The Second Snowfall

Hello again,
It's been a while since I was last writing to you, and I apologize for that. I kept looking for something to write about and was having trouble. Yesterday, I was excited by the first snow, but I didn't want to be cliche and talk about the first snowfall. So here I am today talking about the second snowfall. That's unique, right? I really couldn't keep myself from bringing the camera out two days in a row. It's just too darn beautiful to do that. So here are some images that are seen at Midwest Groundcovers today.
Echinacea
Can you imagine cutting these back before they look like this? It's a travesty to think that so many people do not want to see this. Why? I could get all philosophical and say that people in general are afraid of death. But look at the life in these gals. They look ready to go with their white stocking hats firmly attached to their heads. Winter is amazing to perennials if you leave them be. At Midwest Groundcovers, we cut down our perennials in late March.
Linden allee
This is our allee of Lindens that are seen as you drive into our facility. There are a couple times a year where I'm excited to get this picture. The day they begin to bloom, they are remarkably fragrant. The first day of a hoarfrost is also pretty spectacular. But walking this road today gave me a sense of peacefulness the other two times don't express. I suppose the fragrance would be peaceful if I wasn't dodging vehicles at that time of year.
Sedum
Even Sedum can look nice in winter. If left unpruned, each spent flower gives you a frosty bouquet.






Picea abies 'Pendula'
How can one not enjoy snow when it can create such dramatic images? I love this plant year-round, but it's this time of year when the drama is at its crescendo. Snow dripping from the needles mimicking the branches themselves. Sigh. If nothing else, it adds to an otherwise dreary winter garden.


Thuja Nordic Spire™
Peter's introduction from the A-Plant group. This conifer is stunning throughout the year with its pendulous branches and bright green needles. This is deer resistant because it has Thuja plicata as one of the parents. Come see ours next year as they mature into a loose hedge to divide the perennial gardens into two rooms.

Crataegus phaenopyrum
The architecture of the Washington Hawthorn with snow nestled upon its limbs is like the first steps into a well done Japanese Garden. It's a very tranquil sight. When looking closer at the Hawthorn, tranquility passes and fears of falling into the wretched thorns begins. On this day, I kept my distance and the emotion remained positive.

The view of the building from our Perennial Island. Imagine if we cut back the Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' like so many landscapers do. This picture would be boring and the landscape would feel incomplete. Winter interest is so important in doing a large design like this. Nobody likes looking at a sterile mass of cropped plants. Perhaps the practice of pruning in fall is why people take the beauty of winter for granted.

Panicum 'Dallas Blues'
When I walked past this grass, I thought it was reving up to throw some snowballs my way. It didn't. But I took a picture anyways. I was most impressed that the weight of the snow didn't topple this beauty. He's hanging in their pretty well this year. Wouldn't kids just love having this plant around. There's a stockpile of snowballs just ready to grab and chuck. And building a fort would be much easier, because they could just hide behind the grass.
Piet Oudolf Garden
When people come out here for tours, I always explain that Spring is the quietest season for this garden. You can clearly see why this time of year is not. Winter is perhaps my second favorite month for this garden. The structures of these plants in winter is a beauty far too often ignored. The same reasons why these plants look great together in summer are still apparent now. Spikes with umbels. Horizontal seed heads with grasses. Great contrasts from an amazingly gifted designer. How lucky are we that we get to enjoy this garden day in and day out?
Conifer Island
Our conifer island is a sight to be seen as well. Snows dusting the branches of Juniperus 'Maneyi' add marvelous details to the structure. The large Douglasfir is very pretty as well. You can see the very tip of the Seuss-like Picea pungens 'Pendula' in the background. That is one of my favorites on the island. If you have not encountered the conifer garden here, maybe you should. All our Junipers and Thuja that we sell reside here. There is nothing like seeing an established specimen to know for sure whether you like it or not. My guess is, you may not like everything, but there is something up there that will knock your socks off.

Happy December everyone. I hope this holiday season will treat everyone nice. Until next time, have a great day!

Frost in the Garden

Not everything in the garden is beautiful at this time of year. In fact, most people would say the garden is dead and not worth looking at. I need to argue against that. There are many reasons to walk around your garden. Those reasons come to life on the mornings where frost covers the ground. Groundcovers! They are the stars of this time. Especially the ones that are evergreen. Here are some that I came across today that I have found to be wonderful.

