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Annual Border
On the west side of Lily Pool Terrace is the Annual Border, which features a rainbow of tulip cultivars and species in spring. This is followed by a kaleidescope of blooming annuals in the summer and fall.
Nancy Seaton, curator of Magnolia Plaza and Lily Pool Terrace at BBG, explains her plant selections for Summer/Fall 2007
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.
Coleus 'Brooklyn Horror'
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.
"My goal was to help the visitor think about annuals in a new and different way," says Nancy.
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', Xanthosoma sagittifolium 'Chartreuse Giant', Iresine herbstii, 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'!
—Nancy Seaton, Curator of Lily Pool Terrace and Magnolia Plaza
View a 360 Degrees QuickTime VR movie of the Annual Border
Map of the Garden
The Annual Border is indicated by the orange box. Click on the map to visit other locations in the Garden, or click here to view a larger map.
