Border Patrol September 29, 2009
of The Seasonal Walk Saga
By Tovah Martin
Pairing Pairs
So, what will be different next year? Pairing growing heights of bulbs and perennials is an important factor. And, although there’s a billowy beauty to the mass of Pycnanthemum muticum in the front of the border, Oudolf worries that it will gain girth and overbear next year. The NYBG crew came up with the possible solution of digging and dividing the pycnanthemum to keep it within the bounds of a first year planting. Or they might move it back to the rear of the border. Stay tuned.
The same issue also stands for the Anemone japonicas. They’ll probably be moved to the rear of the border. And the Molinia ‘Dauerstrahl’ hasn’t earned its keep – another ornamental grass will be substituted. Now that the colchicums are beginning to bloom, extra Origanum laevigatum ‘Herrenhausen’ has been added to the edge to provide a foliar companion from which the cup-like colchicum flowers poke (think oversized crocus with little round herbs below, and you’ve got a good sense of the look). Running down the front, edging the border, a larger quantity of bulbs might be infused paired with squat perennial companions.
But those are minor tweaks. The successes far outweigh the blips. And right now, several perennials (in addition to Sedum ‘Matrona’) are still stepping out. Actaea simplex ‘Brunette’ is just stunning. With fat plumes of powdery white blossoms, it stands just a bit above almost everything else – Anemone ‘Whirlwind’ forms the next step down heightwise and is also snowy white. Echinacea ‘Green Jewel’ is the favorite of the NYBG staff – possessing all the qualities they hold dear and slipping into slumber gracefully with handsome seedheads.
And speaking of going by gracefully, the spent flowers of Astilbe ‘Visions in Pink’ are holding their spires in green rather than turning brown – appearing a lot like buds about to flower. And Tricyrtis ‘Sinonome’ is beginning to unfold its jewel-like flowers, giving us yet another magic moment in the future. Meanwhile, the ornamental grasses are sending up their plumes – sometimes see-through, sometimes like threads, often like fluffy fillers. It feels a lot like fall in the garden. But it strikes as hope rather than denouement. The Seasonal Walk continues to dangle promise – and fulfill its intent of nonstop splendor.
