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Curator's Corner
Nancy Seaton, curator of the Lily Pool Terrace and the Judith D. Zuk Magnolia Plaza
Nancy Seaton, curator of the Lily Pool Terrace and the Judith D. Zuk Magnolia Plaza
Nancy Seaton was approached by a fellow Garden staffer with a question: "What are some examples of native northeastern annual plants?" When only a modest number of blooms came to Nancy's mind, the question became her theme for this year's Annual Border.
Nancy began to research the geographic origins of iconic, popular annuals and their less well-known plant associates in the Garden's Library and drew from her experience visiting world-class gardens and nurseries. She studied the naturalistic plant forms popularized by William Robinson in the late 19th century and searched contemporary publications such as Beth Chatto's habitat series, Christopher Lloyd's Meadows, writings about the Dutch native plant heem parks, and Piet Oudolf's Planting the Natural Garden. All of these gardeners, Nancy says, "carry on the tradition of creating landscapes that resemble a patch of idealized nature, where the essence of nature has been distilled to be more structured and flower-laden." She was also influenced by interest in the rigor of native plantings generated by BBG's Metropolitan Flora Project, Native Plant garden, and its recent publication Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants.
What she learned became the framework for this year's Annual Border. The design evolved to include plant geography, the study of how different types of vegetation are distributed around the world and affected by other geographical conditions.
Nancy's borders are always recognized and admired for their beauty. She uses plant color, texture, and architecture like a painter. This year, the borders also tell a story with plants—they're not just "wallpaper," says Nancy. "I want visitors—especially children—to think about plants in context and be curious about their nativity," she explained. "I want them to ask, 'Where in the world do these plants come from?'" This year's Annual Border plant stories inspire visitors to learn more about plants' impact on global exploration, garden history, and even how the introduction of exotics into landscapes increased after the invention of glasshouses in the 19th century.
The ghoulish coleus, 'Brooklyn Horror'.
The Perennial and Annual Borders on the Lily Pool Terrace complement each other and seduce the eye for 300 feet. The annuals are planted en masse to create a meadowlike effect, sweeping from one plant group to the next, highlighting the great diversity of the plant kingdom. At the front of the border, small carpet-flower plants beckon the visitor to bend down for closer observation and admiration.
Just as fine art is enhanced by knowledge of its provenance, so the plants displayed in this season's collection are enhanced by information about their origins. More than 150 plants are featured in this year's Annual Border, including 40 new species or cultivars never previously grown at the Garden. All are grouped and identified by geographical origin: South America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe. Nancy explains that while there are annuals on each continent, some floras are larger than others. And some of the plants are tender perennials here in Brooklyn.
"My goal was to help the visitor think about annuals in a new and different way," says Nancy. For example, gardeners in our area certainly know impatiens, solid performers in any summer border or container. But most people don't know Impatiens niamniamensis 'Congo Cockatoo', Impatiens balfourii, Impatiens arguta, or new cultivars of the common Impatiens walleriana like 'Firefly Watermelon', or 'Firefly Pink'. It's the same with the many euphorbias, Nancy's favorites because of their fantastic diversity. The border features Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost', Euphorbia pithyusa 'Faded Jeans', Euphorbia lathyris, Euphorbia cotinifolia, and Euphorbia heterophylla 'Variegata'.
Strolling the Border, one can't help but notice that the birds are also delighted by this year's design, as they land directly on tall Sorghum bicolor 'Texas Black' at the back. Like fireworks, the explosion of color is dazzling: Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Ducksfoot Dark Red', Phygelius aequalis 'Yellow Trumpet', Emilia coccinea (tassel flower), Xanthosoma sagittifolium 'Chartreuse Giant', Iresine herbstii (beef plant), Bracteantha bracteata 'Apricot Peach', and Anagallis 'Wildcat Orange'. Some plants have unique daily rhythms, like the 'Flower of an Hour' hibiscus, which closes near the end of the day, or the African daisy, which closes for the evening.
Nancy says she is always surprised by plants and hopes this year's visitors will be too. How can they not be? The biggest surprise of all may come from the plant closest to home: the leering face of our own local coleus, 'Brooklyn Horror'!