We took a day trip to Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut. I had read about this nursery in The New York Times and have been pining to go since. We visited on a beautiful Saturday. It was sunny and warm. There was even a pleasant breeze.
It took us a little over two hours to get there and spent two hours looking around and deciding which tree to take home with us. The nursery has a great collection of trees that included Japanese maples, dogwoods, conifers, as well as flowering perennials. We did not have something specific in mind to buy. We were happy to look around, and perhaps find something unique to add to our balcony garden.
Most of the nurseries are open to the public. Where permitted, we wandered through them pointing out some amazing looking specimens - wishing we could take them home.
TH and I were both very impressed with the variety and selection of trees and plants especially available for purchase. We eventually decided on two Japanese maple trees and some perennials. TH spotted a Japanese maple with delicate, feathery chartreuse green foliage called the Koto No Ito. It has lovely slender leaves that sway in the gentle breeze. This particular tree will add a wonderful texture and color to the balcony garden.
The other Japanese maple is a dwarf JM called, Beni Hime. This JM is just adorable and has got beautiful variegated colored leaves that are no bigger than a penny! The general size is perfect and will definitely help to offset the visual verticality of the other trees we currently have.
A few perennials, disporum cantoniense night heron, were added at the end after I had noticed another lady's purchase. She had a great eye for plants because I was admiring a dwarf Japanese maple with cream and pink colored leaves that she was purchasing at the time. There were more of the same tree available but they weren't as creamy as the one she had. She also had picked out perennials that she was not familiar with and thought it best to grab them as well. She looked up at the name with her iPhone ad found a picture of what the perennial would look like once it bloomed. It was an attractive flower and I thought I, too, should get some.
TH and I had a great time at Broken Arrow Nursery. The staff were nice and very helpful. The setting is pretty and tranquil. I look forward to our next visit to Broken Arrow for our arbor needs.