Sedum 'Immergrunchen'

Not only is this plant great for green roofs, but it is also an excellent groundcover. This was my favorite plant this morning because of the frost. There is something special about the frost lining the rims of the leaves, creating a piece of delicately displayed artwork. How great you are, Mother Nature!?! You can see on some of the plant, that the foliage is turning orange. That is also a characteristic I find charming about this plant. Because of this, it became the centerpiece of our Sedum sun. Turning orange in early winter, it creates the sun with all the other varieties streaking away as its rays. When 'Fuldaglut', 'Dragon's Blood' and 'Red Carpet' turn their brightest colors of red, it is a stunning display.

Sedum forsterianum

Speaking about the virtues of sedum, here is the iceberg stonecrop, which looks very interesting today. The corkscrew effect of the foliage is more easily seen with frost dusting the plants. These plants have flourished in the garden for many years underneath our crab apples. So they do receive their fair share of shade and still keep looking nice.

Phuopsis stylosa

Sort of Sedum-like in appearance, this groundcover has a spiral effect as well. The frost on this was quite beautiful. I don't think the picture does it justice. I have this planted in areas where it gets full sun and in areas where it receives very little sun. In the area with more sun, it is a pale yellow-green color right now. It resembles Sedum 'Angelina' in these areas. In the shady area, they are a dark green. In both areas, the plant has proven vigorous and will undergo a salt test this winter. I'll let you know. This could be the ultimate Polygonum reynoutria substitute if it holds up to the salting. It even has pink flowers in spring!

Ajuga 'Black Scallop'

I don't typically like to talk about Ajuga. I think I say that every time I bring up 'Black Scallop'. It's not that they don't have a use. It's just that I like other groundcovers better. Black Scallop however, is on my good list. And with white frost sprinkled over the top of the near-black foliage, I find it irresistible. The plants pictured have been in the landscape for four years and have flourished. They receive good drainage and half day sun. The foliage is larger than most other Ajuga we carry with the exception of 'Catlin's Giant'. 'Catlin's Giant' is similar but with lighter colored foliage.

Geum 'Tequila Sunrise'

This is another introduction from Intrinsic Perennials in Hebron, IL. While there isn't a flower to show you, these plants look spectacular covered in frost. You can really see how fuzzy the foliage is because the frost has attached itself to each little hair. I'll be excited to show you the bi-colored flowers in spring. I currently have three of Intrinsic's Geum on trials. I'll be looking for feedback next year on whether or not you like them.

Stachys 'Big Ears'

Speaking of fuzzy! These are the fuzziest plants known to me. And they look marvelous with frost covering them. At this time of year, these start to yellow up a little for winter. But with frost attached, they are looking like they do all year. Fuzzy. To really appreciate the frost on this, enlarge the picture and check out the edges of the foliage. Very interesting.

Dianthus 'Little Maiden'

These small plants have looked great all year. At this point, with the frost covering them, they sort of look like turf. But a refined turf right? If you are familiar with Sagina subulata, and you have had trouble growing it, then try this one out. The foliage offers a very similar look, but then it adds dainty white flowers in spring and sporadically throughout the season. Like most Dianthus, a dry and well drained site is important for the plants to thrive.

Potentilla neumanniana 'Nana'

Its varying stages of foliage offer color this time of year. With browns and greens, and a little white from frost, they look fun. To me, they look like little pinwheels. This has been a remarkable addition to our groundcover line. We have found that this plant is salt tolerant and grows rapidly. The species is native to Eastern Canada, so it is a North American native. While aggressive on the ground, I don't anticipate any issues with this being invasive. It has been in the landscape for several years now, and I have not seen any plants go to seed. Another great possibility as a substitute for Polygonum reynoutria.

Heuchera richardsonii

I didn't anticipate the beautiful fall colors that are emerging from this plant. We have several planted in our experimental groundcover garden, and they are all turning shades of red and orange. The frost creates a wonderful rim around the leaves, which makes this Illinois native look sharp. In the summer, leaves are medium to dark green. It flowers a creamy white, and sometimes pink. The pink ones are few. But a selection could be done for fall color. Some plants are definitely better than others. The beauty of bio-diversity and growing native plants from seed. Heuchera breeders should be looking at this plant for hybridizing because it would add a really nice fall feature. Imagine Heuchera 'Chatterbox' type flowers in summer followed by an orange and red fall display. What a combo that would be. But alas, it doesn't exist yet. It is just a dream.

