A sure sign of summer approaching is the ‘Changing of the Guard' of the Knot Garden’s container arrangements, a twice-per-year event to welcome the changing seasons. Mild nighttime temperatures mean that warm-season plants have left their winter home in the greenhouse to grace each corner of the Knot garden with a bit of tropical flair- a little oasis in the Piedmont.
In keeping with Fearrington tradition, each container features a signature palm-like Dracaena (Dracaena indivisa), adding bursts of fountainous foliage to the garden. This year's arrangements also include velvety Petunia ‘Pretty Grand Midnight,’ the tiny, wispy flowers of Cuphea ‘Pink Shimmer,’ and iridescent Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ spilling over the edges.
A companion planter resides on the nearby patio, hosting a tree-sized Dracaena that graduated from the Knot Garden to its own, much more substantial, pot. Purple heart (Tradescantia pallida) and Impatiens 'Sunpatiens Compact Coral Pink’ fill out its base.
Visitors to the Knot Garden may notice some lingering bare spots on the sculpted hedges. While many of the Village's Yaupon Hollies (Ilex vomitoria) suffered an unusual amount of winter damage this year, they are slowly but surely recovering, with more healthy foliage filling out from the center every day. At over forty years old, the Knot Garden has withstood many a harsh winter, and is ready for its next hot summer.
Rachael, Fearrington Gardener
The Village Shops are open Wednesday through Sunday, 10am - 5pm.
