Piet Oudolf Designed Garden

Hello again,
As promised, some pictures of the Piet Oudolf designed garden.  It was completely my pleasure to come in before we opened, when nobody is around and shoot some pictures of this garden. Without further ado, here are some of the best sights to be seen.

Monarda bradburiana
Taking the world by storm, is this great native plant to the Ozarks.  Missouri Botanical Garden has promoted this plant extensively, followed closely by Roy Diblik.  I have had it in the garden here for several years, and only in the last part of November did I ever see any mildew.  The spotted flowers bloom earlier than other Monarda.  I have yet to see them reseed in the landscape, but I'm sure it's possible.  I just wouldn't worry about it taking over like Monarda fistulosa can.  These only stand 12" tall and spread a little further than that.

It also combines well with other plants. Panicum 'Northwind' is in the foreground, with Sporobolus heterolepis, or Prairie Dropseed, behind it.  The purple blooms to the back left are from Salvia 'Wesuwe'.  The combination of the Salvia and Monarda is stunning.  With all the new plantings from last fall, we have watered a lot more than normal this year.  The ground is really dry around here, and I assume it is around you as well if you are in this general vicinity.  In the front right of this picture is Allium atropurpureum which is very interesting as well. A few remain from the original planting, and they seem to move around.

If you are having a spring baby, and you aren't sure if it's a boy or girl, you can plant Amsonia x 'Blue Ice' with Scabiosa 'Pink Mist' and it will cover the baby pink and blue colors.  Scabiosa is new to the garden.  I honestly didn't expect it to come back as nice as it has.  This section used to have a large "blob" of Amsonia 'Blue Ice' and Piet didn't like it, so we broke it up with the Scabiosa and yet to bloom Gillenia trifoliata.  The older Gillenia are in bloom however, and are quite the interesting flower.

Zizia aurea, Tradescantia 'Concord Grape', and Salvia 'Pink Friesland'

This was one of my bigger fears when planting in the garden. I've tried so long to eradicate the Spiderwort from the landscape, but to no avail.  Then Piet came and saw how nice it looked with the Zizia, so we planted more of it.  The Salvia nearby was a nice addition to the combo.  The combination of the two natives though, is how this combo became so stellar.  Minimal maintenance is needed except for possibly pruning the Tradescantia back after blooming.

Coreopsis 'Golden Showers' and Salvia 'Rhapsody in Blue'

The combination of the fine textured foliage of the Coreopsis and the purple flowers of the 'Rhapsody in Blue' is quite effective.  The Salvia have reseeded around a little bit and we've seen many plants in pink and different shades of purple.  It's very interesting.  We've chosen 'Golden Showers' because it is a very reliable variety that I have yet to lose in the landscape.  'Moonbeam', 'Creme Brulee', and some others have not done so well.  But 'Zagreb' and 'Golden Showers' are the real deal. 
As the season progresses, I'll continue to highlight this garden from time to time.  It's to the point, where it looks different every week.  Something new comes into bloom, and something old goes away.  Every year a new seedling comes in and sparks our interest as well.  Thanks again for reading, and until next time, have a great day!

May Flowers

Hello again,

It is quite busy around Midwest these days. I hope it's the same for you.  And if it is, chances are you don't have much time to read much of this, so I'll go fast.

Sambucus Black Lace™

This is one of my favorite shrubs on the market.  It works incredibly well for those that need a substitute for failing Japanese Maples.  Though in our new zones, we might be able to get away with most Japanese Maples at this time.  The benefit to these is that they have these great flowers that go with it.  They just started blooming earlier this week for us, and I love the contrast of the silvery pink flowers against the dark lacy purple foliage. I've had them in the garden for four years and they are now 4' tall and 6' wide.

Iris sibirica 'Temper Tantrum'
Every year I have to post a picture of this plant.  Every time I see it, it makes me want to stomp my feet.  They are just starting to open up and they are already looking fabulous.  These stand 30" tall and nearly as wide.  My plants are 4-5 years old in the ground.  Though 'Caesar's Brother' is a great plant and the standard in Iris, 'Temper Tantrum' is the loudest one we carry and very worthy of your gardens.

Aquilegia 'Nora Barlow'
If you've ever been to the website, http://www.perennialsinfocus.com/, you've probably seen this plant on one of our pages. I have never been the biggest fan of double flowers but this one just looks amazing. It's hard for me to believe that a flower can do that.  These stand 3' tall and maybe 18" wide, but the plants are very upright.  It seems the color is outstanding on these this year, and all Aquilegia for that matter. Aquilegia alpina and Aquilegia canadensis both look stunning right now in the landscape.

