City Lights-Just Add Water

Sitting here writing this article we have all just endured yet another snow event. This time central New Jersey just had 16 inches of snow dumped on it. Let me tell you, I’m sick of snow and am anxious for spring’s arrival! Longing for the tulips to poke their bodies through the crusted mulch and anxious to see their heads swell with color. This past winter I have attended various trade shows, seminars, symposiums and general garden talks all of which boasted the hottest new plants. We were even given an opportunity, as attendants, to rate these new comers. Attending the ANLA Management Clinic in Louisville, Kentucky (American Nursery Landscape Association), an event dedicated to the green industry and managing its business practices, there was even a new plant pavilion dedicated to the subject. Here, it was Novalis’ Candy Store Phlox series having bragging rights. Trade publications were quick to have articles on the subject and colleagues were even quicker to ask the opinion of anyone who had one. All eager to find out what is hot, talk shop and just try to hurry spring along. Well, spring is finally here and for my money a plant that will be part of our container garden scene, on our back patio, originally came from Germany.

Hydrangea has been around forever, but not these! Cityline Hydrangea is a fairly new series that is sure to captivate the market. Maybe not the way that Endless Summer did years ago; let’s face it that is a great name and the repeat “blooming thing” made it fool-proof for knowing, or not knowing, when to cut a hydrangea back. Cityline types are also forgiving about knowing when to do this. They don’t seem to care and nor should you since their diminutive stature really never needs to be pruned. However, if you were so inclined, it would be best to prune these after they bloom, no later than mid August, allowing time for the flower buds to form before winter. This new series has what growers and homeowners want. They only reach 1-3 feet in height and they get huge flower heads held on sturdy stems. After all, isn’t the flower everything when you want a hydrangea?

I mentioned the origin was Germany. Plant breeders Franz-Xaver and Konrad Rampp are credited with that, but Proven Winners Color Choice has the licensing. The series has 6 types that I know of. Cityline Berlin –Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Berlin Rabe’ pp# 10, 912 is the largest and fastest grower of the series. Rich, rosy-pink flower heads are accented with fresh green color and glossy, dark green leaves. Cityline Mars-Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Ramars’ has unique bi-colored flowers (pinkish-red and white). Again, large, showy blooms and excellent mildew resistance, the flowers take on an attractive green as they age in the summer. Cityline Paris-Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Paris Rapa’ pp# 10,906 also has monster flowers that emerge green and red, but mature to a dark pink-red. Cityline Rio-Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Raga’ has the best blue colored flowers with an attractive green eye as it’s opening and glossy foliage. Cityline Venice-Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Venice Raven’ pp# 10,928 has flowers that emerge green and fuchsia, but with acid soil or grown in a container, with a touch of aluminum sulfate, you can appreciate large blue flowers. Finally, Cityline Vienna-Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Vienna Rawi’ pp# 10,930 has thick stems with flowers emerging green, finishing a clear pink. Again, aluminum sulfate changes its outward appearances to blue.

Hardy to zone 5, the bloom time of these ornamentals is targeted from early summer to fall. These deciduous, Bigleaf beauties benefit from keeping them moist and do bloom on old wood. Full to partial sun is best for Cityline types and some protection from winter winds wouldn’t hurt. Amend your soil with peat moss, leaf mold or compost to ensure a great start. Previously noted, while each is a different shade of pink or blue, that is dependant upon the pH of your soil. I would not say that there is any significant fall color; rather the foliage simply holds its glossiness. But, who really cares about fall color when you have tidy, bundles of hydrangea spitting flowers all summer, held on thick stems. Today you have tons of hydrangeas to choose from, both historical and remontant. Your choice to accept these little wonders as any part of your garden will surely not disappoint. Your friends will think you are a great gardener with a green, pink or blue thumb. They don’t need to know you had a little help from Franz and Konrad. Oh, one last note, in Europe growth regulators are prohibited by growers. That being said, this in fact is a true dwarf series saying goodbye to the tired, floppy, weak-stemmed hydrangea and hello to the sturdy, tight hydrangea, free of chemicals.

“The Father of American Landscape Architecture”

Picking up where I left off last month… Frederick Law Olmsted. Touted as “the father of American landscape architecture”, Mr. Olmsted has left behind an impressive list of work. Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1822, Olmsted had an auspicious career in journalism before his heightened success as a landscape architect. Aside from his most notable commissioned work, the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina, Frederick Olmsted’s work is so long, that just listing them would surpass the word count requirement of this article. Highlights include the academic campuses of Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Stanford University, Cornell University and Yale University to name a few. Other notable commissioned works include the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, Branch Brook Park in Newark, New Jersey and the Niagara Reservation, now the Niagara Falls State Park. The point being that Olmsted was sought after everywhere and worked everywhere. His genius is undisputed and his contributions are numerous. However, with all that he had accomplished, New York’s Central Park, another of his creative works, is located virtually in our own backyard.

Embarrassed to admit this, growing up in New Jersey my parents routinely took my brother and me into New York City for various cultural events. Continuing those experiences as a young adult, it was not until my wife and I decided to take our daughter to the Central Park Zoo that I actually spent time in Central Park. Not dismissing the efforts of Frederick Law Olmsted, how could you, many give him sole credit for the park’s design. In fact, the English-born architect Calvert Vaux shares credit for the design. Olmsted and Vaux entered the design contest together and were pitted against Egbert Ludovicus Viele, a civil engineer and United States Representative. “The design of Central Park embodies Olmsted’s social consciousness and commitment to egalitarian ideals.” Olmsted believed that the common green space of Central Park should be equally accessible to all citizens. And what about that green space…where did it come from? The Greensward project, which was the plan that Olmsted and Vaux submitted for the now Central Park, was a parcel of land that was seen as undesirable. More than 700 acres, the land between Fifth and Eighth avenues and 59^th and 106^th streets, was acquired by the power of eminent domain. The project had irregular terrain and swamps and displaced some 1600 residents who lived in shanties.

While there were many besides Olmsted and Vaux who helped shape, design and maintain America’s first landscaped public park in the United States, Central Park had another person’s strong influence. Ignaz Pilat was an Austrian-born gardener who migrated to the United States and worked on design and planting of Central Park. Accomplishments include studying botany at the University of Vienna and obtaining a position at the Imperial Botanical Gardens of the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. It was here where Pilat acquired many of his skills. Ignaz Pilat has been credited for many of the plant choices seen throughout the park. A list so diverse it’s worth the Google search…trees of Central Park.

My family’s outing in Central Park was full of excitement! Standing inside the Central Park Zoo watching the Snow Monkeys through our daughter’s eyes was worth the price of admission. For me, standing behind that attraction with a sweep of Crape Myrtle in bloom gazing up at the rigid architecture of the city through a large mass of American Elm was awe inspiring. What a great place to have so close to home. Walking under the George Delacorte Music Clock on our way to the Tisch Children’s Zoo was another highlight. The park is filled with too many attractions to list here, but I will say this, when you build up an appetite walking through all its grandeur, don’t miss the Central Park Boathouse for lunch. The scenery and culinary treats will hold your attention.

Olmsted’s ideal to preserve areas of natural beauty for future public enjoyment is heard through his own words. “What artist so noble…as he who, with far-reaching conception of beauty, in designing power, sketches the outlines, writes the colors, and directs the shadows of a picture so great that Nature shall be employed upon it for generations, before the work he arranged for her shall realize his intentions.” Olmsted’s attempt to improve society is echoed in his work. His open spaces are seen as “places of harmony” where we can, even today, escape from the grind of our everyday lives to a more perfect place.