Archive for Dramatic Flowers – Page 4

Sheri loves the views from inside her home

Posted by Carol

· October 21, 2015

Rain does not spoil this ‘Itoh Peony’ flower

My client, Sheri Mead, sent me this note from Camas, Washington. What she had to say points out several important garden design concepts:

“Hi Carol,

I thought of you this morning as I got to the bottom of my stairs, turned the corner and was greeted with a happy, bright pink display of peonies in full bloom.

Spring rain does not spoil this flower. I thought back on how much time and effort you put into envisioning the garden from the inside of the house, anticipating what would be showcased at various angles.”

Easy care ‘Confetti’ willow in the perfect shade of pink

Sheri’s note points to design principles that can make your gardening experience more enjoyable and give you the results that you crave:

Envision the view of your garden-to-be from inside your home. What views of which plants would make you smile? This is the way your designer thinks.
Use plants to bring the outside into your home. The pink and white plant color scheme of Sheri’s flower garden matched her favorite room in the house, the master bedroom and sitting area.
Choose long-lasting varieties to extend your viewing pleasure. Note Sheri’s reference to the special rain resistant variety of peony Carol selected. Remember the possibilities of variegated foliage as in the willow. We used sun tolerant white hydrangea with Salix Integra Hakuro Nishiki ‘Confetti’ willow shrubs and peonies for 6 months of color and winter interest from red willow stems.

Colors for Sheri – Hydrangea Paniculata ‘Pink Diamond’

Her Landscape Design in a Day included several planting compositions intended for viewing from inside the home. Once we completed her design, the clients were very hands on. I ordered plants and on site I coached her brother Rick on how to plant them properly. Rick also built an arbor room using a design we “borrowed” from my portfolio.

As Sheri said, “Mission accomplished!”

Categories : Customer Testimonials, Design Basics, Dramatic Flowers, Garden Tips

Tags : diy, dramatic color, dramatic flowers, garden view, hydrangea, long blooming flowers, spring flowers

Euphorbia – Full Season Color Shrub

Posted by Carol

· September 2, 2015

Euphorbia a Perfect Plant or “She Devil”?

Euphorbia Humpty Dumpty with wagon wheel

Euphorbia c. ‘Humpty Dumpty’ encircling a wagon wheel

Growers clearly think euphorbia (spurge) is a perfect plant – Blooming Nursery, a local grower, shows over 50 varieties in their on line catalog. Many varieties have come along in the last ten years.

What is Euphorbia?
It is a low maintenance shrub or ground cover. Most varieties prefer sun and well-drained soil making them perfect for a SW facing landscape. They provide a lot of color and they are very unusual looking. The flower itself looks like a fat column filled with whorls of petals. The flowers are actually tiny little leaf bracts in contrasting colors. People will say to me, “Oh you know, it looks like it came from Mars.” Regardless of its peculiar look, people like the fact that most are very low water and they can enjoy six weeks or more of flower color in the hot sun.

If it’s such a great plant why did I call it a “She Devil”?

A kind of latex sap exudes from every injury or cut to a leaf, stem or flower and can be a skin irritant. Get some in your eye and you’ll call it a worse thing than a she devil. For this reason, I never use it in a parking strip and I make sure the client knows about the potential problem before I use it in a design. The sap does not affect me, but I know people who have gotten rashes, extreme but temporary eye pain. I have read that if ingested it will cause extreme stomach discomfort and should not be included in dog friendly landscaping. I don’t know anyone who has eaten any of it but this plant probably should not be in a yard with children, a puppy or a goofy dog who lacks common dog sense. A local pub ran into legal trouble when someone’s child came in contact with a Euphorbia. Since each person has their own sensitivity, no one can say whether a plant will cause an individual discomfort but Euphorbia is well known for causing skin irritation. Here is the local pub article.
The species Euphorbia characias tend to be 4′ to 5′ tall. The varieties I use are shorter.

