Natives, Perennials, and Shrubs, oh my

Hello again,

I've got a lot of topics to go over today, so I'll jump right into the plants.

Angelica atropurpurea
One of my favorite all time natives is this giant of a plant.  If you've read the blog before, you know I love stems.  And who wouldn't notice intensely purple stems on a 6' perennial.  Like something out of outer space, these plants will multiply in the garden.  Their preference is to be in a moist location, and I would imagine they would move around a bit more if it was wet.  These have been here for a long time.  Before I worked here, I remember seeing three plants.  You can see in this photo, they've spread a little.  Maybe not for the homeowner, but on a large site, quite the plant.

Prairie Garden

This was my attempt at a "Structured prairie" from a couple years ago.  Maybe not completely structured anymore, the garden has filled in, and I personally like it.  Parthenium integrifolium is starting to bloom and the Eryngium yuccifolium and Liatris spicata, all compliment each other well. In front is Sporobolus heterolepis which was planted like a grassy hedge in front of the prairie, "containing" the natives from creeping into the groundcovers which I am standing in while taking this image. This is two years after planting plugs.

Aruncus 'Misty Lace'
This plant has really garnered the attention of those who walk on perennial island.  Even before it bloomed, it looked great.  In full bloom, plants are only three foot tall and as wide.  I have them planted in morning sun and afternoon shade, with minimal moisture and they have far exceeded my expectations. I am a plant geek and like almost all plants, but I'm thoroughly smitten with this variety.  Allan Armitage bred this to perfection.  The key question for this plant is, how much would you pay?  It is costly, so they would have a higher price tag than most other perennials.  Worth it?

Penstemon  'Dark Towers'
This is another plant that I continue to enjoy in the garden.  Dark purple foliage and pink flowers.  I have trialed several varieties of Penstemon in the garden and so far, this is the best.  Others have been sturdy, but not as much color as this.  There are others yet, with outstanding color but bad form.  These plants only get 3' tall and around 4' wide in our landscape.  Leucanthemum 'Daisy May' is planted in front of it and makes a nice lower companion.

Cotinus Golden Spirit
Moving on to some shrubs.  Last year was the first year I had seen smoke on the Golden Spirit smokebush.  We had pruned the plants back to the ground in previous years to encourage larger foliage.  We haven't the past two years, and the plants still look excellent.  This is planted next to Sorghastrum nutans 'Indian Steel' whose blue foliage contrasts nicely with the bright yellow.  Fall color later in the season is yellows and oranges and reds.  Quite nice.

Viburnum 'Winterthur'

This is a plant that I have loved for a long time.  Fall colors on this plant are the wine red and persist for a long time. In the old days, we were afraid to grow this plant because some weren't sure it was hardy.  It is.  These have lived in our garden for many years.  I usually post about it in fall, but I found the flowers this year to be striking.  Slowly growing to 6-8' tall and wide, it makes a great specimen plant especially in an area where the fall color will be appreciated.

Clematis 'Ville De Lyon'

I love the opportunity to brag about our growers.  We used to have such a hard time growing Clematis, but our skilled growers have figured it out.  Because I personally am attracted to Clematis, it thrills me that we now carry a large array of them.  'Ville de Lyon' is looking very nice on our trellis after the rains.  Check out our availability on these vines for further options. 

Our tree allee

If you have been here in the recent past, you have probably noticed a change in the entrance.  Where Lindens once stood, now are Taxodium distichum.  After suffering from borers and japanese beetles the past few years, we decided to remove the Tilia and replace.  Our new allee will take some time to develop, but it should be worth it.  I can't wait to see the results ten years down the line.  And not to continue being a salesman, but we have some leftovers from this planting job available for immediate pick up if you are interested! 

Thanks once again for taking the time to read.  I hope you enjoy, and until next time, have a great day.

Cool Summers make Warm Fall Colors

Hello again,
It seems like the fall colors are fairly extended this year. Certain things dropped immediately with the first frost, but others maintain there beauty for much longer. I've been very impressed with the golds I'm seeing this year. They seem so much richer than in years past. Here are some interesting fall pictures I took yesterday.
First I'll start out with our recycling program. It has been a very beneficial thing to some of our customers. This is the product that we ship out. So once we've collected enough plastic, we make these nice cubes of containers that we send out to be recycled. People have asked what it looks like, so here it is! Beautiful isn't it? It is much more beautiful than sending it to the landfill.


