Creating a garden starts out as an innocent pursuit. You just want a pretty patch of flower or vegetables that flows and looks beautiful at least three seasons out of four. But there is that one plant that outshines the others. It outperforms them by looking great or by being the big, bold bright spot that everyone comments on. And you start doing a little bit of research on what it really wants, because let’s be honest, you got lucky by plunking it in the right place. And the next year it is even more beautiful. And you want more. More. More. More.
You are hooked.
This is how plant collections start. At least this is how mine have started and
most of them have snuck up on me. I don’t set out to have a “collection” of a
specific plant, I just really like them and suddenly have a whole bunch of them
(and often, less money in my bank account).
My first plant collection was viburnum shrubs. I thought
there was just one. I liked it because of the blooms, leaves, and was basically
pest proof (including rabbit, deer, and grasshopper). Now I have 7 varieties of
the plant.
Once you decide you love a plant you start searching out different cultivars: the usual suspects you can find in your neighbor’s garden just won’t do. You search out specialty nurseries who will sell those unusual cultivars and, you hope, send you better plants than you can pick up at a local nursery. You’re really in trouble when you start buying books on a specific plant and scope out plant-specific online forums.
Other collections I have are coral bells and hostas under the shade of trees. If you know theses plants already you have an idea of the amount of varieties present in each plant.
I feel the pull of new collections, too. I’ve recently developed a fascination with tree peonies (again, a plant that requires a great deal of patience. What is with me?) The world of dwarf conifers is amazing, but it’s one I feel I really need to study before delving into because in many cases there are too many to pick from. I would love some of them bordering the walkway up to the house. There’s that whole toad lily thing that I learned last week I’m totally missing out on.
