Border Patrol May 6, 2009
Or The Seasonal Walk Saga
By Tovah Martin
A Border Encore
The beauty of this border is – even if you missed the surge on the long, sunny side – it’s now making an encore performance on the shorter, thinner, shadier segment of the double border. There, the tulips are still in full splendor while a few narcissus are holding firm.
All this action was predicted by Oudolf and van der Kloet. According to the schedule of events, this is when the summer bulbs are slated to be inserted. Where the tulips are passed, they are lifted carefully with wide-tined forks to make sure the perennials go undisturbed. At this time, the Anemone coronaria ‘St. Brigid’ is being installed – soaked prior to planting, and then buried below the surface. At the same time, started in the smallest containers possible, Roscoea cautleoides, Ranunculus asiaticus ‘Aviv’ (in white, pink, and red), and Incarvillea delavayi are being inserted as plugs, tucked in between the perennials. And various lilies* were also grown in containers to be sprinkled into the beds – they were grown three to a pot just as you would start any potted lily, but are now being broken apart and placed singly.
Standing tall, and staked individually, but also so discretely that you scarcely notice the support, they are budded up. They’ll be the next bulbs to pick up the drum roll. Meanwhile, the daffodil circles are being dug to make way for dahlias. However, plenty of narcissus remain intact for next year. The more demure daffodils mixed into the brew in the batwings (N. ‘Cotinga’, ‘Sailboat’, ‘Segovia’, ‘Ice Wings’, and ‘Little Gem’) that span throughout the borders are being left in position to be engulfed by the perennials as they make their headway.
And all the perennials are up and coming. Only the pink Salvia ‘Eveline’, Geum ‘Flames of Passion’, and Phlox ‘Clouds of Perfume’ are in flower at this early juncture. But all the textures of the foliage create a unified tapestry that is Oudolf’s brilliant signature style. Many were chosen for their foliar texture – especially the teucrium, sedum, origanum, eryngium, astrantia, and calamintha. That factor holds the eye while the perennial blossoms gear up. The serene, soft blue phlox creates a harmony for the bright, festively colored annuals that are being infused. And now is the time when the annuals are picking up the beat. 