Heeling in

The daylily 'Crescendo' mix from White Flower Farm arrived early, and after letting the box sit for a few days (never do that!), I took them out and heeled them in. I'll plant them for real when the daffodils arrive from Van Bourgondien.

Here's a rather dizzying look at the results.
 

Note that the daylilies have a pale and etiolated look from being boxed up three days longer than necessary.

Incidentally, lots of people have apparently had bad experiences with Van B., if you read the Dave's Garden postings. We (Mom, Judy, Biffy, me) have bought bulbs from them for years with no problems, so let's hope this order comes through as well.

White Flower Farm in the news

Okay, I know they're more expensive than some other places, but you really do get good quality from them in my experience. Anne Raver has an article about WFF in the New York Times that makes me long to see their border in full bloom. 280 feet by 20 of beautifully grown perennials must be breathtaking. Her memories of the packages her parents ordered from them rang a bell with me, too.

Fall orders

Have just ordered the "Crescendo" collection of daylilies from White Flower Farm for the pathway garden, and ordered a less pricey (and probably less elegant) collection of daffodils from Van Bourgondien to go with them. The plan is to have flowers and foliage from spring through late summer. The collections are about twice what I need, so I have the delicious problem of deciding where to put the extras - in the cutting garden along the side of the house? Or along the back fence?

I also ordered paper whites, Tommy crocuses and more English bluebells and feel very smug that for once I am not, like Henry Mitchell, having to take a drill to the ground in January to plant the bulbs!

Container Gardening

I'm never satisfied with my containers, so this year I decided to steal from the ideas in the new White Flower Farm catalog. They show several containers for shade that appealed to me, so I made my list and went out seeking their recommendations locally. I admire some caladiums but have trouble making them work for me. The WFF container with caladiums, though, had a restrained green, white and pink palate and, more to the point, I was able to find the varieties they recommended.




Here is the result. I like the way the caladium leaves wave in the wind. And they show to advantage on the new steps (a saga there for another post).

Here's another attempt, using pink, green and purple. Not so sure this one works but will give it time.