Small, sweeping gardens surround the face of this center hall colonial in Merion Station, Pennsylvania.

Nestled on a small cul-de-sac in charming Merion Station, Pennsylvania, this cozy colonial features sweeping gardens that frame its entrance.

Five fastigiate fringe trees occupy a small median strip between driveways, and are accompanied by mounding astilbes, melampodium, and variegated euphorbia.

Magenta sunpatiens carry the eye across the sweeping front garden beds which also include hardy hibiscus, salvia, rudbeckia, phlox, stargazer lillies, hostas, and a large flowering crape myrtle.

This smaller series of gardens are maintained by a consistent and thoughtful owner, and thrives throughout the seasons with its different interest points.

A young Japanese maple tree flanks the right side of the door (not pictured), and will grow into a formidable specimen in the years to come.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and selection we’ve put together!

As always, any questions or comments–please share with us!

Using tropical plants to add an element of luxury and elegance to your outdoor spaces

Tropical plants can be difficult–expensive, fickle, and ill-suited to most of the year’s weather.  And when done incorrectly, a tropical installation can scream “70’s Tiki Party” reminiscent of cheap beer, grilled pineapple, and terrible shirts.  Mind you, all three of these things can be GREAT–just not necessarily what you may be intending to convey when utilizing tropical materials.

But when done correctly, a well-curated tropical installation can hearken back to earlier times when only the Elite could afford to have tropical elements cultivated and shipped on their behalf.

We recently executed a rush installation for one of our new clients in Montgomery County, preparing for a catered and valet’d July 4th party.  Although the actual installation was relatively quick (approximately a day’s work), curating a collection of pristine and coordinated elements can be difficult on short notice.  The basic design was established ahead of time, but some adjustments needed to be made to accommodate current stock at our favorite suppliers.

We created a more formal arrangement in the dual urns flanking the front door.  Elements include pink caladium, oregano, black sweet potato vine, white angelonia, variegated ivy, magenta sunpatiens, tall dark tropical foliage, and a large pink bromeliad.

The garage featured three cocoa-fiber windowbox style wrought iron trough planters, installed below a decorative lattice.  For these three planters we chose a brighter installment–pink mandevilla vine, pink caladium, white angelonia, blue “kauai mix” torenia, and variegated ivy.

Not pictured are two second story window boxes complete with pink begonias, diamond dust euphorbia, and variegated ivy; as well as two tropical mix urns featurining orange hibiscus centerpieces located on the back patio.

The tropical arrangements at this tudor estate complimented its outdoor themes well–the property also features a koi pond, tea house, and other “collected” elements reminiscent of turn of the century luxury living.

If you are interested in more tropical design ideas, get in touch!  Also make sure to check out our tropical feature garden at The Fareway within the Chestnut Hill Hotel outdoor compound.

PLANTS + PUPS OF SOUTH PHILADELPHIA

South Philadelphia–known for its colorful Italian markets, colorful characters, and colorful windows.

You only have to walk at most a block to see some sort of highly cultivated window display–generally some mix of religious artefacts, floral installations (real or, often, fake), or watchful creatures protecting their household from ruffians and solicitors alike.

This post spotlights two South Philadelphia windowbox installs–a large, 3′ wrought iron planter with copper insert, and one of a pair of smaller 2′ cocoa-fiber windowboxes.

Inspired by the silvery mirrored walls, red blush, and black asian lacquered tchotchkes, these window boxes share similar elements in red celosa flowers and silverleaf foliage.

Featured also: ever vigilant guardians of the stoop and window.

South Philadelphia’s Passyunk Avenue is a burgeoning hub of food and flora alike.  Keep an eye out for the “Gateway to Passyunk” installation under construction currently @ Broad & Passyunk Avenue, and enjoy also the planters decorating the Singing Fountain @ Tasker & Passyunk.

Green up your interior space with a quick and easy herb garden that won’t break the bank

Sundays are for sleeping in, binging on netflix, and if you’re like me–cooking.

You can keep fresh herbs available within arm’s reach if you have a few bucks and a sunny window.

