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Catch Mary Palmer Dargan’s Lecture at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston

Have you wanted to plant or design a romantic garden for your home? If so, mark your calendar for Friday, November 14th, so you do not miss Hugh and Mary Palmer Dargan’s lecture at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, located at 3550 Ashley River Road in Charleston. For the general admission adult price of only $15.00, you can attend the lecture in Magnolia’s Orientation Theatre and enjoy the gardens afterwards with a new perspective.

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Source: Dargan Landscape Architects via Facebook

The lecture will explore romantic-style gardening and its influence. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens provides a perfect location for such an event as it is the last large-scale romantic garden in America. As a licensed and vastly experienced landscape architect, Mary Palmer will share the knowledge she has gained from extensive travels both home and abroad, and how they played a part in her romantic garden designs. 

Having designed many beautiful romantic gardens in Charleston and other areas in North Carolina and Georgia, Mary Palmer will discuss how a romantic garden differs from a formal garden. She will also share tips on how to create a romantic garden within your own landscape. Mary Palmer believes, “A romantic garden provides the perfect canvas for creative thought and inspiration to solace your soul.” Not only will you learn the fundamental elements to this style of gardening, you are guaranteed to find some inspiration in Mary Palmer’s words.

Steeped in history, Magnolia Plantation has been family-owned for more than 300 years. In the late 17th century the gardens were started and during the 18th century their beauty and size expanded exponentially, however, it was not until the 19th century that they took on the grand scale that they maintain today. 

Join Mary Palmer of Dargan Landscape Architects as she details this beautiful, romantic style of gardening and bask in the beauty of the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.

Join Mary Palmer Dargan at the North Georgia Camellia Society

Are you struggling to bring camellias into your landscape design? On Monday, Nov. 10, Mary Palmer Dargan would like to invite you to a lecture titled, “Camellias Dazzle your Landscape Design with Flowers, Form and Structure.” Presented by Mary Palmer herself, this lecture will be held at the North Georgia Camellia Society, which meets at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in Atlanta, Ga on the second Monday of each month.  

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As a licensed and storied landscape architect and designer, Mary Palmer will share her knowledge with you about creating idyllic garden designs featuring camellias. Due to the vast variety, size, color and multi-season blooming capabilities of this versatile flowering plant, understanding the important concepts in Mary’s lecture will help inspire your creative endeavors. Mary will also share some of her tips and tricks on how best to work with camellias.

Members of the non-profit North Georgia Camellia Society meet on the second Monday of every month from September through April at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. They share their passion for camellias, as well as their ideas for grafting, planting and maintaining these beautiful plants.

As low-maintenance shrubs, camellias can easily be incorporated into garden designs as a privacy screen or even a shrub border. Although the appropriate spot for planting is critical to their growth success, camellias are a hardy shrub and can grow as tall as 12 feet.  And according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they thrive best in hardiness zones seven through nine.

Come join Mary Palmer Dargan on Nov. 10 and learn more about this incredible flowering shrub. To learn more about Mary Palmer and Dargan Landscape Architects, we invite you to browse around our website, or contact us to discuss the design and development of your idyllic garden.

Mary Palmer Dargan – Talking about Camellias

Photo Credit: Trish Hartmann. Creative Commons licensed.
Photo Credit: Trish Hartmann. Creative Commons licensed.

Mary Palmer Dargan will be the featured speaker at the The North Georgia Camellia Society’s next meeting at the Atlanta Botanical Garden on Monday, November 10, 2014.

The topic: “Camellias Dazzle your Landscape Design with Flowers, Form and Structure.”

Mary Palmer will also bring copies of her new book, “Lifelong Landscape Design,” for purchase. It is available for purchase at https://dargan.com/garden-design-programs-books/

The meeting will be held in the workroom in the basement of the main building at 7 p.m.

The Buzz…

How does your garden grow? We captured the last of the summer’s new england asters harboring a bountiful feast for pollinators last weekend at the NC Arboretum in Asheville…it was awesome to watch, and catch the buzz.  This weekend is was 20 degrees…ah, mother nature.

click to see the short video

http://youtu.be/FzmzhHsyoAMpollinator sne aster butterfly

How Should I Prepare My Landscape for Winter Weather?

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Source: Dargan via houzz

Winter will soon be upon us, but that doesn’t mean your garden duties can be placed on the back burner. There are several important landscape maintenance procedures to perform before the cold snap arrives. By preparing your landscape for winter weather, you’ll ensure grass, trees and perennials survive the winter and that beds will be ready for new plants in the spring.

While leaves can provide valuable nutrients to grass and soil, thick layers of wet leaves can smother your lawn when they compact. If you have a large amount of leaves on your lawn, it’s best to rake them into a big pile that can compost over the winter, or to use a mulching mower to shred them so they’re not as heavy.

To best prepare your trees for the cold weather, you should protect smaller, new plantings with chicken wire or specialty cages to keep animals that feed on tender bark. Remember to fertilize young trees, and if you live in a fairly dry climate, water them until they’re well-saturated before the ground freezes. For large trees, trim off any unhealthy branches that may crack or break under the weight of snow. Lastly, spread a good layer of mulch around your trees to help regulate the temperature.

Contrary to the notion that perennials need lots of care in the winter, a gardener has the opportunity to be part of the web of life, and do nothing. If you like order and structure in a perennial garden, simply break or bend down the stems and place them on the ground so they become natural mulch.

To help pollinators overwinter, a messy perennial garden is not all bad! By leaving seed heads and stems standing and intact over winter, native bees, eggs from butterflies and other pollinators are allowed to complete a natural cycle. As the plant matter decays, organic bits nourish the ground and the eggs fall with it. Pupae who hatch therefore remain in situ, ready to help your garden, and other gardens nearby, be pollinated and to set seed in the future.

Leaving 6-8″ of stems cut back or bent also provides places for birds to perch and peck thru the leaf litter looking for insect larvae…and essential food to nourish them through the winter.

Performing landscape maintenance will ensure your vegetation not only survives the winter, but thrives in the spring. Visit Dargan Landscape Architects for beautiful landscape inspiration in the autumn months, or contact us today about your landscape design.