May Day

Hello again,
The garden is forming drifts of purple everywhere I look. Piet Oudolf's design is spectacular with Salvia, Baptisia, Amsonia and Nepetas blooming or beginning to bloom. Perennial Island has Hyacinthoides hispanica amongst the sedges blooming away, and Iris' are about to start as well. A couple other plants I will speak about shortly. Thanks to all of our customers that have stuck with us during these hard times. We appreciate it greatly and wish that the rest of the year will be as busy as this first part has been. Thanks again to all of you. And now the plants....

Hyacinthoides hispanica

This has turned into one of my all time favorite combos. The Hyacinthoides hispanica or HH for the rest of this, works very well with the Carex pensylvanica on our site. The shrubs hovering over them are Rhus coppalina. The foliage and the flowers make these worth buying for some of your jobs. Now, we don't sell the HH, but we do have a bumper crop of Carex pensylvanica right now!!! Get them while they last.

Salvia 'Pink Friesland'

We have just added these to our product line, and I wonder why we haven't had them sooner. This is such a nice looking plant in flower and in bud. The buds are an interesting shade of purple with pink tones. It's fabulous before and after they open. In the landscape, the plants have only grown to about 12" which would also be a very nice size for the plant. It is displayed with our other Salvia which sets up a nice contrast of blues and pinks. You could plant Salvia Caradonna with Pink Friesland and have quite the nice look. If I were to combine them, I would do 40% Caradonna and 60% Pink Friesland. This would allow small clumps of Caradonna with Pink Friesland weaving in and out.

Phuopsis stylosa

OK, first of all, who doesn't like saying Phuopsis, pronounced Foo-OP-Sis. This is new to the Jeepers Creepers line. It has foliage very similar to Galium, and flowers in the shape of Allium. The plants in the landscape are loaded with buds. At this time, we don't have them ready in pots, but they'll be coming soon. This is my first experience with this plant, so it's exciting to me. Is it exciting to you?

Armeria 'Joystick Red'

OK, this will be the last post on Armeria, I promise. But they just look very good in the landscape. I've only shown the closeups of the flower, and I think the dainty blooms hovering above the foliage is quite impressive, so here you go. These are sold in flats of quarts.

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Chyrsogonum virginianum

Also new to the Jeepers Creepers program. In the landscape it is quite special. This very well could be one of the tallest of the Jeepers Creepers maxing out at 12". The flowers are perfectly spaced like they were sewn by a master quilter. The flowers last for a long time and show well with many colors. If you like Stella yellow, you will like these.

Monarda bradburiana

The most unique Monarda I've seen. This one has spotted flowers. When talking to Roy Diblik about this plant, he says it's been uncommon because the flowers bloom earlier so breeders can't hybridize it. Such a sad thing. Could you imagine Monarda 'Coral Reef' with dark maroon spots on the petals. OK, I can't either, but it could be interesting. Is this a plant you would buy? Would having Monarda blooming at the end of May be helpful to you in your landscapes or at your garden centers? Please let me know, as your feedback could lead to this plant being produced by us. Currently it is just a trial.

Iris pseudacorus 'Holden's Child'

When I planted this in the landscape I was a little nervous. I didn't want to contaminate the grounds with Iris pseudacorus. I've heard stories about how hard it is to get removed. But it was given to me as Iris 'Berlin Tiger' which I was rather interested in anyways. Well, it didn't turn out to be 'Berlin Tiger' but it did turn out to be a piece of art. Very beautiful, but I'm still scared by its vigor. We already have one "Beautiful Monster" contaminating our wetlands with the Lythrum salicarias, we don't need another. It will be removed at the end of the year. Or maybe once it's art gets washed away.

Apios alpinum

This was going to be my Mystery Plant of the Week, but I haven't been getting many replies, so I'm abandoning that. This is an interesting groundcover that seems to be the love-child of Mazus reptans and Veronica 'Waterperry Blue'. I'm sure these plants were not hybridized to come up with Apios, but you get the point. The foliage seems to cover most of the blooms right now, so I am not sure it is something that we will continue with. But it's an interesting plant nonetheless. Maybe you've heard of it and have been looking for it. If that is true, let us know. Your opinion counts! The final Mystery Plant was Hypericum calycinum.

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It's been a great week everybody. Thanks for keeping us busy. As stated before, Midwest Groundcovers would like to thank everyone for doing business with us. You are all appreciated. In the near future, we will have a guest blogger, Christa Orum-Keller who has some exciting news to share with all of you. Until next time, have a great day!