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Oudolf's Stachys Spires (The Battery Gardens-Part 2)
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| Spires of pink-purple Stachys monieri 'Hummelo' (Alpine betony). Gardens of Remembrance at The Battery, New York, NY. June 2011 |
'Hummelo' is not your ordinary stachys. The crinkled green foliage is lush and in my zone 7b garden, it never dies back completely in the winter. Like many perennials, you'll know to divide it when a shallow pit (not quite a donut hole) appears in the middle. Suitable for zones 4-9, I find this perennial likes rich, well-drained soil and mostly sun. When it needs water, the plump mounds look totally deflated. Just add water to the base. A nice size of around 18 inches high (in bloom) and 15 inches wide, makes this a suitable plant for small spaces. Rabbits and deer have never bothered my 'Hummelo'. It make take a year or two for the perennial to begin producing the lovely purple spires.
Designer Piet Oudolf used an incredibly thick and wide mass planting of 'Hummelo' in his design. I can't begin to estimate the number of plants used in his vignette, but I think it's safe to say more than thirty!
Echinacea (coneflowers) and two colors of monarda (bee balm) are used as companions en masse to add to the breadth and depth of the garden island vignette. Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low' is added for the grey foliage and lacy, hazy blue flowers. I have experience with this nepeta. Another variety in my garden, Nepeta faassenii 'Six Hills Giant' is a possible substitution. In fact, I have that nepeta grouped with my 'Hummelo', ice plant and monarda 'Blue Stocking'. But, I digress. Let's get back to The Battery Gardens.
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| Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low' provides lacy blue blooms that fall onto the coneflowers, backed by stachys 'Hummelo'. |
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| Two colors of monarda (bee balm) rise behind the shorter stachys 'Hummelo'. |
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| The big picture of the perennial vignette with Stachys monieri 'Hummelo' at the core. |
There are six echinacea (coneflower) varieties used in the Gardens of Remembrance, but select a variety that grows well in your zone to achieve a similar effect. There were no plant markers that I could locate, so I cannot say with certainty which varieties are used in the designs.
The purpurea varieties in the gardens include 'Rubinstern' (a favorite in my garden), 'Leuchstern' and the native purple coneflower. Echinacea pallida (pale coneflower) and echinacea tennesseenis are two North American natives also in use in different locations.
Of the monarda, there are seven varieties listed in The Battery Plant Database. The red one in the photos is most likely monarda didyma, perhaps a 'Jacob Cline' though it is not included in the database. I grow 'Jacob Cline' and it is a stellar performer, growing over 4 feet, but needing more moisture than the wine-red 'Raspberry Wine'.
The pale pink bee balm looks lighter than the varieties listed by the Conservancy. Perhaps it is the 'Marshall's Delight' based upon the color description.
What I like, other than the scale and simplicity of the design, is that the plant choices are easy to maintain and fairly easy to find. Stachys monieri 'Hummelo' may be the most difficult to locate, though here are some online sources (at the time of this story):
Digging Dogs Nursery(California)
High Country Gardens (New Mexico)
Bluestone Perennials(Ohio)
LazySSFarm(Virginia)
Other aspects of the gardens that I find to be positive for home gardeners—the bee balm spreads quickly to fill in large space; the purple coneflowers can be grown from seeds; the stachys and nepeta can be easily divided—making the design achievable on a small budget.
Finally, this design is attractive to humans while attracting beneficial pollinators. That's a lot of positive reasons to create your own design—inspired by Piet Oudolf.
| Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons. |
Piet Oudolf's Design at The Battery, New York City (Part 1)
Millions of tourists rush to the ports in New York City to catch a ferry to visit landmarks such as The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. In the dash for the line, they seem unaware of a peaceful park. By the ferry port, by the water, at the tip of Manhattan, there are gardens overlooking the New York harbor. Paths and benches invite visitors to stroll and pause—but the paths and benches are mostly empty, except for a few who either stop to rest or photograph the flowers.
There are two primary gardens to visit, The Gardens of Remembrance and The Battery Bosque.
Along the harbor walkway, 10,000 square feet are planted as The Gardens of Remembrance as a tribute to the victims of 9/11. Piet Oudolf's phase one plan includes 114 varieties of perennials and native plants. Most of these plants are laid to deep rows along the paved walks and waterfront.
Set back in the shade of 140 London Plane trees, The Battery Bosque, Oudolf's phase two, is planted with 34,000 perennials to create a cool, lush garden. Gravel paths, circles and a spiral fountain invite visitors to linger on one of the many garden benches.
There are too many combinations to show in any detail in one post. Over the next few posts, I'll show you close up photographs of the plantings that I found most inspiring—providing you with plant identification, growing information and other attributes of the perennials. Please follow along on this garden tour.