For the pictured herb garden above, we used a set of six square, distressed wooden vases.  Each box is lined with plastic to prevent water seepage.

–> You can find the exact wooden vases here at this link <—

Place a small layer of gravel at the base of each box to catch excess water and prevent rot, then simply insert the potted herb into the vase.  A top layer of spanish moss conceals the structure and helps retain moisture.

To maintain, water a little at a time, and often.  You may have to occasionally service the vase by emptying any excess water out.  For 4-inch pots, I found that about an ounce of water every other day was sufficient.  Some plants will require more, some less.  You will absolutely not have any issues growing mint indoors–it is a weed, basically.  Other plants can be more fickle.  Experiment as you like.

The indoors isn’t ideal for certain varieties–these will not have an extremely long lifespan in your kitchen unless they are maintained perfectly.  No matter–herbs are cheap ($3-$5 per pot), so any mistakes you make won’t be too expensive.

For better drainage, use traditional pots and saucers.  I opted for the wooden vases for aesthetic reasons, understanding their limitations.

As always, reach out with any questions.

Enjoy!

Bringing the building blocks of history back to the farm.

We recently received the privilege of outfitting a historic Chester County farmhouse with a new landscape to match its architectural additions.

In the process of expertly expanding the scale of this native stone home, the existing landscape had been trampled until the various large machines and construction supplies needed for the expert buildout.

Phase one of the landscaping process involved new sod, new garden beds, substantial anchor plantings against the house, and a formal boxwood hedge running along the driveway on either side of the main entrance.  We finished this initial stage of development with a historic brick edging.

The owner had secured pallets of historic brick used as the road surface on Market St.–literally, colonial brick edging.  We can imagine Ben Franklin stumbling down on this same street over 200 years ago after one of his storied nights out drinking.  The bricks have an interlocking design and company stamp that gives them a unique character.

With over 150 feet to cover–and a brick width of approximately 3″–this project required a lot of hands on attention, measuring, and careful installation.

We don’t typically go for garden edging–most products lack the elegance we look to create with our installations.  However, this brick edging is a perfect trim piece to this evolving project.

I’m not sure we could replicate this installation, simply because the materials are so rare.  It was a pleasure working with these pieces of history!

Helleborus “Silver Dollar”.  How fabulous is that foliage?!  In winter, flowers open a pale green color with prominent yellow stamens, then petals soon transform to white with pink-brushed undersides.

Dwarf Pieris, soon to be incorporated into an evergreen border.

Such a pretty pumpkin,  a gift from Joe Marano, local  nurseryman (Marano Gardens, Bethlehem Pike, Ft Washington)

Tiarella (Foamflower) “Running Tapestry”, excellent shade groundcover with showy white flowers in spring.

Kale, an extra from planter projects.

Lustrous Tassel Fern, earmarked for an upcoming installation.

Swiss Chard.

Illicium (Star Anise), a very interesting evergreen shrub, in flower.

Ornamental Millet, another leftover from planter projects.

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“The Ten Commandments contain 297 words. The Bill of Rights is stated in 463 words.  Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address contains 266 words.  A recent federal directive to regulate the price of cabbage contains 26,911 words.”

Above, Calocasia (Elephant Ears, aptly named) “Mojito”.

An elegant assemblage of tropicals in what used to serve as a fountain trough.  Each is planted into its own pot and brought indoors for winter.

Caladium “Garden White” with a companion Boston Fern, wonderful texture.

A full tilt tropical garden at the Fareway in Chestnut Hill.  Blue-flowering plant is the herb African Blue Basil.

Canna tubers can be dug and stored in the basement til spring.

Bananas in a classic perennial/annual border.  Banana trees can be left in the ground, cut back, stump covered with a plastic pot and a pile of leaves over all.  They’ll return in spring with lots of offshoots, even in harsh winters (as we discovered last spring).

Baby bananas!

I like words. Words are places, rooms, distant airs, thin and tropical. They make us feel and imagine we are more than our bodies.  Rickie Lee Jones