Last weekend , I had to get aside from my skinny beds and borders , from garden writing , from turning the composter , and from everything . I could have snuff it to the beach or to a nice air - specify bookstore , but I decide that it might be more pleasurable to revel in grand flower beds and edge that are keep by someone else . I got in the car and croak to Skylands , the New Jersey State Botanical Garden in Ringwood .
Skylands did not disappoint . mass of daylilies strutted their material throughout the bed , and waterlilies blossom in the retentive stream . The perennial garden was hosting a bona fide butterfly stroke pattern and the yearly were beginning to amount into their own . The allee of trees was coolheaded and inviting and the bog garden was full of life and dripping with humidity .
Amidst all this aspiration , I comment something . tropic plants . Sprinkled liberally throughout the cultivated areas were palms , small banana tree trees and bromeliads either in pile or planted directly into bed . For the most part these tropical specimens were not mass , but used as accent plants . Though one does not unremarkably connect bottle palm with bed of annual marigolds , the result of that combination was not particularly jarring . I could almost conceive of the long - agone owner of the Skylands manor theater redact his hothouse plants outdoors for a summertime holiday . Though Skylands is now officially possess by the State of New Jersey and ministered to by the Skylands Association , perhaps the indoor plants still get a summer in the sun .
The use of tropical specimens in the garden at Skylands mirror something that I see happening all around me . While my suburban region does not yet resemble a little corner of Hawaii or the Bahamas , I have noticed more and more canna , caladiums , and especially mandevilla vines sprouting from beds and flanking doorways . I am not sure whether all of those plants ( or their bulbs or tubers ) are overwintered , but they are certainly out of doors during the summertime months .
Of all the tropicals I find it easiest to like Mandevilla , which has gained in popularity over the past few years as more and more gardener have recognize the virtues of vine . Sometimes recognize as “ Chilean Jasmine ” , Mandevilla is actually native to various South American locales . The most common cultivar is Mandevilla splendens var . ‘ Alice Dupont ’ , named after the married woman of Samuel DuPont , creator of the noted Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square , Pennsylvania .
‘ Alice Dupont ’ has 2 - 3 - inch rosy pink bloom , that expression , to some self-confidence , like morning glories . To my style of thinking they behave a greater resemblance to vinca blossom , with whom they partake a familial relationship . Either way , they are really eye - catching . Mandevilla can grow to be 20 - feet tall , but the reward of the cultivated variety is that blooming starts when the plants are quite young — about 1 - foot high gear .
Mandevilla is a sun - lover , scrambling upwards by way of tendrils , so you do n’t have to gravel yourself with the tedious chore of link up the climbing shoot . Just put up a convenient trellis , bower , fencepost or other structure and the flora will do the quietus . If you have an eyesore on your property ( garbage cans , public utility company area , the view of your neighbour ’s garage ) that needs screening , all the better . In the absence seizure of rainfall , water the plant when the filth appears dry , and feed it periodically throughout the bloom season . Remember the general ruler : anything that blooms heavily tends to prey hard .
When fall comes , you do not have to call your Mandevilla word of farewell . Cut it back , pot it up ( if it ’s not already in a toilet ) , and take it in spite of appearance . localize it in a south - confront window , or the cheery pip in your house , and water on a regular basis . There is no pauperization to feed until it go out again in the spring . As with most outdoor plants that overwinter indoors , the Mandevilla will grow slowly and probably not blossom . That ’s all right , you will have Amaryllis and African violets and kalanchoes for that . The glistening green leaves should remain to cue you of the resplendency of the summertime blossoms .
If pinkish is not your color , there are white Mandevillas on the securities industry , and the effect is cool and summery . Just recently I saw a abbreviated write - up for a fresh cultivar , Mandevilla ‘ Tropical Dreams ’ . This variety show has chicken efflorescence and the added vantage of variegate foliage . There is also a more dramatic pinkish variety , Mandevilla ‘ Red Riding Hood ’ that features atomic number 79 - throated pink wine - colored flowers emphasize with red .
Almost every garden center and mega - merchandiser carries Mandevilla in various size of it . If you do n’t want to try the local retail outlets , you’re able to also get Mandevilla from Glasshouse Works , Church Street , P.O. Box 97 , Stewart , OH 45778 ; tel . ( 740 ) 662 - 2142 ( info ) or ( 800 ) 837 - 2142 ( order ) , or online at www.glasshouseworks.com .
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