Fall Colors

Here we are, a day away from October. The temperatures outside are wonderful. Who doesn't love the 60's? Things in the garden are looking great, although a lot is starting to go to sleep. It's interesting to see how things change from year to year dependent on how the weather is or was during the summer. We had a lot of drought this year, which means certain plants are losing leaves earlier. Some are not coloring at all. Our Viburnum 'Redwing' in the landscape looks poor compared to last year. Check last falls post to see how gorgeous it can be. So onto the plants. Many things were looking quite nice this morning.

Easy Elegance™ Mystic Fairy® Rose
Mystic Fairy® has long been one of my favorite roses. It produces clusters of many flowers on each stem. The flowers size is about 2" across, but the richness of the color is what I find most striking. Foliage on these plants looks great as well. What I have noticed on this plant that further increases my appreciation is the fact that the Japanese beetles seem to stay away from it. At least more than some of the other varieties we carry.
Speaking of Roses, when a bed of them can look this good going into October, it's amazing that we don't use them more often in our fall plantings. I know it's not the most traditional mum or kale in the world, but the richness of the colors and their variance should make them a natural option for fall color programs.

Rhus 'Prairie Flame'

Speaking of beautiful fall colors. The Rhus are starting to color up in the landscape here. I show this every year, because I think this is such a great substitute for the Burning Bush. Similar textures, but much greater color in my opinion.

Hosta 'Patriot' with Carex 'Ice Dance'

This is a combination that was developed in a shady container. I liked it so much that I had to try it out in the landscape. While 'Patriot' is an old classic, why not still use it. It looks great in combination with the Carex. It especially looks good now that the deer have started to leave them alone.

Aesculus parviflora

This was more of a surprise than anything this morning. I was walking and shocked by the fact that these June bloomers had flowers on them now. Not just one or two, but there are many flower buds starting to open. When I spoke of weather conditions above changing what plants are supposed to do, this was the one that got me thinking the most today.
Viburnum prunifolium

The fruit of this giant shrub are spectacular every year. I urge you to read the excerpts from Michael Dirr's Manual on this plant. He creates an amazing image with his description of his group of fellows eating the fruit. They are just now starting to color up, and will eventually share purples with its current reds and pinks.

Callicarpa

This is a yet to be named cultivar that Chicagoland Grows™ is working on. I have been trialing them for 3 years now. They have made it through two winters. The fruits of these are extravagant. Multiple shades of purple tantalize the eyes, but of course are currently unavailable. Feedback would be exceptional on these. If you feel that this is something that you would like to have in the future, please send us a line.

Baptisia Twilite Prairieblues™

In the talks of fruits, I should perhaps mention the seed heads of this great plant. If you are thinking of trying any from seed, you should pick them now as the seeds are falling fast, I thought on first examination today that the seed pods looked like little mouths asking for food.

Sedum Sod Flats

A potential contemporary option for fall colors in your landscape is to use our Sedum sod flats. Not only are the reds that come from these plants great, but it also gives you a little touch of the holidays to come. Green and Red. Time to start setting up the Christmas trees! But really, this is a simple quick solution to a color program. Lay out the sod flats like you would grass and have a beautiful layout for the fall.

I have a whole bunch of Asters to show in the next post. These are looking quite nice as well. For more information on the plants that are in this post visit www.midwestgroundcovers.com

Until next time, have a great day!

The First Day of Autumn

The first day of Autumn has come and there are some amazing plants in the landscape.

Physostegia 'Vivid'

Last year we made a change from 'Pink Bouquet' to the much more requested 'Vivid'. Judging solely on landscape performance, this was a good decision. These plants just bloom their little hearts out. I have not seen this plant to be overly aggressive in the landscape. It's surrounded by plants that could easily be overtaken by an invasive, but they have stayed still. Last year I photographed this plant in December with blooms on it. There are more blooms on it now then their were last year, but this is just to say that it has a long bloom time. Especially if you are looking for fall blooms.

