Northwind Perennial Farm: This dynamic nursery promotes contemporary garden communities
Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publication: Perennials
Written By James A. Baggett. Photography By Marty Baldwin
"Mostly I've been inspired by nature," Roy Diblik says. "I graduated from college as an outdoor education teacher. Everything I've come to know about perennials has come from the plants and the beauty of all the diversity of our natural areas." As co-owner of Northwind Perennial Farm in Burlington, Wisconsin, Roy-who's been growing plants for more than 25 years-specializes in growing perennials, native plants, and ornamental grasses. But he's also on a personal mission to persuade gardeners to turn their home landscapes into sustainable environments using plants grouped in communities based on cost and time it takes to maintain. "I call this concept known-maintenance gardening," explains Roy. "It's all about combining plants that live well together."
Visitors to his sprawling nursery near Lake Geneva can stroll through different types of these contemporary plant communities in the display gardens and purchase the plants to create similar well-considered spaces. "Out of Bohemia," for example, is based on spending 20-30 minutes in the garden every 10-14 days and contains Allium 'Summer Beauty', Amsonia tabernaemontana salicifolia, Echinacea tennesseensis, and Salvia 'Wesuwe', among others.
Endless Combinations
The nursery's Upper Midwest location has served Roy well. He grows 400,000 plants of 300 different species each year. In 2001, Roy met and became friends with renowned Dutch designer Piet Oudolf after Piet won the design competition (with Kathryn Gustafson and three other designers) for the Lurie Garden in Chicago's Millennium Park. Roy ended up growing 14,000 plants and purchased 14,000 moreand assisted Piet in the planning and layout of the Lurie Garden.
Northwind Perennial Farm got its start back in 1991 when Steve Coster and his wife, Colleen Garrigan, decided to team up with Roy to grow and sell hardworking perennials in a bucolic country setting. Steve manages the design and installation team, Colleen is the stylist and manages the retail operations, and Roy-of course grows the perennials.
"Perennials create excitement,' Roy says. "They're fast-paced, diverse, they have character, and they can be planted in endless combinations. Still, I think my greatest pleasure is how well the partnership has worked. The joy of Northwind is not income-related, but how much fun we have each day doing what a lot of folks refer to as work."
Prairie plants
Always on the lookout for new and improved perennials, Roy introduced two perennial prairie grasses into the trade. One is a switchgrass (Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'), the other is a prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolipsis 'Tara'). "The switchgrass has great fall color, a nice vertical growth habit, and the flowers mature within the upright foliage," he says. "The prairie dropseed is more compact than the species-it's a great little filler grass, especially for small-space gardens." When he's not helping customers "They don't seem to be concerned about talking on their cell phones so much when they're here," he says-or working on his upcoming book on plant communities and maintenance, Roy's busy planning 2 miles of boulevard plantings on Chicago's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. "We will be developing plant communities that are sustainable with a projected 50-year management plan," Roy says. "Gardens for now and gardens with a future."
