Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day Weekend is finally here. It seemed as though this spring was never going to start, but now that it has, it's getting a little crazy around here. Business is good! People are starting to ignore the media and spend their money. We can still live within our means and spend a little money at the same time. What fun would life be if we didn't? I'll stay away from being too political and start talking about plants now. I'm much more versed in that.


Now that the heat has started to come, many plants are beginning to bloom. It's like being in a candy store when I walk on our Perennial Island. Phlox, Polemonium, Heuchera, Achillea and more are emerging or blooming and looking great! I just can't wait to talk about the highlights, so here goes.

Magnolia 'Yellow Lanterns'
I am still not completely familiar with this plant. We have it on our property and for those that have noticed it, they immediately come and ask what it is. It is much later in flowering than other Magnolia, and looks to be perfectly hardy here. If you have an interest in Magnolias, check this one out.

Veronica whitleyi
This little gem of a creeper is blooming it's little head off. One of the greatest things about being involved in plant programs is that it introduces fun new plants to us. I am grateful that Jeepers Creepers includes the V. whitleyi! A carpet of these is a site to see. And when not in bloom, they have a nice grayish tone to the foliage.

Vinca 'Blue and Gold'

This is another great new groundcover that we will be offering this year. It is quite the spectacular. It's vigor is impressive for a variegated Vinca. 'Ralph Shugert' better watch out! This one has yellow variegation and is much cooler if you click on the picture and see the full size picture.

Euphorbia polychroma
A very interesting plant this is. Its yellow flowers are outstanding this time of year. Just don't eat them as they are very poisonous. Did you know that Poinsettias are Euphorbia too? So think of your Christmas plant blooming yellow! And it's hardy!

Phlox bifida
This is one that we have just added to the line. It won't be available until next year though. We have the Emerald Blue and Emerald Pink Creeping Phlox already in our line and this one will fill out the lineup. The distinguishing feature of Phlox bifida is the notches in the petals. It is a very nice fine textured groundcover.

One of my favorite combinations in the garden is this one right here. It mixes the Veronica 'Waterperry Blue' groundcover with Anemone sylvestris and the un-pictured Amsonia tabernaemontana var. salicifolia. The Veronica are starting to create a nice flowing carpet of purple flowers with the beautiful Anemone blooming white right now. The Amsonia is just starting to emerge and looks very interesting as well. Both the Veronica and Anemone will potentially re-bloom in fall, while the Amsonia turns a nice shade of yellow in the fall.
Lamium 'Anne Greenaway'
This is a groundcover that we have been trialing in the landscape. I'm not sure I like the reversion in the foliage. It seems that there is always some completely yellow leaves in there. It's kind of like a circus in a square foot. I've been waiting for the dancing fleas to jump out. If you like that kind of thing, great! If not, you could always use the more tame 'Shell Pink'

Brunnera 'Mr. Morse'
I absolutely love Brunnera. I think there is no better introduction to this industry than the intro of B. 'Jack Frost'. This one is very similar to 'Jack Frost', but with white flowers. A mixture of the two could be quite interesting. I haven't tried that yet. I have received little feedback from customers on this plant. If you would like us to grow this plant, let us know. Your feedback is needed!

Mystery Plant of the Week
Last week, nobody sent in an answer to the question. But the plant for last week, if anyone is playing along is Phlox x 'Minnie Pearl'. This week, a flower is what you can see. Hopefully that will make the identification process a little easier.

Here is the plant for this week. Again, you can email me at mgplanttrials@gmail.com to take your guess. There are over 100 people a week coming to this blog, so your name could be posted as the plant identifier extraordinaire! Good luck!

Thanks again for reading. Time is more of a commodity than ever before right now. So if you had the time to read this, I really appreciate it. I hope you all have a great week, and a fantastic weekend. Until next time, have a great day!