Even at this time of year, the garden is full of surprises and beauty. November is not the time to forget about the garden. It is the time to respect it for its subtle beauties. It will make you appreciate the flowers more come spring because you'll know there is another show to anticipate later! Until next time, have a great day!

The Morton Arboretum

I took a trip last week to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL for a perennials trial group that I'm a part of. Once we've set our website up, I'll give more information on that. In the meantime, we were deciding which plants to grow for next year and have as part of our trials. Once our main business was finished, we took a little walk into the children's garden. It has been some time since I've been to the Arboretum, so it was a very exciting task. Of course, most of the perennials were finished, but the shrubs and trees were not.

Quercus rubra

I am always delighted to see the fall colors of oaks. Before they get to the brown stage, they have a complex mixture of oranges, reds and yellows. Near my home, I had mistaken a Red Oak for a Red Maple when it first started to color. I had always known the tree was a red oak, I just hadn't seen it so beautifully colored before. What a great native!

Carpinus carolinianus

Look up this plant on Google™ and see how many common names you can find. This is one of those perfect trees to talk about when deciding whether or not botanic names are important. Anyways, off of that soapbox. This is a spectacular tree year-round. You can see its delightful fall color. The bark is very smooth and reminiscent of Fagus or Beech trees, which is why one of it's common names is Blue Beech. Also, if you look closely, the bark looks like muscles, hence the common name Musclewood. I like to think of it as an American Hornbeam. But then Ostrya virginiana is commonly called the Hop-Hornbeam which just confuses things further. So, now that I haven't said much about the plant, I'll start to. They grow 15-25' tall with a similar spread. They are a native plant and attract many types of beautiful native moths whose larvae feed on the leaves. This is a nice medium sized tree for the home garden.

Catalpa speciosa

I wish I had this picture when Halloween rolled around. I just love the structure of this tree. The seed pods, or as my grandmother used to say, the cigars hang down and can create a walking hazard on the sidewalk. But their showy display of flowers in summer is hard to match. The flowers are almost orchid-like in appearance with yellow and purple speckles coming from the middle of a pure white flower. And of course, once the giant leaves fall, the tree takes on a monstrous look in the winter. Just in time for Halloween as a matter of fact!
Cornus mas 'Golden Glory'

The dark purple fall colors of this gem are hard to miss. They are very late to color up, but when they do they are quite nice. This is not a native of the US, but a nice plant nonetheless. It has a wonderful display of yellow flowers in late March/early April. The fruit are bright red drupes that are very tart if eaten. They supposedly are great in pies! I have yet to try that.

Ligularia 'Desdemona'

This was a nice sight to see. As we peeked through a small opening in the garden, we could see the seed heads of Ligularia in front of a Chamaecyparis of some sort. We carry the 'Britt Marie Crawford' Ligularia which is quite similar and would give the same effect as this, only with darker foliage. In the foreground is Allium 'Ozawa' with its purple flowers.

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Pee Wee'

This is such a nice plant. This native Hydrangea cultivar is a dwarf version of the plant that only grows to 4' tall and wide. The fall color is tremendous, and much later than most other plants. This picture was taken on November 6th, so you can see the fall color develops late and holds well. No worry of frost.

Here is another view of the plant. In a different area of the garden, it looks great with tall ornamental grasses flanking it. In this particular instance, they have Miscanthus. But how can you not love the deep purples and spots of red.

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Hydrangea quercifolia 'Alice'

This is the variety we currently carry. And as you can see, the fall color is just as spectacular. These plants do get larger, growing to a potential of 8' in a long period of time. They are slow growing. The bark peels and looks fantastic once the foliage has dropped.

Can you believe how nice our native plants look in fall? It definitely makes an argument to having native plants in the landscape. They just do so well. How can one complain? I'm clearly not a native purist, but some of the plants in your landscape should come from your region. It's the responsible thing to do, and there are so many wonderful choices to pick from. Until next time, have a great day!

