Section Three of Piet Oudolf Garden

This is round three of the renovation.

I wanted to start this post with something that has worked very well in the garden. This combination of Stachys 'Hummelo' with Coreopsis 'Golden Showers' has been very nice to look at the past couple weeks. The fine texture of the foliage on 'Golden Showers' also contrasts well with the more coarse 'Hummelo'. The colors together make a great contrast and the foliage textures will look great together well into fall.

In this area, we removed a large patch of Amsonia x 'Blue Ice'. The area in which is was planted was starting to get too big. We are going to cut the large swathe into pieces and plant Scabiosa 'Pink Mist' and Monarda bradburiana in the areas that are removed. We currently don't have the Monarda, so that will go in later. I also refrained from cutting out the other piece of Amsonia until we have the replacement plants. Originally, Geranium 'Jolly Bee' climbed over the top of the Amsonia, but eventually, the 'Blue Ice' took over the area and smothered the 'Jolly Bee'.

In this section, we used to have a large Amsonia hubrichtii seedling, that I was very fond of. If you've ever been on a tour of the gardens, I probably pointed it out to you. However, Piet did not like the height that it had, so we removed it. It was the plant collector in me that wanted to keep it there. But I do see his point, that it didn't quite fit. We will replace it with the real Amsonia hubrichtii.

Other changes in the garden include removal of Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'. While there is no question that it is a beautiful plant, it struggles with the dry soils that we provide in this garden, and often gets hit by frost right as the blooms start to break bud. They will be replaced by Liatris spicata. We also removed a large chunk of Sorghastrum nutans 'Sioux Blue' as it didn't really fit where it was. It will be replaced by Allium 'Summer Beauty' and when we have it, Geranium soboliferum. Thanks again for taking the time to check out the blog. Comments are always welcome, so keep them coming. Hope you are having a great summer, and until next time, a great day!

Annual Fall Color Review

Hello again,

I always like to do a fall color edition. This is my favorite time of the year when the plants are in the midst of transformation. Just like spring when they come to life, fall is nearly as spectacular with all the colors. While I love the trees a lot, the shrubs and perennials also have some great color. Here are some of the most outstanding at our facility.


Viburnum molle 'Morton'
This is a plant under consideration for the Chicagoland Grows program. It grows similarly to Viburnum dentatum, or Arrowood Viburnum, but it has beautiful exfoliating bark similar to that of an Oakleaf Hydrangea. Fall colors range from dirty yellow to the red you see in the picture. All colors are on the plants at the same time. Hopefully this will be offered in the future.

Sporobolus heterolepis
This is a plant that I talk about often. To me, there are not many grasses better than this one. A drift like this under a tree makes for an artistic impression. Very little maintenance is ever required for this. We burn in March and let it go the rest of the year. No watering is ever needed and it will look this nice well into winter. In this particular planting, Echinacea pallida is mixed in to give some spring color to the area.

Viburnum x juddiiThis is an all time favorite for me. I love the fact that I can say this is the first plant I ever planted once in the industry. I planted it because the flowers in the spring are very fragrant. Later I learned of its' amazing fall color. Growing 6-10' tall and just as wide, this is a great plant for the back of the border, or somewhere near a window where you can enjoy the sweet and spicy smells in spring.

Deschampsia 'Goldtau'This has been a very difficult plant for me to photograph. The delicate seed heads are difficult to get without blurriness. This variety is nice because it is very resistant to foliar rust. Other types of Tufted Hair grass are very susceptible. I have it interplanted with Flower Carpet® Scarlet and the two look great together. You should give it a try. They look great in containers as well!

Rhus Prairie FlameOne of the best fall coloring shrubs in my opinion is the Prairie Flame Sumac. The bright reds and oranges that come from this plant are spectacular. The plant can sucker a little, but it does offer an excellent substitute to the overplanted Burning bushes you see everywhere.






Amsonia hubrichtii
One of the best fall coloring perennials around is the Narrow leaf blue star. Read on later to learn about one of her sisters. A. hubrichtii has very fine textured foliage and can come in all sorts of shades of gold in the fall. While this plant tends to look chlorotic a lot of the summer, the fall color more than makes up for it. Mixed with Aster oblongifolius 'October Skies', the blues and yellows can highlight any garden.

Physocarpus 'Coppertina'

Most of us have grown to love the purple summer colors of our new Ninebarks that have hit the market. But I especially like the contrasts of reds and purples when fall colors start to appear. 'Coppertina' gets its' name from the early spring colors it displays on new growth. This is a Proven Winners™ ColorChoice™ shrub.

Amsonia tabernaemontana var. salicifolia

This is one of those plants that looks great all year long. The willow-like leaves gently sway in the winds throughout the summer, and in spring, when first emerging, the purple to red stems look great in contrast with the light green foliage. Then this time of the year, mostly golden foliage with some tints of red show off for all who wish to see. These have proven to be very drought tolerant, and for those looking for more flower color during the summer, it would make a nice combination with Perovskia 'Little Spire' or Echinacea 'Sunrise'.

Thanks again for reading the fall edition. Hopefully more things will color up soon, and different fall pictures will be available. Until next time, have a great day!

