The Southeastern Flower Show

                                
We're working at the Big House all day today, then tomorrow morning starts the big push for setup at the Southeastern Flower Show.  In typical fashion, my "helium hand" got me in trouble, and I'm managing the installation of a 20x20 garden for the Georgia Perennial Plant Association.  I use the term "managing" very loosely, since that also means loading, building, hammering, cutting, running around, printing, etc.

"How bad could it be?"  I thought, just before the 38-page book of rules arrived......(these flower show people are really a specialized cult, you know......)This year's overall theme is "In Tune with Blooms,"  so we're using a theme of "Rondo" in our display garden.

“Like the musical form of Rondo, gardening always returns to the central theme of healthy gardening practices that support the populations of insects, birds, bees and soil creatures.”

Pictures to follow in a day or two.......if you're in this part of the world, I hope to see you there!

Clematizing the Garden

Clematis "Duchess of Albany" (texensis)

Clematis "Rooguchi," (viticella) 

Princess Diana (texensis)

I went to a great program on Tuesday presented by the Georgia Perennial Plant Association (GPPA), with Lyndy Broder speaking about clematis.  I can see them becoming a new addiction for me!  The last one was salvias, which have taken over the perennial bed at the Stepchild Garden, and then it was achilleas.....

Lyndy is on the Board of the International Clematis Society, grows hundreds of them, and clearly knows her stuff.  For those who want to give them a try (or try some new cultivars), these are the ten she recommends most highly for Georgia (and I'm assuming other Southeastern) gardens (the bloom time listed in for Atlanta):

Arabella (integrifolia) blue-mauve, blooming April to Sept; trails on the ground
Betty Corning (viticella), pale blue, blooms May-August, a climber;
Duchess of Albany (texensis), bright pink, blooms April to October, climber;
Etoile Violette (viticella), dark purple, blooms April to October, climber
Henryii (early large), white, blooms April to July, climber;
Josephine (early large), double pink, blooms April to September, climber;
Madame Julia Correvon (viticella), wine red, blooms April to September, climber;
Princess Diana (texensis), luminous pink, blooms May to September, climber
Rooguchi (viticella), purple, blooms April to September, 3 feet tall
Venosa Violacea (viticella), white with purple veining, blooms May to October, climber.

I only bought three (from Dan Long of Brushwood Nursery, http://www.gardenvines.com/): 
Duchess of Albany, Rooguchi, and Princess Diana (all of the photos are from their website).  Will keep you posted on how they do.....

"The Pleasure Garden" Symposium at Atlanta Botanical Garden

Saturday I spent the day at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, attending the annual symposium that is orchestrated by the Georgia Perennial Plant Association.  Since I'm the current Vice President of GPPA, I'm perhaps biased, but this year's program was one of the best in the past few years.  One of the perks of being on the Board of the hosting organization is the opportunity to attend a casual dinner with the speakers the evening before the symposium, and the opportunity to chat with them in a very relaxed setting. 

I'll try to be brief, but there are points that I thought were particularly good from each of the five presentations on Saturday.  As a result, this post is going to be divided into at least a few parts, perhaps five. 

This year's theme was "The Pleasure Garden," so it was perfectly appropriate that the opening speaker was Dan Benarcik from Chanticleer, which is perhaps America's best garden designed solely for pleasure.  Dan likes to remind listeners that the mission of Chanticleer is not to be a botanical garden or a teaching space as much as it is just for sheer pleasure.

One of Dan's key points (at least to my listening) was that the point of gardening is really to please the gardener.  So often we get caught up in making sure that our garden appeals to visitors, neighbors, and passers-by, when the real point of creating a garden is to please one's self.  Dan went on to elaborate about making sure that the garden's style is YOUR style as the gardener.  If your style is not formal, why have a formal garden? If you are a little messy and eccentric by nature, shouldn't your garden express your quirks?

Because Dan Benarcik works in an incredibly beautiful place, he had a ton of great photos from "work," each more impressive than its predecessor.  A few that I found particularly striking (and ideas that I'm definitely stealing): A giant stone face (actually a fairly common sculpture) almost buried in a sea of Mexican Feather Grass, which really looks as though the person is sleeping.  Other things that Dan showed photos of are so simple, but really striking in their simplicity: a bowl of water sitting on the table in the sunroom, which gets filled with a few floating blossoms every morning (anyone can do this for a little bit of luxury at home), and then a beautiful photo showing hanging baskets planted with seasonal flowers hanging from the branches of a tree (an idea straight from Grandma's house, but one which makes an "estate" a "home".

I definitely am not doing justice to the photos from my descriptions, so Google "images" from Chanticleer Gardens and you'll see what I mean.  Frank and I are taking a short roadtrip to the Brandywine Valley in July, and Chanticleer will definitely be the highlight!

I'm Afraid Chuck Might Move Out of the Neighborhood

The Georgia Perennial Plant Association hosts its annual symposium at the Atlanta Botanical Garden this year on Saturday, February 5.  If you're within a couple of hours of Atlanta, it's definitely worth the drive. This year's theme is "The Pleasure Garden."  http://www.georgiaperennial.org/

I have attended the symposium for the past few years, and always come away with some great ideas for both the stepchild garden and the garden at The Big House.  Great new plants, cool combinations that I hadn't considered before, etc.,etc.  All good things.

Here's the problem........
Dan Benarcik from Chanticleer is the first speaker that morning.  Anyone who follows this blog knows that I'm a bit of a Dan Benarcik groupie, and have absolutely no problem telling people that my goal is to have a garden that looks like Chanticleer. 

The last time I became obsessed with something from Chanticleer was the Adirondack chairs that Chuck foolishly agreed to make for me as a birthday present.  (That story is in a post here from late July of last year).  By the time they were finally finished, Chuck almost threw them across the street to my house, and I had to do the painting!

I think I need to start reminding Chuck that his chairs are one of my favorite things in the garden, and remind him that they really weren't all that difficult to make..........if Dan Benarcik has any cool new things in his presentation for me to obsess about (and he will), I'm screwed.