Warm days are here

Hello again,
Things are looking great outside, and business is getting better as well. It's great to be busy, that's for sure. On Monday, June 6th, Piet Oudolf will be at our nursery to look over the gardens that he designed back in 2004. It's hard to believe that we've been surrounded by that beauty for so long. He is coming at the ideal time too, because the gardens are looking fabulous. There will be some changes, so please come out in the future to check out what we've done. Onto the plants....

Sisyrinchium 'Lucerne'
Blue eyed Grass only grows to 16" tall in our gardens. Iris-like foliage with a tint of blue looks great in combination with the yet to bloom Stachys minima. Both these plants are together in our garden in a dry location with morning shade. This is the first year I've had a mass of the 'Lucerne', and I have to say it is breathtaking. If this plant is not part of your palette, you should think again and start using it.

Dianthus 'Little Maiden'This diminutive groundcover is very showy this time of year. Foliage resembles Sagina subulata and flowers look like tiny white egrets flying around. Or maybe, little maidens is what the breeder had in mind. Regardless of what you see flying around above the plant, this one is drought tolerant and nice both in flower and not in flower.

Phuopsis stylosa
This plant has been on the blog in the past. But I haven't had a picture that illustrated how many blooms are on the plant. This plant has proven successful on the edge of a walkway that gets salted in the winter. It also grows well in a part shade situation. There doesn't seem to be a spot that I've tried so far that it hasn't been successful. I believe this would be a great substitution for Polygonum reynoutria which has found itself on the "Invasive" list.

Geum 'Fireball'This plant has been a beacon of light in the garden. It's rare that a plant carries this color and doesn't grow in a ditch. 'Fireball' is an introduction from several years ago that we added when Echinacea Orange Meadowbrite™ first came out. Orange was in! Now we have these beauties available to you. They look especially great in the garden mixed with Salvia 'May Night' and Oenethera macrocarpa.

Thanks again for taking a spin around our gardens with me. To those of you that will be visiting for the Piet Oudolf talk, we'll see you then. If you missed out, talk to you later. 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!