Bromeliad Towers

Thanks to all for making our special three hour Saturday sale a success. It was a chance to replace lost plants, and a chance to complain about the weather. (Misery likes company) This has been the coldest and wettest spring on record. But gardeners are a hardy lot and even though we have been trying to plant in mud, we still try to plant. Now that summer (?) is here maybe we can finish planting. We hear the forecast is for a cool July. Humf.... We have friends in the Southeast who are complaining of 100*F temperatures and 95% humidity- at least we can not complain about it being too hot!

In spite of the cool weather, our six foot tall bromeliad towers were quite popular at the special sale. We got the idea from the late Brazilian landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx who designed something similar at his home near Rio de Janeiro and in public landscapes in Rio. We attached Neoregelias, Tillandsias and other epiphytic plants to tree fern trunks that are rooted in cement in a nursery pot. They are designed to be placed in a larger ceramic pot. They are great on the patio or in the garden and are quite different then most container plantings. They need dappled sun or afternoon shade so they do not burn in the sun. Because they use so many plants and take some time to put together, we are making them to order. They cost $250. If you are interested please e-mail us for more details.

SPECIAL SALE AND OPEN GARDEN

We have had one of the worst springs for gardening in recorded history. Our gardening friends have reported many plant losses because of the cold temperatures and copious quantities of rain. After touring our own garden between rain showers,we realized we had some damaged or dead plants as well. So now that the weather is turning for the better, we have to do some replanting. To help gardeners do some replanting, we are having a special 10% off sale and open garden Saturday, June 19th from 10am to 1pm. The plants in the greenhouse look great, unlike some of our plants in the garden.

Although not dead, the Saliva 'Hot Lips' looks pretty bad in the garden but our plants in the greenhouse look great. So we are replanting some. Most of the succulents have survived pretty well. The Agave-like Furcrea gigantea variegata is a tender tropical and fared the worst and started going down hill after about three weeks of March weather. It can be used as a house plant when temperatures turn cold. It is one of natures "drama queens" and in spite of its tenderness, it steals the show in the garden or in a nice container. The Echeverias have done fine and the Lewisia actually loved the cool weather. Plants are like people, some are dramatic, some are dry and others are all wet and rotten.