Tilia cordata 'Glenleven'
Glenleven Lindens haven't been the greatest for fall color the past few years. This is because of the invasion of Japanese Beetles who make the foliage nearly completely lacy which doesn't allow for much color. We did spray our trees this year so that the beetle wouldn't affect the plants as much. It worked! Our Lindens are beautiful this fall. What a sight!

Metasequoia glyptostroboides
While on the topic of trees. How about these beauties. I love the coppery-orange color these create in fall. We have Taxodium as well on the property, but they don't color up as nice as these do.




Viburnum lentego
This could be considered a small tree or large shrub. Nannyberry Viburnums have always been one of my favorite plants. I love the fruit and love the fall color. The flowers aren't the greatest, but overall the plant is a winner. Native to our area, this particular shrub is always covered in Cedar Waxwings when the fruit comes. They strip these plants of fruit in a matter of hours, not days.

Viburnum 'Winterthur'
Sticking with Viburnums, there are few plants that rival the fall color of this plant. The reds it produced each year are magnificent. I get little fruit on the plants because they require another variety of V. cassinoides to pollinate them. But fruit is secondary to the fall color and year-round appeal that 'Winterthur' foliage offers.

Viburnum molle 'Morton'
Another Viburnum!!! They sure have nice fall color, don't they? Native plants might be the best way to go for fall color! I liked the array of colors this plant was displaying. This is a future introduction for the Chicagoland Grows® program. It is similar to a Viburnum dentatum, but the foliage seems more broad, and the bark peels. So once the fall color is done, the bark provides winter interest!
Physocarpus Summer Wine®
In fall, the Ninebarks start to show nice red colors. While typically a purple foliaged plant, the combination of purple and red is outstanding. Some leaves have half purple, half red foliage and are quite desirable. I've noticed this in the past, but not to the extent that I'm seeing it this year. All the cultivars look nice, including Coppertina, Diabolo and 'Center Glow'.

Rhus aromatica 'Grow Low'
Who thinks of 'Grow Low' Sumac for fall color. I usually don't. This year has changed my mind. This planting which borders our prairie is quite beautiful. Everywhere I look, these are looking nice. And by everywhere, I mean everywhere. These are planted in every commercial job from Chicago to the Mississippi. So every commercial site looks pretty good right now. This salt tolerant plant has become a staple for our customers. While that does not need to change, I just need to stress diversity. If we can make these areas more diverse, we will not have to face a disease like we have with Ash on these guys. There can be too much of a good thing.
Vernonia glauca

The only thing I don't like about the plant is how it likes to reseed itself anywhere it can find a piece of dirt. Of course, my favorite thing about the plant is its seed though. Look at how great it looks going into winter. It does however move around with reckless abandon, so a formal garden or a smaller garden is not screaming out for it. If you have a larger area where you don't mind a few volunteer plants that get close to 6' tall, then this is for you!
Oenothera 'Cold Crick'

This plant was truly spectacular in bloom. I've never seen such brilliant yellow and so profuse. Then it goes into summer being a somewhat boring piece of foliage. Then in fall, it turns into a blazing sunset of colors. Allan Armitage says there are no perennials better for fall color than Amsonia. I beg to differ. He wrote that before the introduction of this plant. It reminds me of Geranium 'Max Frei' for fall color, only much better. We are still in the trial phase of this plant, so we do not actually grow it. I'm not sure what the market would be for it. If you are interested and think we should grow it, please email me at mgplanttrials@gmail.com

I've realized lately, that I do not show enough garden pictures. Sure I show you a lot of plants that are in the garden, but sometimes, the look of the whole garden says so much more than it's parts. In this case, we have Sporobolus heterolepis with Echinacea pallida and Allium 'Forescate'. This area of the garden receives very little maintenance. In fact, we weed it once a year, and do a spring burn. Watering is not necessary. It has become one of the more sustainable areas of the landscape. The plants cover the soil well enough that weeds are not growing in between. Except for a seedling Miscanthus, this area has been virtually weed free all year this year. That says a lot. I've never seen weeds as bad as they have been in '09. So, I will be efforting to show you more garden pictures in the future. You all want the big picture, right?

Thanks again for taking the time to read this. I hope you find something interesting in here. And if not, let me know what you'd like to see. I love getting feedback, but I don't receive it enough. Until next time, have a great day!