Yes! Michigan!

Hello again,
I had the pleasure of going to Michigan to look at some of our sample plants that various vendors have given us to trial. I wanted to see how things have been progressing and work with Drew, our production manager there on which plants we think we should grow. It really helps us when the accession and production groups get together so that we can all be on the same page. Communication is everything in this business. Maybe in all businesses for that matter. Here are some of the plants that we've added in the last few years for various reasons. And also pictured are some nice shots of crops growing there as we speak. In the next couple of weeks, Midwest Groundcovers will be having some great sales! Now is the time to buy plant material. But in addition to the great plants that we will be discounting are some fabulous regular priced items. I will show you one of the great deals, but mostly I wanted to show you some of the great plants that are not on sale and worth every penny we ask.
Phlox 'David's Lavender'
If you like Phlox 'David', then you should like his lavender counterpart. They have a nice colored flower similar to what we used to offer in 'Franz Schubert', but with greater mildew resistance. They are not all blooming now, but the plants are super clean and will perform well for you next year!


Aster tataricus 'Jin-Dai'
Several years ago we planted these in the garden here. They are very late bloomers, so I was never sure if there was a true market for them. Architects and designers have come late enough to see them bloom, and have had really nice words to say about them. A trip to Cleveland a couple years ago brought them back to my attention. They had planted them along a walkway that looked down onto another garden. The blooms were looking up at me with their bright yellow eyes, and I fell in love all over again. They do have a course foliage but they do not show off their naked legs like so many other Asters do. They do have a tendency to spread a little, but what good Aster doesn't?
Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome'
The crop of these look so nice right now. I always enjoy seeing a big crop like this one when everything is in bloom. If you were thinking about planting fall mums this week, why? Get some Asters! They'll even come back reliably. Oh, that's why.



Hosta 'June'
This is a favorite of mine. All Hosta have become a recent passion, but 'June' will forever remain the best. This is just the liners, but who wouldn't want to see this. I just made it the background for my computer monitor! It's always fun to see the baby plants, and if you are a grower, to see them mature into larger saleable plants. These babies will be saleable next year.

Hosta 'Frances Williams'
I have to admit that sometimes I forget about the oldies. One look at this crop and I realized that once I have more room to plant at home, I'll be buying some. They are so clean without the slightest touch of a slug. No damage on any plants whatsoever. So, remember that sometimes new doesn't always mean good. Don't forget about the beauties of days past.

Hosta 'First Frost'
So new doesn't always mean good, but in this instance it does. This is the Hosta of the Year 2010. It may not look like much now, but a mature plant of this is very nice. Think Hosta 'Halcyon' with white margins. In my opinion, 'Halcyon' is one of the best Hostas ever. Another sport of 'Halcyon' is 'June' so it has a history of nice children. I'm really excited that we will be able to offer this superb plant to you next year.
Echinacea Big Sky™ Harvest Moon
This is a house of Harvest Moon, just to show you how nice some of these plants still look. In the landscape, a mature plant may not still have as many blooms as these do, but it makes me think that if we could convert people into purchasing them at this time of year instead of mums, the world could be a much better place. Think about the additional benefits of coneflowers over chrysanthemums. After they are done blooming they still provide color with the goldfinches and other birds that will come to eat the seeds.
Echinacea 'Coconut Lime'
Even the double varieties look great in the pots. No need for white mums with these hanging around.





Veronica 'Royal Candles'
These still look superb as well.







Chelone 'Hot Lips'
I never fully understood the appeal of this plant. But I'm learning to love it. This year, these plants look great. They always do, but we always sell out so that I don't get to see them bloom this way. I planted them in the landscape a couple years ago when we finally had plants that I didn't feel guilty to take. I don't like to plant things that our customers really want and we don't have great quantities on. So we did plant them, and we do have good quantities now. Look at the great fall flower color these have. The houses are blooming like mad. If you are not familiar with these, they like some moisture and like some shade. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked about plants for moist shade. That explains why they are in such demand.
Let's move on to grasses:
Molinia 'Transparent'
This would be one of the plants that we are offering at a special price. Look at how nice they are. This is one of the best deals I've seen in a long time. For more information on the sale, please call us or go to our website at http://www.midwestgroundcovers.com/ and go to our availability for pricing.


Miscanthus sinensis 'Purpurascens'
I'm not always the most fond of Miscanthus. But seeing a large crop of 2700 #3 sized plants with their flowers glistening in the sunlight is a sight to see. Clearly they are available, so please don't hesitate to call and order some for your next pick up or delivery!



Sporobolus heterolepis 'Tara'
I always talk about how uniform a house of 'Tara' is, so I wanted to show you. Though I know the picture may not be in the greatest focus, you can get the point. You could put a level on top of these plants, and if the seed heads were strong enough, it would be perfect. This is such a uniform plant. For those that are afraid of the "native look", and still want the cilantro like smell of Sporobolus, try 'Tara'.

Sesleria autumnalis
As you can see, this is a very nice mass of plants. It's a different look than Pennisetum, but they will reliably live and look great season after season. And they are salt tolerant.




Phytolacca americana
Commonly known as Pokeweed, this is my favorite of all weeds. The problem with it is that it is terribly poisonous. If you have kids around, you should probably not have this plant. If you do not, then I say keep it. A friend of mine has a variegated one! Ooohhh! If it is close to an area where it could get stained by it's fruit juice, you may want to remove it as well. The birds in my neighborhood eat the fruit, which can cause a mess once digested. Birds apparently are immune to the poison but mammalian herbivores leave it alone.

Fall colors are coming. My next post will focus on that. Thanks again for reading. Until next time, have a great day.

