You won't find any annuals here. At Broken Arrow it's all about the woodies...so to speak. Nursery owner Dick Jaynes, is known throughout the plant world as a premier hybridizer of mountain laurels, the state flower of CT. In the past few years Broken Arrow has evolved into a specialty nursery for unusual woody plants.
The Japanese maple selection is tough to beat-both in small container sizes and larger landscape size trees.
As far as perennials go, the emphasis seems to be in favor of shade lovers but unusual stuff for sunnier sites can be found as well.
Somehow I managed to keep my specific plant for a specific spot promise and escaped with only two shrubs-Hypericum 'Albury Purple'-one of my favorite small accent shrubs, and Hydrangea serrata 'Kiyosumi'. I'm a sucker for hydrangeas with interesting foliage and have had good luck with consistent flowering on the serratas. The one perennial I succumbed to was tagged Kalimeris 'Geisha'. I tried to research it on line and all the sources I found described it as a gold variegated foliage plant. As you may be able to see, the plant I purchased has pink, green and white variegation so I doubt it's 'Geisha'. I tried searching for just the foliage color and came up with nothing so for now it will remain a mystery.
Despite the measly haul, the trip was worth a few hours of lost gardening time. Due to a recent reorganization, I have some holes in my backyard border and between these plants and a few annuals I found at a greenhouse on the way home I was able to plug some of them. Now I'm one step closer to maintenance mode only-tasks that can be performed with one hand leaving the other free to hold a wine glass.
Fabu-fabu! I must get there sometime!
ReplyDeleteIf you have room for shrubs, there are many cool options here. Do you have Diervilla 'Cool Splash' yet?
DeleteI'm impressed with your restraint.Fortunately they gave me the wine at Digging Dog AFTER I finished shopping.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's restraint all righty! I made a similar promise for financial reasons.(No money left for food) But then I realized that DH would be away traveling for 10 days and I could therefore afford to buy a few more things for containers. I also found a few Spigella marilandica which I have to try now that I'm supposedly less into subtle gardening.
ReplyDeleteMan, I love 'Albury Purple', but it doesn't seem to love Ontario.
Marie, 'Albury Purple' can be short lived for me. It definitely has a tendency to come back smaller year after year. I find it wants good drainage and it has reseeded along one of my walkways. Recently I moved one of the seedlings into a border. We'll see what happens...
DeleteBroken Arrow is my number one favorite nursery, and I make the trip from northern CT a couple times a year. Love the place! The emphasis on trees (unusual and often variegated) and shrubs (huge selection) is what I like about them.
ReplyDeleteA note on Albury Purple hypericum ... I have it, and it is a big self seeder for me. I find seedlings everywhere (easy to identify and pull out). Other hypericums did not seed around, but the beautiful purple one does in my garden. I love it, though. Really beautiful wine color foliage and pretty yellow blooms. Great choice, and impressive restraint on your shopping tour!
Laurrie, Albury Purple has reseeded for me too. It seems to prefer dry, infertile spots along one of my walkways. The seedlings have performed better than the mother plant. A couple of weeks ago I moved one of the seedlings into a border and will be keeping my fingers crossed.
DeleteHey Sue, did they have the Autumn Moon Maple? We never made it back to the nursery since I decided not to dig up the Sourwood, but I am curious.
ReplyDeleteI think I saw some, Monique, but I didn't look that close. They did have a couple of the columnar purple beech trees but they were only a couple of feet tall.
DeleteComment by Ann. Inadvertently deleted by me.
Delete"Hi, Great column Sue. Monique, I saw some small (3 or 5 gallon?)Acer Autumn Moon at Broken Arrow a few weeks ago, and they also had a few at Stonehedge in Newington. Sue, I need to follow your 'specific spot' advice!"
Hi, Sue. Nice post. I haven't been to this nursery before. And, your banner photo is great . . . you kinda like flowers, huh?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visit today. Good to see another Connecticut blog. There used to be a daily photo blog from northeastern CT by a nice guy, and one from New Haven from a female minister, but both have gone quiet. You have a gardener's focus. You will see plenty of flowers on my blog, often from Elizabeth Park or other CT public gardens, but I try not to be too restrictive or predictable. Come visit again . . .
Thanks for visiting, Jack. I have been following your blog and enjoy viewing the Hartford area through your lens. Yes, gardening is one of the activities I enjoy although I'm trying be flexible and not make this a garden blog. Stay tuned...
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