Hello again,

May is rocking right now, and business is good.  Most of the people coming into Midwest Groundcovers appear to be in good moods with optimism for the near future.  The only thing missing right now is time, I've heard a couple times.  Lets hope that at the very least, our industry is in recovery mode, and it will only continue on the upward swing.  Here are the plants looking great this week.

Zizia aurea
I am the fortunate one to give MG's combination of the week in our newsletter this week.  Zizia in general is one of my favorite plants for sentimental reasons.  My mentor Jerry Young passed away when it was in bloom, so I'll forever remember him when I see this flowering.  In my favorite combo, it is combined with Salvia 'Wesuwe' and Allium 'Purple Sensation'.  These grow in our Piet Oudolf designed garden and look excellent there.

 Hosta 'Liberty' and Hosta 'Big Daddy'
 Two of my favorite Hosta are these two. Together, they are planted on the west side of our building which actually gets a good amount of shade because of some crab apples there.  The foliage on the 'Big Daddy' has finally gotten to a large size four years after planting, which comes to my next point. It takes about 5 years for a Hosta to become mature.  Like fine wine, Hostas get better with age, so refrain from dividing them and being the favorite neighbor on the block, and let them mature into beautiful specimen.

 Dianthus 'Firewitch'
Not that it needs any more promotion at this point.  It is the PPA Perennial Plant of the Year for 2006.  It's hard for me to believe that it was that long ago.  Anyway, this is the best performing Dianthus in the garden by far.  The clumps by our shipping department are neglected and just get bigger and bigger every year.  This year, with the cooler temperatures that have stuck around, the colors seem to be more vibrant as well.  In my Dianthus trials, 'Neon Star' was the best, but it was irrigated. 

Salvia 'Pink Friesland', Baptisia 'Prairie Smoke', and Zizia aurea
In the Piet Oudolf garden, these planting have succeeded this year.  This is the first year they've been in the garden. When Piet was here, he really liked the combination of Salvia 'Wesuwe' with  Zizia, and he wanted to try it in pink.  I think that it is a nice combo, and the Baptisia that have been in the garden this whole time look very nice with it as well.


Baptisia Starlite Prairieblues™
I think I post about this plant every year.  I just love it.  Unfortunately, this year we don't have many available.  And at this very moment there are none.  But in the future, we will have beautiful #2 size plants that will be far better than the #1's we've sold in the past.  And this plant is worth every penny to have.  It's a tad smaller than Baptisia australis and blooms earlier.  This year, they are all blooming at about the same time.  In the past, it was always at least a week ahead.  But strange weather this spring had changed everything.

Baptisia Twilite Prairieblues™
The dark purple on this variety always surprises me when it has the color it does this year.  In the warmer springs, er the consistently warm springs, the color turns much lighter.  This year they look great.  And the plants are getting huge.  Like Hosta, Baptisia get bigger and better with age.  I think it's the first time these are the last to bloom.  But it's possible I just didn't take note of that. The mother plant of Twilite Prairieblues™ stands taller than me at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  Now, I'm not that tall, so it's not saying a lot, but it's still pretty big.

Thanks again for taking a moment out of your busy day to read the blog.  Until next time, have a great day!

Hello again, and happy May!

I decided to peruse the more shady areas of the landscape this week.  To my delight, there were many things looking great. 

Osmunda cinnamomea with Hyacinthoides hispanica

This was an unintentional combination that occured because of the Hyacinthoides naturalizing in the landscape.  The color contrast of the light green fronds of the cinnamon fern with the dark strap-like leaves of Hyacinthoides is great.  But what you can only slightly see in the picture is how they contrast so well with the Heuchera 'Blackout' behind it.  The three plants together make for an attractive combination.

Carex pensylvanica with Hyacinthoides hispanica
This is where the original plantings of  Hyacinthoides began.  Most of the year, the Carex fills this spot out and looks great.  But this time of year, the bulbs are the best.  A lawn-like area is transformed into a bloom festival.   There are concerns in some parts of the country where Spanish Bluebells have become aggressive.  I could see that happening over time.  In an area that is maintained, I think it's worth planting. 

Polygonatum 'Prince Charming'
This is a plant being introduced by Chicagoland Grows, but it was bred by Brent Horvath at Intrinsic Perennials in Hebron, IL.  I've had it in the landscape for a good amount of time now, and it has thrived in two spots.  Both with a lot of shade, like you see in this picture and with partial sun.  The blue-green leaves are stunning all growing season, and now are decorated by white flowers that look like hanging earrings.

