Sunday, May 1, 2011

Spring Fling

Had a delightful yesterday visiting "Distinctive Gardens" in Dixon and "Red Barn Nursery" by Sheffield.  Always so much fun to see what's new in the plant world. We enjoyed a rainless day made twice as nice because I was with friends.

Every nursery and garden center is different.  Their individual focus is what delights. 

My first time at DG, it was obviously a visit with the visually inspired owners.  They are particularly adapt at creating combinations of plants for beautiful and unusual container gardening. 

Area stores are having more of the cone shaped hanging baskets and here are a couple of their offerings.

Many of DGs most beautiful planters contained mostly non flowering plants.  Most of us have been conditioned to expect mostly flowers in our pots.  The foliage containers opened a new door - and were certainly beautiful.
Shown at left and potted in a fiberglass "rock", this is an example of how well they combine plants.  DGs is about inspiring through display. 

I'm sure their landscaping and other plants will only improve as the season matures.  In addition to the plant sets and containers, they have a nice selection of trees and bushes and some beautiful hand crafted items in their shed area.

After a great lunch at ZBest Restaurant in Sheffield, we headed to the "Red Barn Nursery".  The RB is not about display, it is totally about offering an abundance of healthy beautiful plants which they grow themselves. 

RB is often the place to find "the hard to find" and heirloom plants.  Their herbs are always a treasure.  Since they raise their own plants, this is a place to return to as the season progresses.  Some things come on early/some later.  Unlike big box stores, when RBs supply of plants is gone - it's gone for the season.






RB offers some of the most beautiful and unusual geraniums in this area.  The supply you see pictured will be mostly gone by Mother's day.

Both nurseries are privately owned and managed.  Both show a real love for the beauty and individuality of plants.  Both are a treasure and both have reasonably priced plants. 

So - what did I buy?  I managed to put off garden vegetable and herb plants because of the cool weather we are having.  Besides a nice "Delft Lace" Astilbe for my new bed at the front of our woods, I focused on plants for my pots.

A few of those geraniums from RB and a selection of foliage from DG.  I was especially excited to find "Graceful Grasses' King Tut"  I'll show more on the individual plants later.

Meanwhile:  Support your locally owned nurseries and garden centers.  Most (as are both of these) are hard working and talented business owners obviously passionate about their profession. 

“What a desolate place would be a world without a flower! It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome. Are not flowers the stars of the earth, and are not our stars the flowers of the heaven.” - A.J. Balfour


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