Summer Color III

     This is the final post in a series showing some of what my team created at the Norfolk Botanical Garden last summer. A canal bisects the garden nearly in half, and there are three bridges that get visitors from one side to the other. During the warmer months we hang hay rack planters from two of the bridges, which are filled with annuals. By NATO Bridge we opted for simplicity, and used a combination of just three plants; Asparagus densiflorus 'Myersii', Plectranthus amboinicus 'Variegatus' (Variegated Cuban Oregano), and one of the geraniums (Pelargonium) from the Caliente series, but I can't remember exactly which color.

     For Rose Garden Bridge we wanted a color combination that would be vaguely patriotic, so I could put flags in it for Independence Day and Labor Day. We also wanted it to look good with the surrounding crapemyrtles as a backdrop. However, we did not limit the palette to just three plants. The baskets included blue lyme grass (Leymus arenarius), Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost', Pentas 'Butterfly Red', Evolvulus 'Blue Daze', Dichondra 'Silver Falls', and pink and white Mandevilla.

     The summer before last we created three wall mounted succulent planters that were framed so as to resemble a gallery. While we liked what was created, we wanted improvements for this past summer. One of our talented facilities workers beefed up the frames, made them easier to water, and built two of the planters from scratch. We also switched the frame color from gold to one that complimented the plants better. I think our visitors liked it as well; it became a traffic hazard with so many taking their photos in front of them.

     I started this series back in early February in response to the gray and cold outside. We don't really need it now, as the temperatures have made it feel like we have skipped March and April, and jumped right into May. In the past week or so the local landscape has blossomed into spring with daffodils, magnolias, and the early cherries coming into full bloom. It definitely feels like winter has left the building, but I am not sure the door is locked just yet.

(If you are interested, and I hope that you are, there is still time to join my Winter Walk-Off challenge which ends at midnight on the 19th.)