Introduction to The Battery Conservancy Gardens
I'm a fan of the Dutch garden designer, Piet Oudolf. A few years ago I started making a list of his gardens and bookmarked The Battery Conservancy. The gardens did not surprise me as I had studied the plant lists and viewed photographs. However, the gardens did inspire me—the scale of the plantings and the combinations of color and texture. |
| Tourists in line for the ferry seem unaware of the gardens. I arrived just in time to be greeted by a Monarch butterfly on the milkweed (asclepias incarnata). |
Along the harbor walkway, 10,000 square feet are planted as The Gardens of Remembrance as a tribute to the victims of 9/11. Piet Oudolf's phase one plan includes 114 varieties of perennials and native plants. Most of these plants are laid to deep rows along the paved walks and waterfront.
Set back in the shade of 140 London Plane trees, The Battery Bosque, Oudolf's phase two, is planted with 34,000 perennials to create a cool, lush garden. Gravel paths, circles and a spiral fountain invite visitors to linger on one of the many garden benches.
There are too many combinations to show in any detail in one post. Over the next few posts, I'll show you close up photographs of the plantings that I found most inspiring—providing you with plant identification, growing information and other attributes of the perennials. Please follow along on this garden tour.
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| The Gardens of Remembrance, dedicated to the victims of 9/11. Piet Oudolf's phase one garden plan. |
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| The Battery Bosque. Piet Oudolf's phase two garden plan. |
| Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons. |
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Silver Foliage—A Perfect Foil (Part II)
Villain or hero? Is it possible for a simple silver plant to serve as a perfect foil—a contrast to highlight the finer points of primary plants in the garden?
We pick up the story, Silver Foliage—A Perfect Foil for Purple, where I left it in June 2010. The silver-haired character of this story is Dusty Miller.
Dusty Miller has more aliases than a secret agent. He registers under many names—Senecio cineraria, Senecio candicans, Ceneraria maritima, Centaurea maritima—so you must look carefully at his photo identification to make sure no other seedy characters are impersonating Dusty.
An annual visitor to many regions of the world, Dusty puts down permanent roots to establish himself at his many homes in zones 8a-10b.
Dusty's short stature of 6-12 inches allows him to travel incognito among the throngs until the time he chooses to shine his bright, white spotlight behind a primary plant character.
But, don't be fooled by the handsome Dusty Miller. When he dons his bright yellow hat, his charisma escalates and he'll court every pollinator in town. Be careful how you touch him, hold him and coddle him. He's lethal. He's toxic. All parts are poisonous.
We pick up the story, Silver Foliage—A Perfect Foil for Purple, where I left it in June 2010. The silver-haired character of this story is Dusty Miller.
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| Dusty Miller cools off his hot orange and yellow companions. Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild gardens, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France. May 2008 |
An annual visitor to many regions of the world, Dusty puts down permanent roots to establish himself at his many homes in zones 8a-10b.
Dusty's short stature of 6-12 inches allows him to travel incognito among the throngs until the time he chooses to shine his bright, white spotlight behind a primary plant character.
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| Dusty Miller is incognito in a crowd. Luxembourg Gardens, Paris, France. May 2009 |
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| Look behind the most beautiful wallflower in the crowd to see Dusty Miller shining bright. Luxembourg Gardens, Paris, France. May 2009 |
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| Dusty Miller contrasts with Salvia greggii 'Ultraviolet'. My garden. June 2011 |
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| Dusty Miller doesn't clash with the ground huggers sedum and purple heart. My garden. June 2011 |
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| Dusty Miller dons his bright yellow blooms to attract pollinators. My garden. June 2011 |
But, don't be fooled by the handsome Dusty Miller. When he dons his bright yellow hat, his charisma escalates and he'll court every pollinator in town. Be careful how you touch him, hold him and coddle him. He's lethal. He's toxic. All parts are poisonous.
| Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons. |
Whisper Words of Wisdom—Let It Bee
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| Keep the bees alive. Don't use insecticide. |
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| Let's give 'em something to buzz about. A variety of flowers attracts pollinators. Agastache, butterfly bush, cleome,liatris, rose campion, coneflowers, Russian sage and bee balm in bloom. June 2011. |
Pollinating is not just for bees. Ants, birds, butterflies, moths, wasps—and even wind and water are pollinators. Keeping chemicals out of the garden not only helps the insects but helps prevent pollution of our natural water sources and the air we breathe.
Everyone loves hummingbirds and growing monarda (bee balm) and salvia is a great way to attract the little sippers to your garden. Other hummingbird favorites include rose campion, cleome, agastache and zinnias.
The clearwing hummingbird moth (click link for my best picture) is one of the most fascinating pollinators to me. In the evenings, these moths are easily spotted in my garden.
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| A hummingbird and monarda (bee balm) 'Jacob Cline'. The oakleaf hollies in the background are covered by honeybees during early spring bloom. |
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| A clearwing hummingbird moth returns for an encore performance. Butterfly bushes are great food sources for all flying pollinators. Hemaris thysbe on a buddleia. June 2011. |
Of course, everyone loves to watch beautiful butterflies and I grow Three Wonderful Weeds to attract, feed and host butterflies in my garden. What Butterflies Want is Joe Pye Weed, so I added more of that favorite to my garden this year.
Gardeners—spread the word! Tell non-gardening friends, family and neighbors about the importance of pollinators.
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| Butterflies want Joe Pye Weed! Summer 2010. |
| Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel.All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons. |
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