Tranquil TimesSummer 2011 Newsletter |
Treasuring the Plants Around Us Plants are objects of wonder for what they provide aesthetically, economically and environmentally. We simply wouldn’t exist without their ability to photosynthesize, converting the energy from the sun to the food that feeds all living things. They not only provide humanity with food, fiber, pharmaceuticals and beauty, they also give us that essential element, oxygen. Yet while plants are as ubiquitous as the atmosphere, we get so busy sometimes that they become nearly invisible. We encourage you to stop, see and smell the flowers daily. Plants, and the gardens that are made from them, are also essential for their innate beauty and the pleasure they give us. Paraphrasing Ralph Waldo Emerson, “beauty is its own excuse for being.” And what a world of beauty plants have to offer; emerald green mosses, red-capped lichens, fragrant and brightly colored flowers and the sculptural forms of woody trees and shrubs. If there is a bare spot of ground almost anywhere on earth, a plant of some type will grow there. Nature abhors a void. Of course, many of these opportunistic plants are not always appreciated as cited in the book “Weeds: In Defense of Nature’s Most Unloved Plants” by Richard Mabey. We should all acquire a taste for purslane and celebrate its beauty and good taste. I’ve always been fascinated by the unique plant communities that grow in rocky niches and shallow soils. On the cliff face of Mount Champlain in Maine, surviving in scarce inches of gravely soil and organic duff grows bonsai-like bear oak (Quercus ilicifolia), juniper (Juniperus communis ‘Repanda’), bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) and wine leaf cinquefoil (Potentilla tridentata). This is a beautiful planting combination that can easily be translated to the built landscape to form a garden in a sunny dry site in the city or country. Potentilla tridentata is an excellent replacement for unneeded turf. Its leaves turn a beautiful wine- red color in fall. Bayberry is a drought and salt-tolerant shrub that can be used as a three-to-four foot high groundcover or small tree showing off its grey bark. Bayberry’s glossy leaves are delightfully fragrant and female plants sport waxy, blue fruit. The Morton Arboretum’s female selection of bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica ‘Silver Sprite’) draws attention.anuary to March.A superb companion for ‘Silver Sprite’ bayberry is a male clone of sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides ‘Sprite’). This compact male form displays a mantle of fine textured, silver foliage. ‘Sprite’ sea-buckthorn is also salt and drought tolerant. I’ve used it to make a ‘lavender-like’ hedge, planted in gravely-soil on a steep slope retaining a bluestone terrace in full sun! ‘Spite’s silver-grey leaves last into December and leafs out early in spring maintaining a winter presence of sinuous stems. Fragrant flowers add an extra element of delight in any garden. Daphne x transatlanticum ‘Eternal Fragrance’ can’t be beat for scent and season of bloom. Sweet clusters of star like flowers start blooming in late May and continue through the summer with a crescendo of heavy re-bloom in September and October. Grow Daphne in sun to part shade in well drained soil. We’ve been treasuring plants and encouraging their cultivation at Tranquil Lake Nursery for twenty five years and love to share our experiences with you to better appreciate the wonders of plants and garden making. Warren Leach |
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This is an exciting year for Tranquil Lake Nursery as we plan for the future of the business. In the spring newsletter we told you about the work that we are doing to preserve the land by working with agricultural and conservation groups. While this is a very slow process, we feel that things are moving forward. We are especially pleased that the nursery property is seen by so many others as an important environmental resource, for both its sandy agricultural soils and it location along the Palmer River. We will keep you apprized of future details on our website. August 20 & October 8 The spring Garden Design Days were so poular that we are bringing them back for the summer and fall. This is a great opportunity to meet one-on-one with garden designer Warren Leach to discuss planting solutions for a garden problem. Does your garden need design finesse? Are you looking for planting solutions for a problem garden area? Or, do you just need to decide where to start? Preregistration is required and must be accompanied by a $50 registration fee. This fee is redeemable for plants on the day of the consult. Consultation slots will be filled on a first call - first serve basis, so call and reserve your design time now. Tranquil Lake Nursery also offers custom landscape design and installation. For those who prefer to do the work themselves, but just need a little guidance, you can also request a private garden consultation in your own garden. A limited number of one hour consultations are available with Warren Leach, for a fee. These are generally schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the end of the day around 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. Send us an e-mail to request the next available appointment. Free and open to the public.
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