This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Viola koreana

Alex Teller wrote:
> 
> Hi Diana,
> 
> I'd also like to know more about your nursery and about your gardening in
> general.  Privately or even better publicly, the latter because I am sure
> other people are fascinated too with your knowledge of the various subjects
> you comment on.  I have learned a lot from your answers to other people's
> questions.
> 
> Alex
 > Rika
Well, as most people in the business can attest to, when you're done
primping and pampering thousands of plants all day long, you don't
really have the ambition to go home and do it some more.
I used to have very nice gardens that were stuffed beyond the ability to
grow a weed.  Now, I have steered it more toward being a perennial
garden that doesn't require much care.  I do have 2 areas that are still
very nice, even tho they don't require any real care.  One is a
north-facing retaining wall that has a corner at the east end (read this
as NO sun...).  I have 3 tall growing ferns at the back, a Gunnera
manicata offset to one side, underplanted with sweet woodruff, dicentra
luxurient and filled with numerous primula that range in height from 4"
to 3'.  The gunnera certainly grabs your eye, and the rest is always
unfolding.
The other garden is a niche at the front entryway that has an enormous
dicentra spectabalis at the back, fronted by hostas and solidly carpeted
with baby tears.  A very attractive statue of Mary presides over it. 
Only one little glitch....I paid $35 for a 2" potted Aresima taiwanensis
from Heronswood 4 years ago.  I wanted to keep a close eye on it, and
planted it next to Mary. Now, a four-foot tall Jack-In-The-Pulpit with
snakeskin stalk towering over Mary somehow defeats the sense of serenity
that I was striving for.
I want to build a house at the Greenhouse property in a couple years,
and am now refusing to put any more into this garden.
As for the Nursery, we concentrate on 'The Other' plants rather than the
top 200 best sellers. Last year we grew over 700 varieties, even when
lumping all the bedding plants as a single variety.  We have low
overhead, and thus pass this on to the customer (average 1 gallon
container is $4.49).  We try to grow as much as possible on-site rather
than buy it in from the big wholesalers.  When we have to buy from them,
THEY set the price.  I have a personal affinity for the strange, some
items even border on the weird.  Twisted, contorted, weeping, odd and
unusual find a place at The Greenhouse (plants only, thank you.).  Our
goal is not so much dollar driven, but to make sure that you can grow a
plant well.  (I've taken many a Adiantum radd. out of someones hands
when they say they have wood heat.)
We are getting a reputation as the place to go for vines (36 varieties
last year), hardy geraniums, primulas and ferns. The property is 4
acres, and at this point we have 10,000 square feet in retail area. 
2300 sq. ft. are under greenhouse, the rest is open.  Next summer I hope
to add two more greenhouse ranges on and cover a 40x96 area for more
shade plants.
Point to note, we've only been open since last February.  We have lots
of plans up our sleeve!  We don't have great demo gardens yet, but we
have an old hay shelter (mini barn) that is planted with silver lace
vine, golden hops, maurgarites and digitalis mertonensis.  The new sign
has a nice planting around it....more will come.
I'm not sure if this is what you wished to know, but here it is.
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index