All varieties of Euphorbia seed around. Some are prolific, some are not but they all seed. It is not a no maintenance plant but it is a low maintenance plant. The varieties I use must be deadheaded, usually in early June to prevent seeding around and to ensure the plant will be a handsome devil for winter. If the flowering stems are not removed to the ground, the shape for winter will be ugly and to me rather sad since it can be such a radiant winter shrub.

Some varieties of Euphorbia (only one that I use) will spread by running root. I know that I only use it for dryish shade situations where it can spread. Others might plant it next to their hostas and discover in a few years that the hostas are no more.

Enough of the doom and gloom! Here are the plants that I enjoy using in gardens with consenting adults. There are so many varieties that I don’t even try to trial them all personally. I don’t use the plants that I have not trialed or that a person I know has trialed.

My Favorite Euphorbia List

Euphorbia amydgaloides ‘Mrs Robb’s Bonnet’ or just ‘Robb’s Spurge’.
I use it under fir trees with sword fern. I NEVER use it in mixed plantings or flowers beds, it will take over. I use it where I want a low water needs, shade tolerant ground cover (not deep shade). It should be fully contained by a path or root barrier. It’s a very useful and handsome plant if deadheaded properly.

Euphorbia 'Humpty Dumpty' with water drops

Euphorbia c. ‘Humpty Dumpty’ with water drops

Euphorbia characias ‘Humpty Dumpty’
It’s a perfect size unlike most Euphorbia varieties. I use this plant in south or west facing foundation plantings. My plant survived the cold at 900 feet for six years. It looked fantastic with it’s silver green foliage in the dead of January. It won’t look nice if you don’t deadhead it properly in June. Companions: Low 4” high heathers, coneflowers such as ‘Miss Kim’.
Variety grows to 24” x 24”. Flowers at 30” high.

Euphorbia ‘John Tomlinson’

Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii ‘John Tomlinson’
John is taller than ‘Humpty Dumpty’ and has more green blue than green silver foliage. Select California Lilac such as Ceanothus griseus ‘Kurt Zadnik’ as the background shrub for the most amazing color combination in early summer. The purple blue flowers of the California Lilac sizzle next to the chartreuse flowers of the Euphorbia. Variety grows to 36” x 36”.

Euphorbia ‘Rudolph’

Euphorbia x martinii ‘Rudolph’
Rudolph develops brilliant red new leaves in winter. The combo of blue green old leaves and the red hint in winter is why I like this compact variety. Blue fescue grass is a great companion, both for color and texture. Variety grows to 30″ x 30″.

Categories : Dog and Cat Friendly Gardens, Dramatic Flowers, Garden Tips, Low Maintenance Landscape Examples, New Improved Plants, Plants I Recommend, Shade Plants

Tags : blooming nursery, dramatic color, drought tolerant plantings, euphorbia, full hot sun, long blooming flowers, low water

Hydrangea Pruning Made Simple

Posted by Carol

· March 18, 2015

Spring Hydrangea Pruning

A lot of my clients have asked me to help them with pruning their hydrangeas.

This blog addresses mophead hydrangea pruning. Hydrangea pruning is simple and easy once you know the rules. There is a link to a pruning video at the end of this blog produced by Cass Turnball of Plant Amnesty to help you feel more confident. There are 5 kinds of hydrangeas. This blog only addresses mophead hydrangea pruning.

Why prune hydrangea at all?

Why prune hydrangea plants at all? Like most plants, pruned hydrangea shrubs will have a better shape so they look good regardless of the flowering aspect. Many of us buy a hydrangea and think it will be 4’ x 4’. Over time, many varieties will grow to 7’ tall. It is very important to plant the right plant in the right place so you don’t have to be frustrated. There are some varieties that are going to mature at and be easily kept in the 4’ to 5’ range. We prune to achieve that height as well as a good shape. If you have a variety that wants to be 7 or even 8 feet tall every year even with proper pruning, the best answer is to remove the plant and buy a variety whose size works for your garden. Old Arts and Crafts homes with 6’ high foundations are perfect for the hydrangeas that are most cheerful at 7’. They don’t work as well for homes with a 12” foundation or a small yard.Another reason we prune is to remove stems that no longer flower.

