My Spring Pergola Garden
All the spring flowers are just spectacular this time of year - just look at the blooms under my long and winding pergola.
Soon after I bought my Bedford, New York farm, I built a long pergola along the carriage road leading up to my home specifically for clematis. Over the years, I've added lots of bulbs and perennials that bloom at different times throughout the season. Right now, the Camassia and alliums are covering the area in an eye-catching palette of purple and blue - it's just stunning.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- This garden under my long pergola grows more colorful and vibrant every year. And it transforms throughout the growing season. In a couple of months, this border shall change once again and feature lovely shades of orange.
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- The palette of blue and purple is a theme here at my farm. I use these colors in several of the gardens.
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- The most prominent plant in this pergola garden right now is the Camassia – it’s blooming profusely and so beautifully.
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- Camassia leichtlinii caerulea forms clusters of linear strappy foliage around upright racemes. Camassia is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to Canada and the United States. It is best grown in moist, fertile soil and full sun. Here it is in light blue.
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- On this, one can see the six-petaled, two-inch, star-shaped flowers.
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- Camassia also grows in this darker shade of blue.
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- The flower stalks stand 24 to 30 inches tall and display dozens of florets that open from the bottom up. Camassia is also known as camas, wild hyacinth, Indian hyacinth, and quamash. The bulbs are winter hardy in zones 4 to 8 and both the plant and the bulbs are resistant to deer and rodents.
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- Another beauty in the garden – the alliums. Alliums are often overlooked as one of the best bulbs for constant color throughout the season. They come in oval, spherical, or globular flower shapes, blooming in magnificent colors atop tall stems.
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- An allium flower head is a cluster of individual florets and the flower color may be white, yellow, pink, purple or blue.
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- Alliums require full sunlight, and rich, well-draining, and neutral pH soil. This one is intensely purple with tightly compacted globes that may bloom for up to five weeks.
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- Spanish Bluebells, Hyacinthoides, are unfussy members of the lily family, and native to Spain and Portugal. They are pretty and good for cutting – they add such a nice touch of blue.
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- Spanish Bluebells are also clump-forming and naturalize easily in the garden.
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- Catnip has jagged, somewhat heart-shaped leaves and thick stems that are both covered in fuzzy hairs. The botanical name for catnip is Nepeta cataria. The name Nepeta is believed to have come from the town of Nepete in Italy, and Cataria is thought to have come from the Latin word for cat.
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- Bordering the garden on both sides are these boxwood shrubs. There are more than 300 boxwood shrubs planted here. These boxwood shrubs were grown from small saplings right here at the farm.
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- On one side of the pergola is this giant weeping copper beech tree – I love these trees with their gorgeous forms and rich color. I have several large specimens on the property. The deep red to copper leaves grow densely on cascading pendulous branches.
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- In the “soccer field” between my orchard and my clematis pergola are six matched standard weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus ‘pendula’ – a dense tree with a strong center, a shapely form, and gracefully arching branches. These rare, slow growing, and exceptionally beautiful weeping hornbeams are full of gorgeous foliage.
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- In the center are wisteria standards. Right now, these beauties are cascading over the pergola and giving off the most intoxicating fragrance. Wisteria is valued for its beautiful clusters of flowers that come in purple, pink and white.
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- The flowers drape down from soft green heads of foliage. When blooming, the compact head of a wisteria looks so sensational.
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- Here they are overhead – so pretty. Wisterias flower best and grow most vigorously where they receive ample sunshine – at least six-hours a day. They thrive in any type of soil, as long as it is well drained.
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- I am so proud of this garden – it fills in and grows more beautifully every year.
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