound dog, follow your nose to the hyacinths, roses and lilies.
Most year-round greenhouses and nurseries and many floral shops are now hosting holiday open houses. These are not to be missed! Check in local newspapers or call the shops directly for dates.
Also, this can be a wonderful time of year for special sales, shows and boutiques. By all means, get out and go! But don't rush too much at each place. Take time–not only to sample food and drink offerings and to sign up for those door prizes–but to wander and wonder, for that's when we can be most creative.
Recently my mom and I took another of our spring mini-trips. She is a terrific traveling companion and together we've had some memorable jaunts. Amazingly, visits to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, Winterthur in Delaware and Callaway Gardens in Georgia have all had a garden theme.
One of our favorites, though, was an exception. We traveled to Martha's Vineyard where we tooted around the island in a cute, purple Hyundai Sportage and ate fresh fish and seafood every day. We could imagine the life of one of my murder mystery heroes, J.W. Jackson. He is a retired Boston cop who supports himself by solving murders and fishing. He's always drinking Sam Adam's beer and is a good cook who prepares and eats those fish. Philip R. Craig is the author and uses such mouthwatering prose that I always get hungry and thirsty while reading his books.
This spring, however, we drove to Glencoe, Illinois, and spent a couple of days at the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG). What a superior facility! It is 385 acres of display gardens, lakes, woods and prairies. It is a collection of 2.3 million plants, a fine teaching garden and a world leader in conservation and restoration research. I've been a member for years and am proud to support it.
Our timing was lucky. We saw not only the peak of the bulb display (thousands and thousands) but the redbuds, Cercis canadensis, were in full bloom all over Chicago. Beautiful and breathtaking!
Our destination was Minneapolis and Tangletown Gardens, the ultra hip garden center that was sponsoring their annual Garden & Art Tour. None of our group had ever been on this tour and we were eager to check it out—and, truly, not just for the wine tastings in the gardens.
