Aquilegia: How Sweet it is.

Hello again,
This will be a brief blog for the week. It's May after all and we are pretty busy! I still have two focuses. One being the great plants that we have for sale, and the other being the beautiful plants in the landscape. Most of this will center on the amazing Aquilegia. I always find that Aquilegia find new places to live in the garden. But I think most of these are welcome re seeders, as they look so great this time of year. And away we go!

Aquilegia 'Dove'
This was the first bloom on the plant. This, as well as all the rest are mostly in full bud. These are ready for the garden center or the landscape contractor that wants to make a big splash when the plants first go in.



Aquilegia 'Blue Jay'
These are also just loaded with buds. And quite the beautiful flower.





Aquilegia 'Cardinal'
I think this one is my personal favorite. The flowers are so intensely colored. Who wouldn't want this to reseed in their landscape.




Aquilegia 'Winky Series'
These are such great plants. An Aquilegia where the flowers point upwards. This is a mix of plants, so chances are that there will be a mix of colors when you receive them. Just look at the purple one!


In the Landscape:

The beauty of Tree Peonies is unsurpassed. This is Paeonia 'Kamatafuji'. We have been tossing the idea of growing Tree peonies the last couple years, and I was wondering what people would be willing to pay wholesale. Let us know. If you want us to grow them, we need to know how much you want them. Thanks in advance! You can email me at mgplanttrials@gmail.com


Antennaria 'Rubra'
This is one of my other new favorite groundcovers. In all the places in the landscape, it just shines. And it appreciates drought, which means it will become even more valuable as water becomes restricted. A truly sustainable plant.



Dodecatheon meadia
Who can resist taking a picture of a mass of Shooting Star. What I love the most about these is their variability. That is the great thing about native plants, in that you can seed them and get some really cool results. These are blooming all over the landscape as I got a little crazy planting them a couple years ago. Now it's your turn. These are deserving little buggers.

Erythronium albidum
In the woods, the Trout lilies are blooming. These dainty flowers must be seen up close to be appreciated. A large patch of these are in full bloom. Gotta love it!




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Last weeks Mystery Plant of the Week was correctly identified as Mahonia aquifolium by Carol Beatty. Thanks Carol for being the first to respond with the correct answer! This weeks may be even harder yet. I had to look it up and after many minutes searching various pages on the Internet, I figured it out. It didn't hurt that Grace Koehler steered me in the right direction.

Mystery Plant of the Week

This was found at Johnson's Mound, in Elburn Illinois. It was a vine-like plant with very interesting flowers along the stems. Good luck! Send your guesses to mgplanttrials@gmail.com





Thanks again for reading and I hope all of you are having a great spring. Until next time, have a great day!