Spaths and speakers!
February 28, 2008
High 25 F
Low 14 F
Flower shows can help with the winter blues. I am always on the lookout for forced plants which are a bit unusual and at smaller shows they can be in short supply! The Arisaemas or Jack in the Pulpits qualify, for me, as an interesting group.
The native Jack in the Pulpit favors boggy situations but these exotic, Asian species actually require excellent drainage.
They are varied in appearance and always interesting. This particular display was an upland woodland with lots of moss, ferns and rocks.
It was a beautiful display, subtle, serene and soothing. The crabapples and the azaleas are always a welcome sight but there is little unusual about those plants.
Delphiniums are wonderful. These were interplanted with foxgloves. Curious. I did find one really intriguing planting. What would possess a designer to plant stocks like this? Does anyone else find this curious?
I guess we will have to chalk it up to 'Artistic license. On another note, the speakers at flower shows are often well worth the ticket price. There were many wonderful speakers at the Rhode Island show but one that I have long wanted to hear was Barbara Damrosch of Four Season Farm fame. Barbara gave an excellent talk on her ornamental vegetable garden accompanied by a wonderful group of slides.
She has written The Garden Primer and her husband is the author of my favorite vegetable gardening book, Four Season Harvest. The Garden Primer has been updated but I have not yet acquired the new version. I would highly recommend both of these books for the garden book lover's library.