Irvin Etienne is the curator of herbaceous vegetation and seasonal backyard design at Newfields, a 152-acre campus with artwork galleries, efficiency areas, world-class public gardens, and a nature park in Indianapolis. Irvin has been a frequent contributor to Superb Gardening, sharing his horticultural experience via informative articles like A Vivid Concept for Spring Containers, Large and Daring Crops for the Again of the Border, and Convey It In!, a primer on overwintering all types of tropical vegetation. On this episode he delves into the trail that introduced him to horticulture, the teachings realized from a long time of gardening in public, and a number of the (many, many) vegetation that earn their preserve in his residence backyard.
Irvin’s Indiana backyard consists of an intriguing array of tropical vegetation like ‘Flaming Kabobs’ canna.
Digging and storing a whole lot of tender vegetation in late autumn retains Irvin busy for a lot of weeks, each at work and at residence.
Planting layers of bulbs in plastic nursery pots is a straightforward approach to plan forward for a spectacular spring show.
Irvin’s Indianapolis backyard didn’t precisely mix into the encompassing neighborhood.
One other view from the Indianapolis backyard.
Shifting to the nation has allowed Irvin to develop much more of the vegetation he loves, like ‘Pretoria’ canna.
‘Holy Grail’ hardy hibiscus pairs smoky darkish foliage with smoldering purple blooms.
Crops with darkish foliage like ‘David Howard’ dahlia preserve the backyard attention-grabbing, even when not in bloom.
‘Day Dream’ canna is one other dark-leaved magnificence.
Photographs: Irvin Etienne and Carol Collins