A Couple more Pictures of Fall

Hello again,
I have a few more shots from last week that didn't make the blog. When I looked back through my pictures, some of my favorite ones were not used. How wasteful! Well, I couldn't just let them disappear and never be seen, so here they are.
Geranium maculatum
When I first started working here, we had a pretty extensive display of Geraniums in our perennial garden. Many of the varieties we never sold and some, like 'Jolly Bee', have gone on to be superb sellers. This is a seedling that arose in a nearby spot that I have kept since that time. I like the blooms and by golly, I love the fall color. I think this is the best fall color I've ever seen on this variety. It is getting a fair amount of sun, though the plants typically grow in shade. Well, I think this fall color is enough to make me want these in full sun.
Aconitum fischerii
Speaking of blooms, these are still looking fabulous. After frost and rain, these plants look stunning. There is not a lot of purple this time of year. The question I have is, would anyone buy these? If your company would, please email us at mgplanttrials@midwestgroundcovers.com. It only takes a couple seconds to let me know if there is a market for these. If nobody replies, I'll assume that there isn't interest in monkshoods.
It's always a pleasure to eat lunch and then hang around the pond at our site. It is always chock-full of bullfrogs and sometimes the occasional turtle, as well as some giant Asian carp that lurk around. Right now though, the Bald Cypress with their rusty brown needles dropping into the pond are the stars. It's fun to see the rusty rim that forms around the pond from the needles floating to the sides. In the background, my favorite oak tree on site is turning shades of orange.
Fothergilla Beaver Creek™
What a beautiful plant in fall. My favorite attribute of the plant is the fall color. The flowers are great and all, but nothing beats the fall color of Fothergilla. The name is excellent as well. Who doesn't like saying Fothergilla. It's kind of like saying Bouteloua! I find it amazing that these haven't been ravaged by the rabbits. At home, the rabbits love this plant. I rarely get to see fall color over the height of 4". Wascally wabbits!
Euonymus europaeus
These plants have always been interesting in the landscape. We have them in multiple locations and they've been there longer than I've been with the company. Therefore, the fact that I have not seen any seedlings of this in the forest or anywhere else in the landscape leads me to believe that this is a Euonymus that I need not worry about. It's fall color is in shades of pink and orange.

Thanks again for reading! I hope you've found it enjoyable. Until next time, have a great day!

Midwest Groundcovers Adopts a Highway

Hello again,

Midwest Groundcovers has adopted a highway! Some employees from Midwest Groundcovers, LLC have decided to donate their time to clean up IL Route 25. As you may or may not know, this is the road that our main facility is located. Since August, twelve employees have signed up to help out by helping clean up the road we drive on every day in our free time. It is quite the rewarding experience driving down the road and seeing how clean you've made it the day before. The clean-up area that we have adopted consists of 2 miles from Army Trail Road to our facility. Most garbage on the road consists of cigarette packs and beer bottles. Kind of scary when you think about it. If only those people were reading right now! I think when people litter, they don't think of the people that have to clean up after them. We at Midwest Groundcovers strive to Keep Illinois Clean! This has been a public service announcement. Until next time, have a great day!

Cool Summers make Warm Fall Colors

Hello again,
It seems like the fall colors are fairly extended this year. Certain things dropped immediately with the first frost, but others maintain there beauty for much longer. I've been very impressed with the golds I'm seeing this year. They seem so much richer than in years past. Here are some interesting fall pictures I took yesterday.
First I'll start out with our recycling program. It has been a very beneficial thing to some of our customers. This is the product that we ship out. So once we've collected enough plastic, we make these nice cubes of containers that we send out to be recycled. People have asked what it looks like, so here it is! Beautiful isn't it? It is much more beautiful than sending it to the landfill.


Tilia cordata 'Glenleven'
Glenleven Lindens haven't been the greatest for fall color the past few years. This is because of the invasion of Japanese Beetles who make the foliage nearly completely lacy which doesn't allow for much color. We did spray our trees this year so that the beetle wouldn't affect the plants as much. It worked! Our Lindens are beautiful this fall. What a sight!

Metasequoia glyptostroboides
While on the topic of trees. How about these beauties. I love the coppery-orange color these create in fall. We have Taxodium as well on the property, but they don't color up as nice as these do.




Viburnum lentego
This could be considered a small tree or large shrub. Nannyberry Viburnums have always been one of my favorite plants. I love the fruit and love the fall color. The flowers aren't the greatest, but overall the plant is a winner. Native to our area, this particular shrub is always covered in Cedar Waxwings when the fruit comes. They strip these plants of fruit in a matter of hours, not days.

