New Shade Garden Plants: Part 1

September 2, 2012 mario mirelez

Working at a Garden Center and Nursery has been a blessing and a curse at the same time. It’s very difficult to resist the urge of bringing home new plants everyday. From time to time, I give into temptation and add a little something here and there at Sutherland. Looking back though, I guess it’s been more than just ‘a little’ something. Maybe I have a problem. Could I be turning into a plant collector? Could it be time for an intervention?

Before the big drought, I began with a few additions to the shade gardens. Its been difficult trying to keep it all alive during the dry period, but I think I have persevered. The following plants are new 2012 introductions at Sutherland.

Astilbe x arendsii ‘Rhythm and Blues’

This lovely perennial is set along the front of the house. I’m unsure of the finicky nature of this very thirsty plant, but when I saw the beautiful raspberry-pink plumes, I knew I had to give it a try. Much like a peony, the bloom period is fleeting, but so worth it. Astilbe is a great plant for color in the shade garden.

Height: 25”

Spread: 16-20”

Exposure: Part sun

Bloom time: Midsummer

Bloom color: Pink shades

Water: Prefers consistent soil moisture.

Thalictrum Evening Star Strain

In the Hosta garden, I’m trying this Thalicturm by Terra Nova. A grower/friend of mine gave me three of these to try and I shared two with other gardeners. I’m looking forward to next season to get a report back on their performance. This is a lovely woodland perennial with foliage like Epimedium.

Height: 8”

Spread: 10”

Exposure: Part shade, Full shade

Bloom time: Spring

Bloom color: Pink shades

Water: Average to moist

Thalictrum kiusianum, Dwarf Meadow Rue

In a different area of the Hosta bed I’ve placed a Thalictrum commonly known as Dwarf Meadow Rue. My goal for this slow spreader is to fill in all areas between the larger Hosta plants where unsightly mulch and bare spots are visible. The lacy foliage will contrast nicely against the larger leafed plants.

Height 4-6”

Spread 12-16”

Exposure: Part Shade

Bloom time: Summer

Bloom Color: Lilac shades

Water: Average to moist

Fallopia japonica ‘Variegata’, Variegated Japanese Fleeceflower

I’m very excited about the addition of this plant as it meets several visual criteria in the garden. This is tall vigorous grower with heart-shaped creamy white leaves splashed with dark green specs. The new growth often has coral shades on reddish stems. I’ve only had the plant a few months and already I’m loving all of its attributes.

Height: 4 feet

Spread: 2-3 feet

Exposure: Full sun, Part shade

Bloom time: Late summer, Early fall

Bloom color: White shades

Water: Low to average water needs

Filipendula palmata ‘Variegata’, Meadowsweet

I find the large maple-shaped leaves along the stems of this plant enchanting. I maintain that I am a foliage guy and couldn’t resist these leaves splashed and marginated in white, platinum, lime and dark green. The leafy stems rise to 4 feet and in late spring are topped with a large plume of white flowers. This plant is best in part shade. Note: Apologies for this photo which focuses on the bloom and not the foliage. What was I thinking?

Height: 4-6 feet

Spread: 2 feet

Exposure: Part shade

Bloom time: June

Bloom color: White shades

Water: Moist, well-drained

Final thoughts:

I’m frightened by the quantity of plants listed above and I haven’t even gotten to the Hostas, Trees, and Shrubs yet. Oh my… stay tuned.

Thalicturm Evening Star photo copyright Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.

Shade Gardening with Hostas

May 9, 2012 mario mirelez

It recently occurred to me that the thing that got me into ornamental gardening is the thing I rarely talk about on my blog– Hostas. A few years ago, I was perusing a White Flower Farm catalog when I came across a photo that ignited something in me. That image led me to create my very first self-expressed garden.

I set out to recreate that Hosta garden using the same collection of plants pictured in that photo. Since then, I have branched out on my own, trying new plants here and there, but the original plants have more or less become the bones of my Hosta garden. Here are a few of my Hostas today.

Hosta ‘Liberty’

Hosta ‘Blue Angel’

Hosta ‘Pineapple Upsidedown Cake’

Hosta ‘Risky Business’

Hosta ‘Stained Glass’

Hosta ‘Lancifolia’

As you can see, I don’t get all crazy and collect rare plants– I’m not that kind of gardener. In fact, many of my plants are ordinary specimens that can be found anywhere. And every now and then, a friend will point me in a new direction and I’ll try something different at their request, but I can honestly say that I don’t derive any pleasure from boasting about my rare-hard-to-find-aren’t-you-jealous-of-me plants.

Why garden with Hostas?

Generations of gardening enthusiasts have turned to Hostas as the “backbone” of their garden and landscape designs. Here’s why: Hostas tolerate shade. Hostas are low maintenance. Hostas have a three-season presence. Hostas blend beautifully with other perennials, annuals, trees, and shrubs. Space limitations need not discourage you from gardening with Hostas as many are suitable for growing in containers as well.

I hope to share more Hosta growing tips through the season. Until then, happy shade gardening!

Planting en masse

April 30, 2012 mario mirelez

My partner and I often joke as we shop for plants, ‘oh, we like that, but do you have 25 of them…’ Garden center employees think we’re kidding or give us a strange look and move on to the next customer. Truth is, most retail outlets don’t often carry that many of a kind unless the plants are tiny. We’re really not joking though– big properties call for big plantings.

To accommodate the large expanses, we practice planting en masse. That simply means we try to plant masses of the same plant to create a bold statement- one that stands up to the house and property. It’s a hard thing to get used to because it means we often have to wait awhile until we can acquire large quantities of like plants. It’s getting easier though. Gardening does teach patience!

Recently, I created a mass planting of Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’ in a shade bed. It’s the same bed that I removed all the horrible clay soil from last year (See Conquering Clay Soil). I planted very few things last year to allow the new soil to rest and settle over winter. We had purchased 8 Plum Puddings last year and planted them as a test. They came back beautifully and now it was time to fill in the space bordered by Hosta ‘Blue Angel’ and Liriope muscari ‘Variegata.’

The Heuchera color and form contrasts with the variegated Liriope. The ‘plum’ color is echoed in other plants within the same bed.

The first step involved placement of the 33 new plants. In summer, the Liriope plants will touch each other and spill over to hide the black edging.

I encountered many earthworms as I dug the holes. That’s a great sign! The soil is healthy and loamy. I needed only a hand trowel to create the holes.

By fall, the Heuchera plants should mature and begin to make their statement. And by next spring, that statement will hopefully have an exclamation point. You get a sense of the desired effect when you look at the few Heuchera which were planted last year (far right).

Plantingen masse has many benefits in garden design. It need not be limited to large gardens only. It can have a calming and unifying effect on any garden. It seerves to connect and ease the transition from one area to another. Try to avoid the ‘one of everything’ approach, which can fatigue the eye. Last, masses can visually enlarge even the smallest of gardens. The repetition of form, texture, and color encourages the eye to never stop in one spot, but slowly flow through, creating the illusion of a bigger space.

To close, here are a few examples of how mass plantings work and enhance garden spaces.