The Lurie Garden at Millenium Park

Good day everyone,
Last Friday, I had the great pleasure of accompanying Roy Diblik at the Lurie Garden in Chicago. This garden never ceases to amaze me. There was so much to photograph this day and so little time to write about it. So here goes!

Here is Roy Diblik talking with a group of people from the ASLA touring the grounds. Each group had very good questions. The speaker is always interesting when it is Roy! It's always fun to see the groups listening to him. Even when event coordinators were trying to move the group along, everyone waited in line to talk with him. Even if they miss the next presenter, they were still waiting for Roy. And if Roy was still there today, I bet he'd have a line.


Agastache 'Blue Fortune'
I remember when everyone was afraid that this plant wasn't hardy. I was one of the skeptics. But now, it grows everywhere. It does not require the drainage of the next plant, which is also an Agastache, so it does great in most any Midwest landscape. A really wet area may not be appreciated. Butterflies love it, and so do I. The anise scented foliage reminds me of small hardy candy I was given as a child.

Agastache rupestris
This is an Agastache you only want to plant if you have great drainage. I can't believe it lives at the Lurie Garden, but they do have excellent drainage. And it is a green roof, so that should help. Typically this is a plant that excels in the west. It is an interesting color, and if breeders want to keep trying, I'm sure the Chicagoland public would welcome this plant or something similar that would do well here. Yes, that's a challenge!
Parthenium integrifolium
A new addition to the Lurie Garden is Parthenium. It really shows up when you look at the garden as a whole. I tried to show it here with Panicum 'Shenendoah' behind it to give you an example of how nice it looks with a reddish background. Other then weedy asters, there isn't much in the landscape this time of year with clean white flowers. This shines like a beacon in a landscape covered with the colors of fall.

Anemone 'Konigan Charlotte'
'Queen Charlotte' for those who do not speak German. I have a real hard time not writing about at least one Anemone this time of year. Also blooming in the garden were 'September Charm', 'Praecox', 'Honorine Jobert', and 'Pamina'. What a sight to see.



Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride'
If there were a vote for the most underutilized plants for the landscape, 'Autumn Bride' would definitely get some votes. Look at how nice these plants look in late September! The foliage is very clean and the flowers are mighty attractive. This is in most day sun, but it can handle just about anything you throw at it.

Gentiana andrewsii
Okay, I was very excited two weeks ago to show you the picture of the Gentian in our landscape, and then I go to Millennium Park here where it is prolific. Here, it doesn't act like a plant that is difficult to grow. In fact, there had to be close to 100 plants thriving in the garden. It really catches your eye. Here it is combined with Sporobolus(Prairie Dropseed) and Amsonia hubrichtii(Narrowleaf Blue Star) with a little Origanum sneaking itself into the picture.

Scutellaria incana
We tried to grow this plant as well for a little while with little success. When I see the seed heads of this plant, I wonder why more people don't ask for it. They are cup shaped, which has given it the common name of Skullcap. Maybe that's why more people don't ask for it. Who wants a skullcap? What people may have wanted was the fact that mammals don't eat the plant because it doesn't taste good. This is especially good for a garden that is loaded with rabbits. I saw three small ones playing together at the end of the day.

Pycnanthemum virginianum w/ honeybees
This is a plant that I didn't see a use for just three years ago. I was asked to plant it in our landscape and did. I'm so glad I've been able to enjoy it's beauty. On this day at Millennium Park, it was swarming with honeybees. If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you can see a small swarm of two bees. I really like the gray, hairy foliage and the scent of the plants when crushed. The common name describes the smell of the plant best; Mountain Mint.

Molinia 'Transparent'
Who wouldn't like this plant? Unfortunately a lot of you don't. We don't sell much of this. But it is truly a gem. This is one of the best shots I could get. A difficult plant to photograph because of it's transparent seed heads, but I found the way. The city in the background with a blue sky. Brilliant! Think of this as the ultimate separator of a landscape. Place this where you would want people to be interested in what's around the corner. It creates a screen, but not a view blocking screen. Perfect for the fence near the neighbor that you don't want to talk to, but you also don't want to completely shield because your kid plays with their kids.
Salvia azureus w/ Monarch
Not a plant I think Midwest Groundcovers would grow, but I thought the picture was nice. He only would pose for me for the briefest of moments. The Salvia is a nice plant, but not quite like your brothers Salvia. These were 4' tall and a little wispy. They looked great scattered around the landscape in groups of three, but a specimen, it is not.


I leave you today with a couple of garden shots. It is hard to believe that such a garden could be as successful as this one in the heart of a city. Chicago is very lucky to have such a great landmark. For a short time, I was able to people watch around the garden. I was surprised to see people's reaction to the garden. Did they appreciate it? What are they feeling?




The one thing I noticed most, was that almost all the people were afraid to touch the plants. I find it very rewarding and interesting to walk a path with my hand out and feel the different textures of grasses and Agastache and all the other great plants. Why would these people feel differently? I mentioned this to Roy and he recalls seeing people at his place walking a path and looking around the tall grass along his path rather than walking through it. It would only take a quick brush with a hand to move them out of the way. In the process, that person would then know more about that plant and maybe even have a better connection to it. So why are people afraid to touch plants? Is it because we give ownership to the site and we've been cultured to not touch other peoples property? Is it because people really are afraid of plants? Maybe they get poison ivy really bad, and they don't know what will give them a rash and what won't? I'm not sure. If you are one that walks the garden without touching the plants and have a good reason why, I'd love to hear it. Email me at mgplanttrials@gmail.com and I'll post any really good reasons why you wouldn't touch a plant. Thanks again for reading and until next time, have a great day!