Appreciate Gardens All Year Round

Every day of the year, there are flowers in bloom to admire and enjoy — you just need to know where to look.

Karl Gercens, the conservatory manager for Longwood Gardens, the world-renowned botanical garden in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, will share what flowers to look for, where and when, in his presentation “365 Days of Flowers” on Sunday, June 11, for the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons lecture series at the Bridgehampton Community House.

“Where in the world can you go at any certain moment to get your flower fix?” Gercens asked during a recent interview. “It does not just have to be in your own backyard.

“We have to realize that we are not all going to be experts in orchids, we’re not going to be experts in oaks, we’re not going to be experts in magnolias, we’re not going to be experts in African violets,” he continued. “Each person is going to have one thing that they’re good at. And if you want to have 365 days of something happening, you’re probably not going to be the expert to make all that happen. So you have to count on other people. So we have to look beyond our backyard for that.”

He noted that many gardeners may already know that the earliest flowering tree is Prunus mume (Chinese plum) and the latest color is perhaps Aster tataricus (Tatarinow’s aster).

“But did you know that February is when the red water lilies bloom in Thailand?” he said. “And that’s when you want to go there. Did you know that December is when the Dahlia imperialis is blooming in Central Florida? You need to see that. And it’s just like setting your sights on cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. You want to hit that moment. It’s like the superbloom in California. You don’t have it every year — it’s something you aspire for. The cherries that bloom in Japan, the tulips that bloom in Holland — what are some of these amazing things that we can aspire to visit at one point in our life? It’s not just about what we’re putting in our own backyard.”

Gercens travels to visit gardens at least monthly, and in-season, weekly. The Caribbean, California and England are all on his 2023 agenda, and in between he will visit gardens that are a bit closer to home.

“It takes a lot of days just to get around what’s here,” he said of the Greater Philadelphia area, “not to mention when you head up to the Greater New York Area, or New England, Long Island.”

The Philadelphia region is known as America’s Garden Capital, with 30 public gardens within 30 miles of the city, and Longwood Gardens alone has more than 1,000 acres of gardens, meadows and woodlands.

Gercens, who is originally from Mississippi, has been at Longwood Gardens for 25 years. As the conservatory manager, he is involved in the planning, design, procurement and execution of gardens as well as the education of students and the engagement of volunteers and nearly 2 million guests annually.

Horticulture is a nonstop entertainment for gardeners, according to Gercens.

“You’re planting, you’re watching things grow, you’re moving things, but it’s also nonstop entertainment with the people because you’re learning so much,” he said. “What worked for you? What failed? What’s been your biggest challenge? What’s been your greatest success? And you can ask those exact same questions of every person that you encounter, and it never gets old. I always enjoy learning from other people and sharing what I’ve experienced.”

Gercens recommends bringing Post-it notes and an empty calendar to his presentation to take down notes and dates.

“Maybe I’ve done it so much that it’s not as challenging as it would be for others, but it’s just so easy these days to get out and see other places,” he said. “Whether you drive down to Planting Fields in January and check out the Camellia blooming in the Camellia House right there, whether you hop on the plane to Florida because it’s only $98 round trip during the winter season, or whether you hop across the ocean because it’s only four or five hours just to get to portions of Europe from New York, there are so many options around us, which we are so much more able to see and visit than had ever been available before.”

The Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay is just one of the Long Island gardens he recommends. Also on his list and open to the public are the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River and Landcraft Garden Foundation in Mattituck, and he’s visited numerous private gardens across the island, including on the East End,

“Through the Open Days program with the Garden Conservancy, when private gardens open, it’s a wonderful way to sneak into some places you wouldn’t normally see,” he said. “And then through social media, you get to know people who in turn know other people, which in turn introduces you to even more great gardeners that are super passionate. So I’ve really enjoyed my time traveling all around, meeting people, learning from them, and also just sharing my passion for horticulture along the way.”

He enjoys the diversity and the history of Long Island’s gardens and said Long Island has one of the best climates on the East Coast for gardening.

“First of all, you got that incredible sandy soil,” he said. “You’re moderated by the ocean, and you’ve got cool summers.”

He recalled being on Long Island’s north shore on a 72-degree July day and marveling over the perfect weather.

“I thought, ‘This is perfect. This is truly enjoyable,’” he said. “My entire life, I despised summer because it was so hot, and I said, ‘This is why people like summer. This is why magazines have people frolicking and playing and having barbecues.’”

He said Long Island’s summer was like nothing he grew up with in Mississippi, and it was a wonderful change.

“Philadelphia is lovely. Do not get me wrong,” he added. “It’s just Long Island is that much better.”

Though spring, especially, and summer are the seasons most associated with gardening, Gercens recommends designing a garden for winter interest first.

“So many times people start with spring, and spring is everywhere,” he said. “Spring is chaotic, spring is explosive. And I just think that there needs to be some people in the world that are starting from the other end.”

He said gardeners often paint from the top, and by the time they get to the bottom, there’s not much left. But if they paint from the bottom, their gardens and their lives will be more balanced, and they can get their horticultural fix in winter, when it’s needed most.

“Have those strategic spots in your windows where you’re looking out at an early-blooming tree or something with incredible colored bark or something like that,” he suggested. “And then design your landscape for fall interest, and then maybe for the summer, but the last thing you need to think of is spring.”

Though flowers may not be blooming in the dead of winter, there is still form, texture and color, he pointed out. “And those are things that are appreciated when the flowers are not distracting you,” he added. “Springtime is distraction after distraction after distraction.”

He said the winter season is the sophisticated season, for people who slow down.

“In our busy lives today, who doesn’t need to slow down?” he said. “So a winter interest garden is a relaxing garden. It’s a contemplative garden.”

He advised training one’s mind to look for things to appreciate, like the twigs on winter dogwoods and the berries on winterberry hollies.

Longwood Gardens has its most visitors in December — not in spring — Gercens noted, adding that its conservatories are their best in the winter. “Dynamic” and “jaw-dropping” is how he described them.

“Not to say that summer isn’t lovely, but I do feel that knowledgeable horticulturists should be concentrating perhaps on those other times of year, more so than what the average person is doing,” he said.

One of the Philadelphia area’s premier gardens, Longwood Gardens has a storied history just like Long Island’s Gold Coast gardens.

“Longwood is one of those 1920s estates,” Gercens explained. “There was so many of them built, and what makes ours special is the fact that our founder, Pierre du Pont, recognized that some of these largest estates were being lost once the owners passed away. So he left us an endowment and allowed us to continue to survive. But then through the incredible management we’ve had here, Longwood’s not just survived, but we’ve thrived, and we’ve actually increased the level of incredible horticulture that we’ve been able to do here.”

He said that, to him, a garden is “enhanced nature,” and horticulture is the hand of man touching the plants.

“We all are making an effort, and we all have something we’re bringing to the table,” he said. “And again, we can learn from each and every person that shares with us. When you have passion, that passion is going to be observant, and it’s going to be apparent to everyone. It’s contagious, I think.”

He promised his presentation in Bridgehampton will expand gardeners’ minds and their horizons.

“It’s not just about what you’re planning in your own backyard, it’s, ‘Where can I get that horticultural fix?’ And when you get that horticultural fix, from wherever it may be, that’s going to be the inspiration that you’ll then bring back to your own garden,” he said.

Karl Gercens presents “365 Days of Flowers” on Sunday, June 11, 2023, at the Bridgehampton Community House, hosted by the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons. Admission is $10, or free for HAH members. Visit hahgarden.org for more information.