Filed under: Gardening, Flowers, Garden Tours
Like any great room, a great garden needs to balance style and substance. Here, the spaces that do it right.
Lilies on a New York terrace. Photo: Marie Viljoen
This 7th floor New York City terrace is jumping with Asiatic lilies, all open in a June burst of strawberries and cream. Planted in the fall, they overwinter in long wooden planters before breaking their frigid dormancy in March. I designed this garden and know from firsthand experience that the windchill on this exposed floor is severe, and that warmer weather arrives here a couple of weeks later than it does at street level. In early April the lilies are overplanted with spring annuals, and by the time those are fading the green stems and strappy leaves have pushed past them. The catnip pictured reblooms if it is deadheaded, but if I could do it again I would plant less of it, and use some more perennials for variety and sequence of bloom through the year. For that, we must rely on crabapples, spirea and roses planted on other parts of the terrace.
To grow containerized lilies, use a pot that is 16" deep, minimally. The bulbs can be planted in fall or early spring.
Looking for more gardening ideas? Check out:
Plant of the Week: Edible Amelanchier
Elizabeth Taylor's Garden (PHOTOS)
What Plants Grow in Full Shade?