Sisyrinchium 'Lucerne'

Being a member of the Iris family, this plant has grass-like foliage that offers a really nice texture to a dry location in full sun. Here they are planted at the front of the border with Mazus reptans as a groundcover in front of it. The texture changes are quite nice to the eye. In the summer, the purple flowers attract bees and small butterflies.

Anemone

I look forward all year to when the Anemone start to bloom. The display garden has a nice grouping of 'Pamina', 'September Charm', 'Honorine Jobert, 'Robustissima' and 'Prinz Heinrich'. 'Robustissima' is about done, but the others are just starting to look their best.

Gentiana 'True Blue'

They've begun to bloom! This is new to our product line this year. It is very exciting to be able to offer a Gentiana to our customers. It is a hybrid and not a native variety, but that is what allows us to have success growing it. Plants are fully budded and will make a great impression at your garden center or in the landscape. This plant in deer resistant and attracts late season butterflies and according to some websites, hummingbirds. It can be grown in full sun to part shade.

Calamintha nepeta ssp nepeta with Aster laevis

The cooler our night time temperatures get, the more blues that come out in the Calamintha. Combine that with the light purple flowers of native Aster laevis, and you have a brilliant combination. This would be a very nice option for a dry location keeping in mind that the Aster doesn't look like much until now.

Sedum display

Our Sedum display is 90% done. I need to get the labels out there and there are two varieties unavailable at the time of planting. Currently, 28 of the 30 groundcover Sedum we sell are displayed in this location. We had done this in the past and the competition ended with Sedum kamtchaticum being the most vigorous. Everything was torn out and replanted so that we could again show you the differences between these excellent drought tolerant plants. I hope you are able to come out and take a look.

Thanks again for reading. Until next time, have a great day!

Fall colors in September

Hello again,
It's mid-September and fall colors are starting to show. Our Honeylocust have already started to drop it's golden leaves. Amelanchier's are starting to show some of their beautiful oranges and reds. Crabapples are losing leaves and showing off their gorgeous fruit. Roses are starting to look phenomenal! Here are some of the others that look stunning. As well as another new project being installed this week.
Coreopsis tripteris
One of my favorite natives is the Tall Coreopsis. The purples that start to show on its foliage at this time of the year are outstanding. It grows to 8' tall and can be a reseeder, so space and a little diligence with pulling the seedlings are good ideas when planting this one.

Zizia aptera

Another native showing great color is the Golden Alexander. Most of the foliage and seed heads have turned this color of red. We have a nice planting of this in front of our pick up yard and they look stunning right now. It flowers in early spring when the Salvia first start to bloom. This plant will do well with moisture, but can also handle a good amount of drought.

Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow'

This is also in front of the pick up office. I really didn't expect this plant to come back when we first installed it. I thought it would offer up some nice mid-summer color but it would succumb to the winter. In general, Butterfly Weed really likes superb drainage or they risk rotting. In this area, it remains very dry and that was the key to its success. These have been flowering since June and still have lots of blooms still going. It's fun to see its cottony seed heads surrounding a bright orange-yellow flower. A great deal of Monarch butterfly larvae have been feeding on these plants all year. It has been fun to watch.

Liatris aspera with Allium 'Summer Beauty'

These beauties just started blooming this week. Already, I have counted at least 6 different species of butterflies drinking the nectar. Some of the smaller butterflies have been the most beautiful. The seed heads of the Allium are quite nice in contrast with the flower color too. Being such a late bloomer, it was nice that the Allium filled the area earlier in the season with flowers. Other natives that would work well with it include Ratibida pinnata, Eryngium yuccifolium and Panicum virgatum.

Schizachyrium 'Carousel'

Thought the picture is somewhat blurry, the colors are there to see. The autofocus on my camera no longer works, and it's like learning how to use a camera all over again. I digress. 'Carousel' is an amazing plant if just for this time period. But the colors throughout the year are outstanding. Even in winter, the foliage is a different brown than the seeds which gives it contrast all year round.

