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 3–June 8 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
three, and, although he has been going to doggie school, 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, or park in the driveway,
carefully open and close the gate, and walk up.
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: You may have noticed many things
missing from my catalog. Plants that don’t do their job in the garden,
that don’t thrive or are disease prone—including many well-known old
favorites—have been removed from my sales list and relegated to the
compost heap. When customers tell me my plants ‘grow better,’ I know it is
the plant choices and the advice I provide that makes the difference.
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 psilostemon, Geranium ‘Rozanne’,
Heuchera ‘Autumn Bride’, Kalimeris integrifolia, Oenothera ‘Cold Creek’,
Phlox glaberrima, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Rudbeckia ‘Herbstsonne’,
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.