Let's Plant a Garden

William Shakespeare grew up as a country boy and never lost his love for flowers.  The house where he was born must have had a garden, even if a small one, with an all-important herb garden and, perhaps, an orchard at the back.

The world's most renowned poet-dramatist liked to use flowers as images to illustrate his ideas about people, and these became especially prevalent in his later works, when he had returned to live at his boyhood hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon.   (To learn more about what grew in the gardens of Elizabethan England, see Shakespeare's Flowers by Jessica Kerr.)

Flowers and other plants serve not only as inspiration and as symbols in art, but they also can become art when we place them properly and pleasingly in a garden setting.   According to Gretchen Harshbarger (1906-1989), Iowa's renowned landscape architect, author-photographer and hosta originator, "There is no greater expression of art than creating a beautiful garden or more rewarding joy than sharing its delights with others."

1. Hosta
   • Colors and color combinations are varied.
   • Many textures and leaf shapes available.
   • Although primarily a foliage plant, its flowers also are interesting.
   
   
2. Daffodil
   • Bulbs not eaten by mice and squirrels.
   • Great en masse.
   • Early spring color and fragrance.
   
   
3. Lily (Hemerocallis, Asiatic and Oriental)
   • Easy to care for.
   • Velvety blooms in gorgeous colors.
   • Often fragrant.
   
   
4. Daisy
   • Fresh-looking and long-lasting.
   • Pleasing flower shape.
   • Bloom season is nearly endless.

Note: Additional information including phone numbers
and addresses will be posted shortly.   Please stay tuned.

1. Plants Only
   • Wayside Gardens
     1 Garden Lane, Hodges, South Carolina 29695-0001
     1-800-845-1124
   • Bluestone Perennials
     7211 Middle Ridge Rd., Madison, Ohio 44057
     1-800-852-5243
   • Miller Nurseries
   • Shady Oaks Nursery
     1101 South State St., P.O. Box 708, Waseca, Minnesota 56093-0708
     1-800-504-8006
   • Musser Forests, Inc.
   • White Flower Farm
     P.O. Box 50, Litchfield, Connecticut 06759-0050
     1-800-503-9624
   • Etera Perennials
     14113 River Bend Road, Mt. Vernon, Washington 98273
     1-888-840-4024
   • Walden West Hosta
     5744 Crooked Finger Road, Scotts Mills, Oregon 97375
     1-503-873-6875 (Dr. Charles Purtymun) or 1-503-974-3515 (Jay Hyslop)
   
   
2. Seeds Only
   • Thompson & Morgan, Inc.
     P.O. Box 1308, Jackson, NJ 08527-0308
     1-800-274-7333
   • Johnny's Selected Seeds
   • Wildseed Farms
     425 Wildflower Hills, P.O. Box 3000, Fredericksburg, Texas 78624-3000
     1-800-848-0078
   • Shepherd's Garden Seeds
   
   
3. Both Plants and Seeds
   • J.W. Jung Seed Co.
   • Select Seeds Antique Flowers
   • Park Seed
     1 Parkton Ave., Greenwood, SC 29647-0001
     1-800-845-3369
   • Burpee
   
   
4. Specializing in Bulbs
   • Dutch Gardens
     P.O. Box 200, Adelphia, NJ 07710-0200
     1-800-818-3861
   • Van Bourgondien Bros.
   • Daffodil Mart

1. Visit the Gardens of Friends and Neighbors
   • Cheryl Miller
   • Kay Dye
   • Lee Hammond
   • Kathy McKenzie
   • Christine Schaefer
   • Eunice Kaisner
   • Erma Wieland
   • Judy Ziemba
   
   
2. Take Trips to Botanical Gardens and Public Plantings
   • Chicago Botanic Garden
   • Missouri Botanical Garden
   • Morton Arboretum
   • University of Illinois Extension "Idea Garden," created and maintained by the Master Gardeners of Champaign County
   • Maine State Arboretum
   
   

-- Martha Smith in the second lesson of her course entitled
"Stepping Stones to Perennial Garden Design"

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E-mail me: camorris@dpc.net

Drawing courtesy of Cottage Row Graphics