Sedum display bed

A new project that we started this week was to replant our Sedum varieties in a new "Sedum Sun". There will be one on each side of this path. Gustavo and Eric are the ones planting it in the picture here. 30 varieities of Sedum will be displayed when all is said and done. One large group representing the sun and 14 rays. It has started out very nice, and should be completed early next week. More pictures to follow.

Hibiscus bed

In this trial bed, we have all of our Rose of Sharon Hibiscus. There are five varieties in bloom in this area. Lavender and Blue Chiffon, 'Lil' Kim', White Chiffon, and Sugar Tip. They are all looking very nice. It is a great time to come out and take a look at these beauties.

Rosa Easy Elegance® All the Rage and Physocarpus Summer Wine®.

I have to admit to not seeing this combo all year. It was quite by accident. I most often see this garden from the other side of the Ninebark. The dark foliage of Summer Wine® with the bright coral color of All the Rage is a very nice contrast. The colors this morning with the strange rain clouds overhead perhaps made it more impressive. But clean foliage on both of these plants warrants use.

Even though it gets used more often now than in the past, Calamintha nepeta ssp nepeta is such a great plant I need to continue showing it. Non stop blooms from late June until frost. And look at how bright it makes this area. Calamagrostis brachytricha, Amsonia hubrichtii and Schizachyrium 'Carousel' offer fall colors all around it. Allium 'Summer Beauty' in front shows off her nice seed heads in contrast.

Thanks again for reading. Hopefully you enjoy this article. There will be more to come soon. Until next time, have a great day!

Major Renovations

Hello again,
This has been a year of change at Midwest Groundcovers. We have undergone some major renovations in the past month and a half that I want to share with you. Some areas had been left without change for many many years and some, like our grass area, was in need of a fixing. I don't have a great image of our grass area but I will mention it. We removed all the grasses that were there since 2004. Plants were growing into each other and it was too difficult to determine which grasses were which. A new lay out with better spacing should provide a nice display garden for the future. Of course it's small now, but next year this should be a site to see.
The first project that we completed was at the entrance to our Perennial Island. This area had previously been covered by Euonymus 'Coloratus', or Purple Leaf Wintercreeper. Now it has been developed as a trial garden for shade Midwest Solutions®. Lots of new combinations are in this garden. A sun combination flanks the front of the garden with Allium senescens glaucum mixed with Stachys minima. Please come by and watch as it progresses.

A smaller project was in front of our sign to retail. This had previously been planted with Pixie Meadowbrite™ Coneflower, but after several years, the plants reseeded themselves and the originals were crowded out. Echinacea 'Pica Bella' takes its place.

The center median as you drive in has been revamped. Formerly a mix of perennials in the front of the median, we've replaced that with a temporary display of our beautiful mums! Those will be replaced next year with something special! Two hedges of Gold Pillar™ Barberry with Buddleia 'Black Knight' in the middle replaces a very old planting of Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' that was starting to deteriorate with weedy grasses seeding themselves amongst it.

For a couple years we enjoyed Koeleria glauca at our front entrance with Allium 'Purple Sensation' a white Hyacinth. The 'Purple Sensation' will be replanted, but the Koeleria had started to decline and needed to come out. We've replaced that with a large planting of Ruellia humilis and interplanted it with Carex glauca(flacca). Once this fills in, it should look great.


Speaking of the entrance. The plantings in front of the signs have been redone. The older plantings were starting to get overrun by Nepeta faasenii. So that planting was removed and replaced by four plants. The back layer, closest to the sign is Geranium 'Max Frei'. In the middle, is Sporobolus 'Tara'. This plant I deem as the best plant ever for underneath a sign. It is the perfect height to not cover any of this sign. In front of that is Coreopsis 'Zagreb'. Interplanted with all of these plants in Veronica 'Waterperry Blue' for a spring and fall show.

