Happy Mother’s Day! Beginning on the Friday before Mother’s Day each year, National Public Gardens Week runs through May 21 in 2023. Anytime is a good time to visit public gardens, but with the growing season upon us, this is an especially great opportunity to get inspiration for your own home garden and landscape. A visit to a nearby public garden would also make a wonderful gift for mom.
When you visit, look at how plants are arranged in borders and beds. You may find that tall plants are used in unusual ways. Instead of anchoring the back of the border, tall plants can be used to create secret spaces in your landscape. Envelop yourself in hollyhocks or tall grasses or annuals like sunflowers. Even in small gardens, tall plants can be used to create a very immersive, private experience. Consider lining a pathway with native Joe-pye weed, for example.
Think about edible landscaping and succession planting of vegetables. Many vegetables make attractive annual plants in your gardens. Edible landscaping is the intentional act of including edibles in your garden design. Swiss chard comes in a rainbow of colors as does lettuce and kale. As you harvest, plant more quick-growing crops so that you will have additional harvests. Fruit trees can be used in the landscape as well as herbs (which also add scent), and edible flowers such as pansies and nasturtiums – so pretty for adding to summer salads and desserts.
Public gardens offer the opportunity to study the use of color in the garden, especially intentional color. If you have a set of red Adirondack chairs, you might consider plantings or containers of red flowers around them, for example. Look at how blossom and foliage colors are used to complement each other. If your front door is a bright color, add flowers along the path to your home or in containers in the same cheery hue nearby.
Take note of garden edging along paths. You might see bamboo edging paths in an Asian planting, or cobblestones used to edge a gravel pathway. These ideas might add interest and function to your own gardens.
Look out your windows at home. You should be able to enjoy the view of your garden from inside your house. Use a favorite tree or specimen plant which you can watch change with the seasons. Plant a colorful bed of annuals to view from an elevated position in your bedroom, which creates a beautiful way to start your day. If you visit a public garden that includes a home or a building, see if some of the landscape elements offer views from inside.
Finally, don’t be afraid to plant what works well in your yard en masse. Think of the lilacs or Japanese maples at Highland Park in Rochester. There are almost 500 varieties of the May-blooming shrub planted at Highland Park. You don’t need to garden on that scale, but you could start a collection of plants that do well in your yard. Even in a small space, a collection of one variety of plants can be very impressive and beautiful. Consider natives which are often easier to care for, drought resistant, and offer food and shelter to birds, butterflies, bees and other insects.
There are many local public gardens to enjoy, the following are just a few. Previously mentioned Highland Park is the center of attention at this time of year with lilacs, rhododendrons, the pansy bed and more. The Durand Eastman Arboretum on Pine Valley Road between Zoo and Sweet Fern Roads, encompasses 977 acres and includes Durand Lake, Eastman Lake and a beach on Lake Ontario. The Webster Arboretum includes 32 acres of land at 1700 Schlegel Road in Webster.
There are many beautiful gardens to visit on a short trip to the Finger Lakes. Geneva on the Lake at 1001 Lochland Road, is set on Seneca Lake. Enjoy views of Cayuga Lake at the Mackenzie-Childs homestead, 3260 NYS Route 90 in Aurora. The 65-acre landscape features flower gardens and a pond. Cornell Botanic Gardens at Cornell University in Ithaca features 4,000 acres of themed gardens, trees and other plantings. Additionally, there are many beautiful gardens and plantings all over campus to explore.
Linwood Gardens, at 1912 York Road in Linwood, hosts its Tree Peony Festival at this time of year. Heading west to Buffalo, find inspiration at the Japanese Garden in Delaware Park. Located at 1 Museum Court behind the Buffalo History Museum, this garden hosts the Cherry Blossom Festival in early spring. Japanese maples peak with colorful foliage in the fall.
Photo by Kristina Gabalski
