Perennials are mainstays of many North Fork flower gardens, and for good reason. Unlike the annual impatiens and petunias and geraniums planted in pots and beds for the summer, perennials don’t need to be replanted every year.
Summer is time to celebrate, and all across the East End the peak season is here. It’s time to dive into all summertime has to offer. The beach beckons.
Here on the East End we’re all about summer. While all four seasons have their particular beauty, summer is the peak, when the bay and ocean waters are warm and inviting, and we can throw open our windows to the soft summer air.
The 2016 North Fork real estate market was very strong overall and for many realtors, it was their best year since 2008! With sales up, prices rising, and inventory very low, it was a seller’s market. There were multiple bids with properties selling at or above asking price.
For those of us lucky enough to live on the East End year-round, it’s not the summer social scene we treasure, or the summer crowds. What makes this place so special is the sheer beauty of the landscape in all of its diversity. Gardens are important additions to that landscape, and arguably the queen of East End flower gardens is the hydrangea.
If you’re like most East End homeowners, a carpet of classic green lawn is probably part of your landscape. But there are undoubtedly places on your property where the grass just does not thrive, because there’s too much shade, or the soil is too dry, or too wet.
Autumn is upon us, and here on the East End we get to enjoy some of the finest weather of the year, with cloudless blue skies above a landscape suffused in mellow golden light. Other days are gray, dramatically blustery and cloudswept.
Have you ever dreamed of a landscape that’s less work to maintain, that doesn’t need lots of watering, or fertilizing or primping? Native plants can be the answer. As the East End becomes more populated and developed, and we face continued problems with nitrogen in our bays and pollution in our wetlands, native plants have become an integral part of an increasing number of local landscapes.
We East Enders, whether we are here year round or just for the summer, love our gardens. The rich blue flowers of hydrangeas are summer icons, their lovely blossoms echoing the sky above. And fall brings masses of Montauk daisies.
Colorful flowers in a summer garden are pure delight and for many of us, an essential part of the joy of the season. Consider the rich blue hydrangeas and the multitudes of roses in shades of red, pink, orange, yellow and white that are blooming across the East End now. Adding fragrance to the garden palette deepens and enriches our appreciation of flowers. Of our five senses, smell delivers the richest and most enduring experience.