Viburnum 'Winterthur'
Sticking with Viburnums, there are few plants that rival the fall color of this plant. The reds it produced each year are magnificent. I get little fruit on the plants because they require another variety of V. cassinoides to pollinate them. But fruit is secondary to the fall color and year-round appeal that 'Winterthur' foliage offers.

Viburnum molle 'Morton'
Another Viburnum!!! They sure have nice fall color, don't they? Native plants might be the best way to go for fall color! I liked the array of colors this plant was displaying. This is a future introduction for the Chicagoland Grows® program. It is similar to a Viburnum dentatum, but the foliage seems more broad, and the bark peels. So once the fall color is done, the bark provides winter interest!
Physocarpus Summer Wine®
In fall, the Ninebarks start to show nice red colors. While typically a purple foliaged plant, the combination of purple and red is outstanding. Some leaves have half purple, half red foliage and are quite desirable. I've noticed this in the past, but not to the extent that I'm seeing it this year. All the cultivars look nice, including Coppertina, Diabolo and 'Center Glow'.

Rhus aromatica 'Grow Low'
Who thinks of 'Grow Low' Sumac for fall color. I usually don't. This year has changed my mind. This planting which borders our prairie is quite beautiful. Everywhere I look, these are looking nice. And by everywhere, I mean everywhere. These are planted in every commercial job from Chicago to the Mississippi. So every commercial site looks pretty good right now. This salt tolerant plant has become a staple for our customers. While that does not need to change, I just need to stress diversity. If we can make these areas more diverse, we will not have to face a disease like we have with Ash on these guys. There can be too much of a good thing.
Vernonia glauca

The only thing I don't like about the plant is how it likes to reseed itself anywhere it can find a piece of dirt. Of course, my favorite thing about the plant is its seed though. Look at how great it looks going into winter. It does however move around with reckless abandon, so a formal garden or a smaller garden is not screaming out for it. If you have a larger area where you don't mind a few volunteer plants that get close to 6' tall, then this is for you!
Oenothera 'Cold Crick'

This plant was truly spectacular in bloom. I've never seen such brilliant yellow and so profuse. Then it goes into summer being a somewhat boring piece of foliage. Then in fall, it turns into a blazing sunset of colors. Allan Armitage says there are no perennials better for fall color than Amsonia. I beg to differ. He wrote that before the introduction of this plant. It reminds me of Geranium 'Max Frei' for fall color, only much better. We are still in the trial phase of this plant, so we do not actually grow it. I'm not sure what the market would be for it. If you are interested and think we should grow it, please email me at mgplanttrials@gmail.com

I've realized lately, that I do not show enough garden pictures. Sure I show you a lot of plants that are in the garden, but sometimes, the look of the whole garden says so much more than it's parts. In this case, we have Sporobolus heterolepis with Echinacea pallida and Allium 'Forescate'. This area of the garden receives very little maintenance. In fact, we weed it once a year, and do a spring burn. Watering is not necessary. It has become one of the more sustainable areas of the landscape. The plants cover the soil well enough that weeds are not growing in between. Except for a seedling Miscanthus, this area has been virtually weed free all year this year. That says a lot. I've never seen weeds as bad as they have been in '09. So, I will be efforting to show you more garden pictures in the future. You all want the big picture, right?

Thanks again for taking the time to read this. I hope you find something interesting in here. And if not, let me know what you'd like to see. I love getting feedback, but I don't receive it enough. Until next time, have a great day!

What's your favorite fall show?

Hello again,
Cool summers have brought us some outstanding fall colors this year. Things I haven't noticed fall color on before, such as Forsythia and roses, are looking magnificent. I didn't get a good picture of Flower Carpet® Amber, but if you have one in your yard, take a look. They have rich purples and mahogany with a little orange all mixed in. What a nice attribute for a plant that looks great almost all summer. Here are the pictures though. They tell the story better.
Hamamelis virginiana
Are native shrubs your thing? Not what I'd typically think of as a great fall color producing plant. They are currently flowering in our landscape, but it is hard to see through the yellow and green-veined leaves. I love to see leaves with these kind of markings. This is yet another native plant with great fall attributes.



