Another post from the desk of Sara Lawrence:

Hello gardeners!

Last week in preparation for the month of June, a new month and what to me feels like the beginning of summer warmth, I toured the nursery looking for a few plants to take home and plant in a container by my kitchen. I had just completed pulling together a few flats of color for a client and was enjoying the insights of Beth and Vivian on some new coleus that had come in. I was basking in that very special glow that is City People's nursery; full of so many good things and informative and thoughtful people. Being that it was my last day as the interim container designer at City People's I found more than ever I wanted to take home the conversation and excitement over different plants that everyone had.

I started my foraging by picking out a beautiful bronze fennel that I had my eye the last month in the sale section at the back of the outdoor nursery and then worked my way forward towards the racks of annuals and veggie starts outside the store (When shopping it can sometimes be helpful to have a route in mind to structure your finds and the design!). When I arrived at the indoor nursery I could hear Rolland discussing the historical question of what constituted an heirloom jovially with one of our plant suppliers.

This little tete-a-tete got me to thinking that although I've never experimented much with vegetables that might be just the right thing. With my fennel in hand Rolland and I got to talking about some of his favorites... Full of warmth and wisdom I was brought into the fold of heirloom tomatoes, their great flavor, many colors... I had to have one... and chose a bright red that I thought would contrast nicely with the soft purple misted leaves of the fennel. What else would help to make this decorative pot pop? I scooped up two new coleus with a little smile for Vivian. Of course I wasn't sure about the edibility of the coleus and spent a minute with Glen around the checkout counter googling what we could find out about the plant - good for decoration but not munching - note to self.

To top it all off I needed a trellis, something I'd always wanted an excuse to splurge on! The little arrangement felt like a bit of a cottage garden without all the work of staking innumerable perennials. Sometimes all you need is one small item to create a genuine feel for a certain time or place. For me the trellis was going to help make a container that belonged to my landlord of very different disposition and taste...feel warmer. And all those little pieces really did the trick because when I placed everything into their pot I got to reminiscing on where all these good things had come from... so sweet... and I haven't even eaten one of the sun ripened tomatoes!

Have a great summer reaping the bounty of what you sow! Perhaps we'll meet in the nursery some time and get to chatting about your new plant endeavors...!

Sara



THANKS SARA!!!!