Heuchera 'Palace Purple' with Hosta 'Halcyon'

Classic combination of the week here.  Purple and blue look so good together in the shade.  I may have posted this before, but I'm recycling thoughts.  I used to scoff at those who used 'Palace Purple' over some of the other Heuchera.  There is a reason so many Heuchera have come and gone, and this one remains.  It is the best in all my trials.  It always comes back strong, and can even perform in some sun.  Hosta 'Halcyon' is another favorite of mine.  For the smaller sized blue Hosta there is no better in my opinion.  One step further, it is the parent to some of my other favorite Hosta like 'June' and 'First Frost'.  Classic plants can look amazing together, and knowing they are classic can also help you to know that they are qualified performers in even the toughest situations.

Thanks again for taking the time at the blog.  I hope you have enjoyed, and until next time, have a great day,

Piet Oudolf Garden additions and Physocarpus

Hello again,

This week, the Piet Oudolf garden is starting to look great.  It almost always looks good, but it's starting to really come to life, I should say.  New combinations installed last year are some of the highlights of today's blog.

Anemone sylvestris with Nepeta 'Early Bird'
It makes me laugh sometimes to think that I used to not like either plant in this photo. Maybe it's the sum of all parts that make it look great.  But these two look spectacular together.  The Anemone really brighten up the garden nicely. And the Nepeta are becoming a fine addition to the edges of the garden where I had difficulty growing things before.



Monarda bradburyana and Nepeta 'Early Bird'
Who would've thought Nepeta would make it twice in a row. Piet matched these up very well.  That man continues to impress me.  I go back to a conversation with Roy Diblik about Nepeta in which he told me that "It just works well in the landscape.  You can always rely on it to look good when you go back to check on the job site.  The Monarda pictured should be in bloom next week, if it ever warms back up. Their dark, reddish foliage mixes really well with the purple flowers.

Amsonia tabernaemontana var. salicifolia
I love the Amsonia genera, and this one could be my favorite.  For today, it is.  I love the contrasting dark stems, with the light green foliage.  Blue flowers are just a bonus.  We originally had planted red species tulips at the base of the plant, but they have mostly disappeared since planting.  When they were there, the red flowers also contrasted nicely with the dark stems.  These will grow 3' tall and as wide.  I would mix it with an Echinacea cultivar with orange flowers for later season interest.

Physocarpus Summer Wine®
At the employee entrance to our building, I planted these Summer Wine® four years ago.  They have begun to really occupy the area well.  The bottom right corner of the picture is Cotoneaster apiculatus which has textural contrast.  Without irrigation, they have thrived here.  Flowers are a week or so away.  These plants, four years later, are about 6' tall and wide.  They make great substitutes for Prunus x cistena.

Physocarpus Coppertina™
A little lighter in color than the aforementioned Summer Wine®, Coppertina™ has copper tones, mostly in its newer foliage.  Later in the season, it will take on a much more purplish cast.  It always appears a little lighter than the Sambucus Black Lace™. The two varieties mentioned seem to be fairly resistant to the powdery mildew this plant sometimes gets.  At the very least, they prove to be resistant in a dryer landscape.  Neither plant is subjected to large amounts of irrigation and do very well.

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

A Busy April

Hello again,
You know it's April, when I have only three plants for the week.  We have been busy as I hope everyone else is.  Plants are looking great, but they are getting scared of low temperatures that are threatening us tonight. At Midwest Groundcovers we have a new product line of Culinary Herbs that we call Cottage Fresh Herbs, and they are going inside for the night.  They do look great, and being a fan of Basil, I've purchased a couple that I've been snacking on.

Tiarella 'Elizabeth Oliver'
This beauty is doing very well in our shade gardens.  I have it mixed with Asarum canadense in one spot and Dicentra spectabilis pokes its blooms out in the other garden.  The flowers are great, but I mostly want to show the great foliage which lasts all growing season.  These are flourishing under crabapples with old roots, so drought tolerance is one of the major benefits to this plant.  I highly recommend it.  And we actually carry it in #1 size plants and Quarts.