Juniperus virginiana 'Blue Mountain'
Is fruit your thing? If so, 'Blue Mountain' will produce some mighty nice fruit. The plants in our landscape have been here a long time. But even in pots, fruit production is magnificent. The silvery-blue fruit are very nice in contrast with the gray-blue foliage. This is truly a specimen Juniper that not enough people use.

Agastache 'Blue Fortune'
Are seed heads your thing? If so, Agastache looks great long into winter. The swaying seed heads were dancing in the wind yesterday. They look great will all the fall colors in the background. And even in snow, the plants stand tall and look great against the white background of a snow filled landscape.


Hosta 'Regal Splendor'
Are Hostas your thing? If so, then 'Regal Splendor' is a nice plant to look at. Hostas aren't always thought of for fall color. But this year, the silky gold foliage looks quite nice. Most Hosta in the landscape are displaying these colors this year. 'Blue Cadet' is another one with maybe a touch more flare.



Molinia 'Heidebraut'
Are grasses your thing? If so, an underutilized plant is this Molinia. One of my favorite Midwest Solutions® is the combination of this plant and the Rosa Knock Out®. Together they are a striking combination. You can see the flowers of the rose behind the bright yellow foliage of 'Heidebraut'. The texture of 'Heidebraut' looks great all year in contrast with these roses and other plants such as Phlox 'Blue Paradise'.
Coreopsis tripteris
Are native prairie plants your thing? If so, then check out this Coreopsis. Every year I see this plant, I am amazed. The colors mixed in are fabulous. Of course, if you don't have a lot of room in your yard, then this probably isn't the plant for you. But if you have a spot in the back of the border, by all means, plant this guy!

Berberis Sunjoy™ Gold Pillar™
If thorns are your thing, then go with this fella. These plants are visible from a distance. The bright orange is remarkable. I'm not the biggest fan of barberry, but this plant does have a use.

Amsonia hubrichtii
Is texture your thing? If so, few plants can rival the texture of Amsonia. The fall colors of these plants are great as well. The plant itself can be chlorotic throughout the year, so yellows are almost always present on this plant. But as I've learned, a lot of people like the plant when it's yellow in summer. Even with this, the fall color is more pronounced and more beautiful then summer.

Viburnum prunifolium
Are birds your thing? This is a plant we have in American Beauties Native Plants™. This will attract birds because it a)gives cover to the birds from predators, and b) produces fruit that are delicious to the birds. The fall color is pretty nice too. If you are unfamiliar, please give the Blackhaw Viburnum a try.


Viburnum x juddii
Is fragrance your thing? If so, you'll have to wait for spring for this plant to give off its intoxicating perfume. But doesn't her fall color give reason to try? In my opinion, there is no plant with better fragrance than Juddii Viburnum. It's like a spicy lilac. But it's fall color is to die for too. I am a little biased, because this is the first plant I ever planted in my parents yard when learning about plants. But what a great plant to get started with right?
Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima'
Last week I spoke of the red chokeberry, but never showed how great the foliage can actually get. We did physical inventory on shrubs this week, and I was asked to help. I was fortunate to get to count the hoop house of Aronia. What a sight to see. And what better than to be surrounded by amazing fall color. It was definitely a treat!

Aronia melanocarpa 'Elata'
If your thing is Chokeberries, then you like the last two plants I've spoke of. This is just your common black chokeberry in American Beauties Native Plants™ pots. Aren't they great?!? Our native plants have such great fall color, it's amazing that we search out the other continents for other options. We have some outstanding plants right here in North America.

Allium 'Summer Beauty'
Last, but certainly not least, if your thing is contrast, then this plant is for you. There are so many reasons Midwest Groundcovers has gotten behind this plant. This is one attribute that we forget about most of the year. Look at the amazing yellow scapes contrasted with the bright green foliage. I bet your daylilies don't look this good! On top of that, the spent flowers dangle gracefully above the bright yellow scapes creating a magical display of color. Everywhere in the landscape we have this, it looks this good. I took many a picture and had a lot of difficulty deciding where it looks best. This is a highly sustainable plant because it requires little care.

Thanks again for reading. I hope you are enjoying the many pictures and posts that I've put up here. Soon we'll be on to winter interest. I'm hoping that I can get one more week of fall color before we go to the whites and grays of winter. Also this winter we will be unveiling our new plants for 2010. That will be coming soon! Until next time, have a great day!