Troughs for the Rocky Mountains

Gardening in the Banana Belt

Western Troughs
for Western Plants

Urban Ecology and Plants

Panayoti Kelaidis

John Ray

Bart O'Brien

Josie Lawlor

In 1998, an exhibit featuring large troughs, each dedicated to a distinct Colorado ecosystem, was conceived and executed: the troughs were filled with native wildflowers, most of them never before grown at the Gardens (or perhaps beyond). The history and evolution of this garden contains many lessons useful for anyone who gardens with rock plants in containers.

Plantsman, explorer, author, horticulturist, Panayoti has inspired many a gardener, not only in his native Colorado, but worldwide.  He has made Denver Botanic Gardens a "stop the car" for all rock gardeners.

From roughly June to September, the weather on the Eastern shore of Maryland consists of very high humidity. Outside, the perennial border and certain rock garden plants and troughs do well. In the alpine houses the sax and dionysias suffer, although Allioni primulas and their hybrids seem to flourish. Of interest is the differnce in planting troughs for shows vs the garden.

John regularly wins blue medals at the Philadelphia Flower Show for his plants and troughs. He is the 2020 Linc & Timmy Foster Millstream Garden Award: Special Garden winner.

Troughs provide excellent conditions for growing and viewing many of California’s most spectacular diminutive native plants. This presentation will focus on some of the best California native plants for trough cultivation, and how Bart grows them at Regional Parks Botanic Garden and at home.

A native of northern California, Bart is the Botanic Garden Manager for Regional Parks Botanic Garden (Tilden) in Berkeley. He cultivated his expertise in the local native flora over many years. He was first at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden before heading north to Tilden Park.

How do we create long-term plant communities upon buildings? Much is revealed from older, existing container gardens in the city. Josie discusses an unusually diverse trough garden at Rockefeller Plaza, the complex site environment, the human activities that define it, and a few experimental plant trials.

Josie is a horticulturist with a background in plant ecology. She designed and maintained gardens btween NYC and Maine.Also she has produced many botanical walking tours map databases and interpretive material inteded to connect people with the landscape around them.

A wander through the greenhouses and gardens at Wrightman Alpines Nursery, we'll look at different plants, materials and containers we've used for trough gardening over the years. Designs for plantings are only limited by the imagination!