What's your favorite fall show?

Hello again,
Cool summers have brought us some outstanding fall colors this year. Things I haven't noticed fall color on before, such as Forsythia and roses, are looking magnificent. I didn't get a good picture of Flower Carpet® Amber, but if you have one in your yard, take a look. They have rich purples and mahogany with a little orange all mixed in. What a nice attribute for a plant that looks great almost all summer. Here are the pictures though. They tell the story better.
Hamamelis virginiana
Are native shrubs your thing? Not what I'd typically think of as a great fall color producing plant. They are currently flowering in our landscape, but it is hard to see through the yellow and green-veined leaves. I love to see leaves with these kind of markings. This is yet another native plant with great fall attributes.



Juniperus virginiana 'Blue Mountain'
Is fruit your thing? If so, 'Blue Mountain' will produce some mighty nice fruit. The plants in our landscape have been here a long time. But even in pots, fruit production is magnificent. The silvery-blue fruit are very nice in contrast with the gray-blue foliage. This is truly a specimen Juniper that not enough people use.

Agastache 'Blue Fortune'
Are seed heads your thing? If so, Agastache looks great long into winter. The swaying seed heads were dancing in the wind yesterday. They look great will all the fall colors in the background. And even in snow, the plants stand tall and look great against the white background of a snow filled landscape.


Hosta 'Regal Splendor'
Are Hostas your thing? If so, then 'Regal Splendor' is a nice plant to look at. Hostas aren't always thought of for fall color. But this year, the silky gold foliage looks quite nice. Most Hosta in the landscape are displaying these colors this year. 'Blue Cadet' is another one with maybe a touch more flare.



Molinia 'Heidebraut'
Are grasses your thing? If so, an underutilized plant is this Molinia. One of my favorite Midwest Solutions® is the combination of this plant and the Rosa Knock Out®. Together they are a striking combination. You can see the flowers of the rose behind the bright yellow foliage of 'Heidebraut'. The texture of 'Heidebraut' looks great all year in contrast with these roses and other plants such as Phlox 'Blue Paradise'.
Coreopsis tripteris
Are native prairie plants your thing? If so, then check out this Coreopsis. Every year I see this plant, I am amazed. The colors mixed in are fabulous. Of course, if you don't have a lot of room in your yard, then this probably isn't the plant for you. But if you have a spot in the back of the border, by all means, plant this guy!

Berberis Sunjoy™ Gold Pillar™
If thorns are your thing, then go with this fella. These plants are visible from a distance. The bright orange is remarkable. I'm not the biggest fan of barberry, but this plant does have a use.

Amsonia hubrichtii
Is texture your thing? If so, few plants can rival the texture of Amsonia. The fall colors of these plants are great as well. The plant itself can be chlorotic throughout the year, so yellows are almost always present on this plant. But as I've learned, a lot of people like the plant when it's yellow in summer. Even with this, the fall color is more pronounced and more beautiful then summer.

Viburnum prunifolium
Are birds your thing? This is a plant we have in American Beauties Native Plants™. This will attract birds because it a)gives cover to the birds from predators, and b) produces fruit that are delicious to the birds. The fall color is pretty nice too. If you are unfamiliar, please give the Blackhaw Viburnum a try.


Viburnum x juddii
Is fragrance your thing? If so, you'll have to wait for spring for this plant to give off its intoxicating perfume. But doesn't her fall color give reason to try? In my opinion, there is no plant with better fragrance than Juddii Viburnum. It's like a spicy lilac. But it's fall color is to die for too. I am a little biased, because this is the first plant I ever planted in my parents yard when learning about plants. But what a great plant to get started with right?
Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima'
Last week I spoke of the red chokeberry, but never showed how great the foliage can actually get. We did physical inventory on shrubs this week, and I was asked to help. I was fortunate to get to count the hoop house of Aronia. What a sight to see. And what better than to be surrounded by amazing fall color. It was definitely a treat!

Aronia melanocarpa 'Elata'
If your thing is Chokeberries, then you like the last two plants I've spoke of. This is just your common black chokeberry in American Beauties Native Plants™ pots. Aren't they great?!? Our native plants have such great fall color, it's amazing that we search out the other continents for other options. We have some outstanding plants right here in North America.

Allium 'Summer Beauty'
Last, but certainly not least, if your thing is contrast, then this plant is for you. There are so many reasons Midwest Groundcovers has gotten behind this plant. This is one attribute that we forget about most of the year. Look at the amazing yellow scapes contrasted with the bright green foliage. I bet your daylilies don't look this good! On top of that, the spent flowers dangle gracefully above the bright yellow scapes creating a magical display of color. Everywhere in the landscape we have this, it looks this good. I took many a picture and had a lot of difficulty deciding where it looks best. This is a highly sustainable plant because it requires little care.

Thanks again for reading. I hope you are enjoying the many pictures and posts that I've put up here. Soon we'll be on to winter interest. I'm hoping that I can get one more week of fall color before we go to the whites and grays of winter. Also this winter we will be unveiling our new plants for 2010. That will be coming soon! Until next time, have a great day!