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Jul62011
Field Trip: Mariani Gardens
Jul62011
Enroute to Connecticut for a party two weeks ago, I stopped for a second look at Mariani Gardens, an upscale garden/design center in Armonk, NY. My first visit was four years ago just after it had opened.
At the entrance
Their specific specialty is large B & B (balled and burlaped) trees. That hasn’t changed in four years. They have beautiful specimens in very large sizes with very large pricetags.
Large b & b trees in the garden center
Fastigiate copper beeches
When I visited the first time, the parking lot was full, the cafe hopping and all of the design areas well stocked. When I visited two weeks ago–45 minutes before closing on a Saturday–I was the only customer.
Plant display
Despite the lack of clientele…a closed cafe and and merchandising that looked much the same as it did four years prior, there were some interesting ideas and products to be found. Mariani has high end furnishings for outdoor rooms from companies like Janus et Cie and Brown Jordan among others. These were merchandised beautifully–I actually bought a small lantern shown on the side table below as a hostess gift.
Furniture
The most unusual thing I saw was a Betula jacqemontii (Himalayan Birch) trained as a sort of umbrella. I’ve never seen a tree trained that way before.
Betula umbrella
Canopy detail
Would I go again? If I was driving by, certainly. Would I make a special trip? Probably not.
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2 Responses to Field Trip: Mariani Gardens
Susan, The last time I was at Mariani (a year or two ago) it was virtually empty too. As noted, the price tags can be a bit shocking but they certainly do have some unusual trees. When I was there they had a fantastic espaliered Forest Pansy redbud exactly what I was looking for for my client…I think I had to look at the price several times before it actually registered. Way too $$$ for me.
Umbrella trees quite fash here at the mo. But as with all such items, which need detailed and knowledgeable pruning, you wonder where the gardeners with the skills to do it will be found these days!
Best
R