Amsonia x 'Blue Ice'
Maybe you have caught on this year that I like Amsonia.  So here is yet another one that needs attention.  'Blue Ice' is a great early season blooming perennial that also looks good throughout summer.  Known in Europe as Rhazia orientalis, 'Blue Ice' was first named such because it was found in a crop of Amsonia tabernaemontana at White Flower Farm.  Now it is planted highly for many reasons.  I've used it here as a low perennial hedge.  In our garden designed by Piet Oudolf, it is prominently displayed all around the garden, and one of the most commented on plants of the garden when in bloom.  My next posting will be all about the Piet Oudolf designed garden, and I'll show some of his outstanding combinations with it.  Only growing 18" tall in our gardens and a little bit wider than that, it has the best flowering characteristics of all Amsonia.  However, it also has the worst fall color of the Amsonia we sell.  So that is the only drawback that I can think of.

Stay tuned for the next posting of images of the Piet Oudolf garden.  Thanks for taking the time to read, and until next time, have a great day!

100th Blog!

Hello again,

We've had a lot of great people post their favorite plants thus far. And a couple other blogs in between. There has been a request that I do my favorite plant. And I thought I'd save it for the 100th blog. I've been preparing and preparing, and then the shocker! The patent police are claiming Geranium 'Jolly Bee' invalid. DNA says it's too close to Geranium Rozanne. Most would think that I could easily make the switch. But my loyalties are to 'Jolly Bee', the first plant I've ever been able to definitively say was my favorite. So instead of giving you just one, I have to give you my top ten for sun. The top ten for shade will be seen in a future Landscape Contractor article. So my top ten sun plants in no particular order.

Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei'Such a great overall plant. Very little maintenance is ever required. It makes a stunning perennial hedge, and is the perennial meatball without any pruning for the meatball lover. Plants can be pruned back after flowering to encourage new floral growth.

Amsonia x 'Blue Ice'This is one that always attracts attention when in bloom. It has multiple uses like the Geranium above in that it can also be used as a perennial hedge. In our landscape it is planted with Geranium 'Jolly Bee' and that crawls over the top of Amsonia when it is not in bloom. This extends the time of beauty and usefulness of this plant.

Penstemon digitalisThis is a great native with so many uses as well. The seed heads are so attractive that I've placed those here instead of the flowers. I am very smitten with the flowers as well. Late June these will be blooming their hearts out in front of our nursery. They line IL Route 25 and create clouds of white in early summer.

Allium 'Summer Beauty'I've talked about this a few times in the three years of the blog. Here it is pictured with Festival® Burgundy in a container last year. The combination of these two plants was quite nice. The tropical Festival® Burgundy highlighted the bright green foliage of the Allium. Look at past posts if you would like more information on Allium 'Summer Beauty'.

Campanula 'Samantha'This is one of those plants I thought would be an instant hit. It is a much easier plant to deal with than other Campanula. Namely better than 'Blue Clips'. This flowers for a very extended bloom time and is a great combination with Dianthus 'Firewitch' for early season bloom.

Asclepias incarnata This is the plant that should assume the name of "Butterfly Weed". I see more insects fluttering around this plant than any other plant in the garden. The array of butterflies it attracts is quite impressive. A great plant for the rain garden or any location where it may be moist. Monarch butterflies use the foliage for their larvae. An amazing plant!

Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks'This is a non-aggressive Solidago. Flowers that explode in late summer last for quite some time. They make a remarkable combination with Panicum 'Dewey Blue' or Rosa Flower Carpet® Scarlet. In early spring, the foliage is also attractive with reddish tints dominating the look.

Echinacea 'Pica Bella'The Echinacea trend continues to pour out new varieties left and right. This one is one that has a lot of staying power. My mother does not particularly care for coneflowers. She finds the drooping petals depressing. 'Pica Bella' solves that by having very straight rays of petals. The color is fantastic and it also has nice dark stems. Goldfinches enjoy the seeds throughout the winter as well!

Eupatorium dubium 'Little Joe' I have to admit that I wasn't that fond of Joy Pye Weed until I met 'Little Joe' He was a little shorter and could stand up straight. Others would lean over and just didn't command the attention of the upright 'Little Joe'. Butterflies, especially Painted Ladies, seem to love this plant. Seed heads remain attractive into winter.

Calamintha nepeta ssp nepetaCalamintha is one of my favorite plants for many reasons. First and foremost is the bloom time. From late June all the way to frost, the tiny white flowers can be seen in abundance. When temperatures are low at night, the flowers transform to a light lavender. Another reason I love this plant is that it attracts all sorts of bees. The honeybee population is quite outstanding and can be heard from afar on a quiet night once we've closed.

These are some of my favorite plants. Of course like I said, there will be an article in the Landscape Contractor that covers my favorite shade perennials. And neither of these lists has my favorite shrubs or trees. I have a lot of favorites. What are some of yours? Please let me know and I'll post them here. Thanks again for reading, and until next time, have a great day!