About Kathleen Nelson Perennials:

KATHLEEN NELSON PERENNIALS specializes in beautiful but tough hardy perennials with an emphasis on plants native to eastern North America, from delicate woodland wildflowers to robust prairie plants. Our selection includes many deer resistant plants, shade plants, and plants for damp sites. We are located at
55 Mud Pond Road, Gaylordsville, CT 06755. Phone: 860-355-1547

PLANTS are for sale at the nursery, subject to availability, from April through September. Because we grow our own plants and pot from spring to fall, we have an excellent selection all season. Even if you don’t plan to buy, you are invited to visit the display gardens for help in choosing plants for your own garden.

OPEN by appointment or chance, May through September
and all Saturdays and Sundays, May 1–May 30 from 9:00 a.m. –5:00 p.m.
(evenings are fine too)
You are welcome to stop by, or to be sure we are home, call in advance.

FOR APPOINTMENTS call 860-355-1547 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. I can’t always reach the phone quickly, please let it ring.

PUPPY: Rascal is now five, but he is not perfect yet. We don’t trust him to stay out of the road. At times other than regular hours you may find the gate closed, but we are probably home and happy to welcome you. Please sound your horn — Rascal will bark to announce you. Wait for somebody to open the gate or park in the driveway and walk up, closing the gate behind you.

ON TELEPHONES: Even with an answering machine, I answer the phone if I can. But sometimes I can’t hear the phone, even with our outdoor bell, and other times I can’t get there fast enough or I’m doing an unstoppable task. One way or another, the best time to reach me is just AFTER DARK—by which I mean PITCH dark—it is amazing how much you can get done in those last rays of light.

ON APRIL: April here is total chaos. Some plants may be ready, but please call in advance for an appointment, since some tasks are difficult to interrupt. After May 1, you are welcome on non-official days—just “take a chance, or call in advance”. Thanks.

LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND INSTALLATION: Eileen Mulvihill and I are working together again this year, which means that I can be involved in more projects for clients. We do perennial borders, rock gardens, woodland gardens, native gardens, and containers as well as some general landscaping and wetland mitigation.

LECTURES to garden clubs and other groups can be arranged. Please inquire.

VOLES: These voracious vegetarians are eating my garden. So far they haven’t eaten Amsonia, Calamintha, Corydalis, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’, Pycnanthemum, Stylophorum and ferns. They like all or some of the kinds of lilies, alliums, campanulas, geraniums, hostas, iris, and daisies.

PLANT CHOICES: As I get older and my nursery gets smaller, I've eliminated many common plants that you can buy anywhere, and concentrate instead on my favorites, especially plants not readily available elsewhere

DEADHEADING: Deadheading is the removal of dead or spent blooms. In general, if the blossoms no longer look good to you, remove them— unless you want seed pods. Some plants will bloom almost indefinitely if not allowed to set seed. But be sure that you deadhead the heavy seeders

ROOTS: To establish new plants, it is very important to get the roots of the plant in close contact with the garden soil. A freshly potted plant may have a fairly small root system with respect to the pot size. Don’t worry—just let the loose potting mix fall off, place your plant in the planting hole, and tuck the garden soil around it. Many plants will have roots that loosely fill the pot. If so, it is usually best to spread the roots gently from the center bottom like butterfly wings to maximize the contact between the soil and the roots. Some plants may be potbound with solid masses of tightly tangled roots. These are often difficult to establish. If you just pop them into the ground, the roots may never grow into the soil, and the plant will die. You may have to pull and cut the roots to untangle them. If the plant is large and in bloom, this may kill the plant. It may help to prune and/or divide the plant. We try to give our plants large enough pots to avoid their becoming potbound.

THIS YEAR’S FAVORITES: Thalictrum polygamum (as always), Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’, Amsonia hubrichtii, Calamintha nepeta nepeta, Geranium ‘Rozanne’, Heuchera ‘Autumn Bride’, Kalimeris integrifolia, Oenothera ‘Cold Creek’, Phlox glaberrima, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Rudbeckia ‘Herbstsonne’, Tiarella cordifolia—running form, Vernonia novaboracensis, and the grass Sporobolus heterolepis.

STAKING: If you need handsome sturdy metal stakes, check out the embracers, stakes and trellises made by sculptor Bob Keating, 124A Henry Sanford Road, Bridgewater, CT 06752, Tel. 860-350-6264. Many are on display in my garden.