Welcome to the

Pith   Vigor

blog

+

the Book

buy

CONNECT:

Hey There! I’m Rochelle Greayer. I’m a garden designer on TV and IRL. I’m also an author and entrepreneur who thinks she can save the world by teaching everyone a little something about landscape design.

rochelle

meet

REgister now!

A Free Master Class

THE 7-STEP SYSTEM TO DESIGN A

Gorge-
ous
Garden

STOP WASTING MONEY ON ALL THE WRONG PLANTS  

Join the Course Today!

Mix & match plants like a pro!

Children’s Garden Inspired by Jackson Pollack at the CMBG

8/06/2013

If you have yet to visit Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, (CMBG) then come this year. And when you do, be sure to check out the Alfond Children’s Garden. There is a change in grade from where you enter the garden down to the vegetable garden and pond. One way to get down takes you along a winding ramp planted along side with annuals. This curving and raised plant bed is called the Rainbow Terrace. It begins at the golden Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ and descends to the pitcher plant bog. From the Sun King aralia, this plant bed has typically been planted en masse with annuals in a ROY G. BIV fashion (red, orange, yellow, etc.). This year, the gardener for this area, Justin Nichols, wanted to shake things up a bit. Instead of planting in blocks of color, he tried to plant the space as if Jackson Pollock had designed the garden’s carpet bedding scheme. What he did is wonderful and the colors are a riot!
Coastal maine botanic garden planting via www.pithandvigor.com

Among the many colorful plants, the unsung hero that pulls it all together is the honeywort or Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens.’ This annual has silvery leaves and dangling, purple, bell-shaped flowers. Honeywort can be easily grown from seed and may overwinter in warmer parts of USDA Zone 7b and 8. A native of the Mediterranean region, Cerinthe will grow best in full-sun with adequate moisture and well-drained soils. Hummingbirds and bees love the nectar off of the flowers, hence the common name. Justin combined a few plants with Petunia ‘Pretty Much Picasso’ and the effect is outstanding. I don’t know what the real Picasso would think about having his name on loan to a Pollock inspired masterpiece but in this case, because of the color and texture of the Cerinthe, the combination works.
Cerinthe purpurascens via www.pithandvigor.com

 

Cerinthe purpurascens via www.pithandvigor.com

You can expect Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’ to reach around 24″ or taller in the height of the summer. I am definitely making notes on this plant. I think I have heard somewhere that good artists steal even better ideas from other artists. Well, I am definitely going to steal this plant from Justin’s garden and use it in other areas of the gardens next year. It is outstanding!

Rodney

Photos: Rodney Eason

REgister now!

A Free Master Class

THE 7-STEP SYSTEM TO DESIGN A

Gorge-
ous
Garden

  1. Debbie Feely says:

    You encourage me to try cerinthe again. Nice! Love the colors in these shots.

  2. rochelle says:

    Rodney –I love that top shot! Beautiful!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Does Your Garden Need a Makeover?


Learn my 7-step system to design and build a stunning garden anywhere in the world.


Understand The 5 mistakes EVERYONE makes when creating a garden.
(save yourself time, money, & headaches and get much better results!)


See How to work directly with me (but at a DIY price!) to
design and create YOUR own gorgeous garden. 

SIGN ME UP!

Join my Free Class!

join the FrEE 10-day garden Design challenge

Your Garden will look waaayyy better in less than 2 weeks - Promise!

in the weeds?

Sign me up