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 Plants as an investment
By Scott Jamison
Although at this point in time the very term "investment" causes me to shudder, the phrase "plants as an investment" is one that has been in or catalog for over 35 years. It has never been as appropriate in all those years as it is today.
For most of us our homes are our single largest investment. With all the economic turmoil and uncertainty swirling around us, it is important to stop and consider the value of our homes. Yes, along with all other asset classes, our homes may not be worth quite as much in dollar terms as they were several years ago but one's home has another more important value: solace for the soul. Where else can we retreat from life's trials and tribulations and replenish the soul, but in our home. While it is important that plants and gardens are investments that increase the value of our properties, it is what they do for our spirits that is invaluable.
In today's complex world of technology and the global economy it is the simplicity of the gardening endeavor that is so calming. Though there have been advances in horticulture, the act of gardening is much unchanged. You don your grubby clothes, put on your favorite boots or hat, grab your favorite shovel and dig holes and weed just as we have done for generations. How simple.
A thought for our time, in the words of the immortal Reginald Farrer alpine botanist, author, gardener--written 90 years ago but more timely than ever.
"If amid the cataclysms of anguish that clamour around us everywhere nowadays, you declare that all this babble about beauty and flowers is a vain impertinence, then I must tell you that you err, and that your perspectives are false. Mortal dooms and dynasties are brief things, but beauty is indestructible and eternal... Our sanity and survival more than ever depend on the strength with we can listen to the still small voice that towers above the cannons, and cling to the little quit things of life."
I encourage you all to take a few moments every day to enjoy the beauty of the natural world that surrounds us and take comfort in it. It will do wonders for your spirit. |
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 Silhouettes
By Kristin Nord
In the narrative that is the winter garden, trees, shrubs and hardscape serve as the connecting links. These elements give shape, texture, color and shadow to what otherwise might loom as bleached and fallow fields.
With these character actors, even the depth of winter can be a time of interest and of revelation. The muted palette of slate and granite, chestnut, caramel and aubergine, plays well with delineated walkways and bursts of evergreen. The deciduous trees stripped of leaves and color work as sculpture. It is hard not to anthropomorphize them as they seem to take on human qualities.
The maples in front of our Federal style farmhouse are old and craggy now, with the branches blue-veined like an old woman's hands. The nearby sycamore down the carriage road extends its massive branches like a prophet to a god in an icy blue sky. Beyond the garden spaces are the mossy rocks and boulders, the stone walls and the views of the valley. These are the sights that make this part of Connecticut so special.
 In the gardens, where we have imposed order upon the original landscape, there are other elements that offer pleasing silhouettes and interest. These include the ornamental grasses that twinkle in the morning light and the garden urns and benches which embellish our spaces while taking on the patina of age.
Seeing clearly in this pared-down landscape, this is the time to look at the structure of our gardens, to see how we might enhance them. January is perhaps the best time of all for pruning, for editing the work that has already been done. But it is also a special time for resting, for thinking, and for dreaming. |
 Picea orientalis 'Skylands'
By Jed Duguid
Anyone who has ever been to the nursery, no doubt, has seen the large, albeit slender yellow spruce standing tall next to our office. Picea orientalis 'Skylands' is a golden oriental spruce that not only stands out during the winter months, but through the entire year. Its fine textured needles are a brilliant yellow, especially when pushing new growth. As the new growth hardens off the color doesn't fade much at all unlike most other spruces. In fact, it almost seems to intensify because as the new growth shades older growth those older needles become a much deeper darker green, like that of the species, creating a beautiful spectrum of greens and yellows. Those with a keen eye will notice the pinkish-red young cones beginning to form in late spring. Because of its trim waistline it can be used even in smaller yards and gardens, which may not have height restrictions so much as width restrictions.
In the winter months we all long for that one bright yellow orb in the sky that provides us warmth. Even on a cloudy winter day Picea orientalis 'Skylands' is capable of warming the soul and reminding us that spring is just around the bend.
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 Winter Hours: Mid-November-February; Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
For more information visit our Web site at www.olivernurseries.com, or call us at 203-259-5609.
Image in header: Detail from Spring, engraving by Bruegel. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dick Fund, 1926.
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