Last but not least, we have expanded our prairie. That is in the background of this picture. Removed were Flower Carpet™ roses that were not performing up to expectations. I think it was a little too dry for them here. The native plants that replaced them were Cassia hebecarpa, Wild Senna, in small doses with large swathes of Liatris spicata(Blazingstar), Parthenium integrifolium(Wild Quinine) and Eryngium yuccifolium(Rattlesnake Master). A band of Sporobolus heterolepis(Prairie Dropseed) was planted in front to seperate it from the outer circle which we did not plant native. In order to show our diversity of products, we have removed a large planting of Euonymus 'Coloratus' from this area as well. It was replanted with two great groundcovers. Veronica 'Waterperry Blue' and Potentilla neumanniana 'Nana'. These two groundcovers will be seen every time you leave our facility. These are two plants that have been trialed here and have been proven to be tolerant of salting. Try them out. They look so much nicer than Polygonum!

Hopefully you will enjoy seeing all this progress. More is on the way this fall as we continue to spruce up our facility. Until next time, have a great day!

Hot September

Hello again,
Back like I promised! Today we have some very interesting shrubs and some other star-worthy plants. This summer has been brutal to many plants. Whether it be the very wet and rainy month of July or the super dry conditions of August. Plants have been put to the test. Here are some of the most beautiful plants in our landscape.
Cotinus Golden Spirit
This is a very showy shrub that has now been in our landscape for four years. Bright yellow foliage proceeds excellent fall colors of oranges and reds. For this plant, we pruned it back to the ground this spring in order to flush out larger foliage. When left unpruned, the foliage will tend to be smaller, but you'll get the "smoke" flowers that the plant is commonly known for. Smokebush does not produce those blooms when cut back, but it does produce larger, more lush foliage. After pruning to 12", this is now 5' tall.

Flower Carpet® Pink Supreme
I've been really impressed by the performance of this groundcover rose. At first, I was sceptical about how different it truly would be from Flower Carpet® Pink. But it is. The flowers are a richer pink, and the foliage much cleaner. The bloom time seems to be better as well. The next generation of Flower Carpet® roses have really performed up to the marketing. It's not always that the plant is as good as the hype, but these pass the test.


Hydrangea Little Lime™
So, I'll do a little hyping of my own here. This is a very cool plant. When I first saw this at Spring Meadow Nursery, in Dale Deppe's yard, I was very impressed. That was three years ago. It's really hard for a plant geek to wait that long. I believe this plant is worth the wait. And, isn't it refreshing to know that they made sure the plant was going to be great before releasing it! The flowers on this star are never white according to Spring Meadow. These plants will always have a touch of green. A dwarf version of the best Hydrangea paniculata to ever hit the market, 'Limelight', this one is sure to please everyone who lays eyes on it. The largest plant I've seen on this was about three feet tall.
Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers'
I think every year this has bloomed in our garden, I've shown a picture. Does this fall under the perennial that's too tall category? It does grow to 4' tall and could flop if not surrounded by friends. But knowing that, we can lend support to 'Henry Eilers' and give him friends like Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' and Eupatorium 'Little Joe'. Who wouldn't want to hang with Henry, Joe and Karl? Phlox 'David's Lavender' also looks stunning with the flowers of 'Henry Eilers'. That's if you prefer to have a party of four.
Aralia racemosa
I always forget the common name of this plant when people ask me, so I'm going to publish it here so that it hopefully stays with me. Spikenard. Can you see why I'd forget that? The fruit of this plant is to die for. It is not poisonous, so you will never die literally from it. The fruit is really what people who visit our gardens love. The plant itself is attractive and gains interest, but when the fruit is there, it's hard to walk past. I've used it in cut floral arrangements and it holds up well.

Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'
When I think of the movie, The Last Samurai, I'm reminded of the Samurai who was always looking for the perfect flower. In the battlefield, at the end of the movie, he is dying and looks up at the flowering cherries that surrounded him and says, "They're all perfect". When I think about how this flower comes so late in the year and has a pure white color to it, I'm reminded of that line. This simple flowers of this plant are perfect.


Hopefully you've enjoyed this weeks rendition of the blog. Check in next week to see the projects that we are currently installing. I'd have shown them today, but didn't want my camera to get soaked. Until then, Have a great week!