Allium
Strong architectural flower heads rise above the returning garden and bring some of the earliest dramatic color.
THROUGH THE YEAR
The Seasonal Garden
The garden at Root & Brass is never quite the same from one season to the next. Some plants announce themselves for only a few weeks, while others quietly carry the garden through months of change.
This is a record of when each part of the garden takes its turn to shine.
AWAKENING
Spring
Spring begins quietly. Bulbs emerge, perennials return, flowering trees wake, and the first color appears after a long winter.
Primrose
Early flowers bring color close to the ground while much of the perennial garden is still waking.
Crabapple
Spring blossoms make the crabapple one of the garden's most noticeable early-season trees.
Frost Peach
Delicate spring blossom comes before the fruit and provides a brief ornamental season of its own.
Purple & Yellow Lilacs
Fragrant flowers make the lilacs one of the unmistakable signs that the garden has entered spring in earnest.
Lily of the Valley
Small fragrant bells bring detail and softness to shaded parts of the spring garden.
Snow in Summer
Silvery foliage begins building toward the bright carpet of flowers that bridges late spring and early summer.
Hosta
Emerging leaves bring shape, texture, and color back to shaded areas even before flowering begins.
Lavender
Silvery foliage wakes into fresh growth and begins building the aromatic mound that will flower in summer.
ABUNDANCE
Summer
Summer is the fullest season. Flowers overlap, vines climb, fruit begins forming, and the garden reaches its greatest abundance.
White & Red Peony
Large white blooms create one of the garden's most dramatic moments as spring gives way to summer.
Clematis
The two clematis varieties grow together, bringing layered color and vertical interest.
Honeysuckle
Flowers, fragrance, and climbing growth make honeysuckle part of both the ornamental and useful summer garden.
Lupine
Tall flower spikes add vertical structure and a cottage-garden character to the early summer garden.
Hollyhock
Tall flowering stalks bring height and an old-fashioned garden character during summer.
Black-Eyed Susan
Warm golden flowers begin carrying the garden toward its later summer palette.
Deep Red Coneflower
Rich red blooms provide strong color through the heat of summer and into the changing season.
Blanket Flower
Warm red, orange, and gold tones keep producing color through much of summer.
Lavender
Fragrant purple flower spikes rise above silver foliage, bringing scent, color, pollinator activity, and a summer harvest.
Fire Light Hydrangea
Large flower clusters become increasingly dramatic as summer progresses.
Little Lime Punch Hydrangea
Changing flower color provides a long season of interest rather than a single moment of bloom.
Summer Crush Hydrangea
Large raspberry-red to neon-purple flower clusters bring vivid color through summer, with reblooming on both old and new wood extending the display.
Berries & Fruit
Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and Frost Peach turn parts of the garden from ornamental spaces into harvest spaces.
THE LAST SHOW
Autumn
Autumn belongs to changing foliage, fading flowers, seed heads, ripening fruit, and the plants that keep their structure after summer begins to disappear.
Lavender
Silver foliage and the remaining aromatic stems keep a quiet presence after the main flowering season has passed.
Fire Light Hydrangea
Flower heads deepen and age beautifully, giving the shrub another season of interest long after its first bloom.
Little Lime Punch Hydrangea
Flowers continue changing color and bring muted autumn tones into the garden.
Summer Crush Hydrangea
Later blooms and aging flower heads can carry its raspberry and purple tones into early autumn while adding texture as the season changes.
Black-Eyed Susan
Late flowers and dark seed heads help carry summer color into early autumn.
Deep Red Coneflower
Late blooms eventually give way to seed heads that continue providing texture after flowering.
Blanket Flower
Its warm palette naturally belongs to the transition between summer and autumn.
Crabapple
Fruit and changing foliage give the tree another distinct season after its spring bloom.
Aspen
Golden autumn foliage makes the aspens one of the strongest seasonal features in the garden.
Fruit Garden
The final harvests mark the close of the productive season and begin the transition toward winter.
REST
Winter
Winter strips the garden back to structure. Bark, branches, evergreen foliage, dried seed heads, and snow become the landscape while the perennial garden rests below ground.
Aspen
Pale trunks and fine branching remain visible after the leaves fall, giving the winter garden vertical structure.
Crabapple
The tree's branching form and any lingering fruit continue contributing interest after foliage drops.
Cheyenne Privet
The shrub framework continues defining garden spaces even when active growth has stopped.
Hydrangeas
When left standing, dried flower heads can provide texture and structure against snow.
Coneflower & Black-Eyed Susan
Dried stems and seed heads can remain part of the winter garden rather than disappearing immediately after frost.
Lavender
Its woody mound and silver foliage can remain a small structural accent through the quiet season.
The Perennial Garden
Much of the visible garden sleeps, while roots remain protected below the soil preparing for another growing season.