Geum 'Mai Tai'
Last week I mentioned a plant in combination with 'Mai Tai'.  I wanted to show the actual plant this time.  This is such a beauty.  Brent Horvath from Intrinsic Perennial Gardens in Hebron, IL developed this plant, and I think it's got a lot of potential.  Nepeta 'Early Bird' would be a very nice blue flowering perennial to combine with it.  I have them growing on the hillside in full sun along with it's sister 'Tequila Sunrise'.  Both plants are visually stimulating.

Polemonium reptans
One of my favorite woodland natives is Polemonium reptans. I've also learned fellow Midwest Groundcover employee, Trish Beckjord loves this plant as wel.  It grows well in a lot of shade, but I also have it planted in some sun.  It has become a favorite mix of mine, where I planted this, Aster divaricatus, and Brunnera 'Jack Frost' all together.  They are looking stellar right now under our Crabapple. 



Happy Spring everyone.  I hope you are all having a great April.  Until next time, have a great day!

April Gems in the Garden

Hello again,
This week we have lots of new plants looking great. The cool temperatures of our normal spring are back and slowing down the process. Night time frosts have been scary at the nursery, but for the most part, we've been able to protect what's needed protection and our plants still look great. In the landscape, a couple things have declined due to the frost, but 99% of everything looks better than last year.
Thermopsis 'Sophia'
I had promised someone last week that I would talk about this plant, and then I got excited about all the others instead. Oops. This one deserves our attention though. In the same family as Baptisia, this looks great in our landscape. An evaluation group I'm a part of, called Perennials in Focus, has been buzzing about this plant in our yards. Everyone loves it. Some have it mixed in combination with Geum 'Mai Tai', and it looks very nice. 'Sophia' grows 20" tall and 30" wide in my garden. This picture was taken on the 6th of April and it still looks great.
Syringa vulgaris 'Prairie Petite'
I've had this plant in the landscape for a long time now. I always describe it as the landscape meatball for the meatball lovers. These have never been pruned, yet they keep a very compact pruned-like look. On one hand, the size and mildew resistance are fantastic for a common lilac. In 7 years in the landscape, I've never seen mildew on it actually. They are 40" tall and about as wide. My only problem with this plant is that the flowers barely reach above the foliage when in bloom. Is this a problem designers and architects? If you feel it's not a problem and you want us to grow it, let us know.
Sorbiria sorbifolia 'Sem'A returning member of the blog, one of my favorite shrubs is 'Sem'. This plant is 6 years old and 4 and 1/2' tall. The spread is about 6' wide with some suckering. What's not to like about the new growth on this plant though. White flowers will come later in the season, but the highlight is now when the new growth makes people sprain their necks double taking. In this instance, this plant is grown in full sun and very dry conditions. Last year was a wet one, and for the first time, I started to see suckering, encouraging me to recommend it for dry sites.
Kolkwitzia Dream Catcher™ I've begun to really like this plant over the years. Our plants are growing in the shade of a State Street™ Maple and have retained their color well. At this time, the plants reach about 4' tall and then create the illusion of Dr. Seuss's The Grinch's fingers as they extend to the woods. New growth displaying an orangish-red cast. For the shady area, it really gives a nice color to brighten up this spot.


Veronica whitleyi and Sedum sexangulare These two plants have learned to play very well together. While at first separate after planting, they now create an effect of spilled water over moss. The blue flowers of the Veronica are her for a month or so, and then the Sedum will follow with a display of bright yellow flowers. A nice groundcover combo.
Heuchera villosa 'Caramel'
Always a favorite of mine since I first laid eyes on it. The color throughout the season is great. This year, I think it may be the best I've ever seen. The These plants are 12" tall and nearly 2 feet wide. They are surrounded by Dodecatheon so they should be even more interesting to look at next week.

Nepeta 'Early Bird'
Mark this one as the earliest flowering Nepeta in our catalog. It blooms a couple weeks before 'Blue Wonder' in our gardens. Last year this was an addition to our Piet Oudolf designed garden, and so far I like the effect. We basically used this in areas near the walkways or the roads and they "spill" over the sides. At this point they haven't gotten quite big enough to spill, but they're almost there. Never having been a fan of Nepeta in general, I wasn't sure about this one. But it is starting to become more appealing. Every plant has its place, right? I think this one has found its spot.

Thanks once again for taking the time to read. It has been a nice and busy spring. Attitudes this year have been excellent, and that will lead us into better times. Until next time, I hope you have a great day!