Nicely pruned and open plant

We prune hydrangeas in early to mid March in the Pacific NW. We start pruning our plants when they are about 3 years old or when you see the oldest stems are developing bark. Remove the oldest woody canes. On a young plant this might mean removing only 1 or 2 stems. We remove dead stems and canes and we deadhead flowers back to the first lateral buds. I think of these buds as rabbit ears. I love this task. I think it’s because I’m close to the ground and my soil smells good. I typically see 2 colors of buds at this time. The burgundy buds are just a bump on the stems. The tiny green buds (the rabbit ears) are such a vivid green. It says spring to me (and no it doesn’t rain every minute even in March). These are days when a wool sweater and a down vest are perfect for comfort.

Joy Creek Nursery Hydrangea Garden

There is more to the story about hydrangea pruning. Occasionally there are individual plants that didn’t read the rule book. My garden coach client Mary followed the proper pruning techniques and she lost all her flowers for the year!! AAACK!! Her plants are 30 plus years old. Since that debacle Mary only deadheads her plants, again just down to the first buds and she removes old woody stems. Her plants always flower beautifully and are the focal point of her summer garden. I’ve never had this happen to me but I’ve heard about it often enough from other professionals to know that some plants are probably genetically different than others. If you don’t prune at all, your plants will get big and ungainly looking. A build up of deadwood may diminish their flowering capacity.

For a detailed lesson on pruning mop head hydrangeas, see this video.

Categories : Dramatic Flowers, Garden Tips, Spring Gardening

Tags : extend plant life, garden tips, how to gardening tips, hydrangea, Mophead Hydrangea, pruning, spring garden prep

Planning for a Cheery Winter Landscape

Posted by Carol

· December 10, 2014

Let’s start with art. An art object does not need pruning, watering or fertilizing. Art, particularly large art, is a way to get a powerful all season effect in the landscape. Place it so you see it from the most used room of the house. Add a little night lighting and really get your money’s worth.

Shapely trees and large shrubs with attractive branch structure will make 75% of your most dramatic winter picture. Buy trees or shrubs already pruned and shaped beautifully. There are specialty growers who do this as part of their marketing niche, or hire a landscape gardener or an arborist to turn your trees and shrubs into winter beauties. Out here in the NW it’s Nancy Buley with Treephoria and while her plants are grown way out in east county she comes in to some of the farmers markets to make it easier for you to connect with her.

Red Camellia in L. Waldron Garden

Here’s a series of shapely shrubs/small trees with cheerful bright winter flowers. My favorite of the chinese camellias is still Camellia Sasanqua ‘Yuletide’ but the growers have created a whole line of plants similar to Yuletide but in different flowering colors and different flower timing. Here are a couple of new ones I’m excited about. ‘Springs Promise’ a chinese camellia from Monrovia has an unusual orange red flower, a color hard to find in winter. The tree can be trained into a vase shape, an espalier or a thick shrub. We will see if the hummingbirds like it as much as they do the true red of the Yuletide variety. ‘Pink a Boo’ also has the smaller dark green glossy leaves (like Yuletide) but is that perfect frosty intense but pale pink. Camellia Sasanqua ‘Marge Miller’ is the only plant with a weeping shape. I’ve only used it once and am eager to get photos this January when my client Karen’s plant starts to flower.

calluna-vulgaris-robert-chapman360 port nursery

Calluna Vulgaris ‘Robert Chapman’ lights up in winter cold.

To have a cheery winter landscape we need plant color low on the ground with a dark mulch or hemlock bark to dress the raw earth. Too much mulch or raw muddy earth looks unfinished especially for a front yard. In the back yard your dog will happily churn up that mud and bring it in so I like to see it covered. Many people here in the Northwest like to have the soil covered with plants to conserve water, lessen the chore of weeding and for style. Others find it too busy and want to see the space around the plants as part of the design. No one wants mud so we all agree on that. Plant selection: Use plants that turn on the color in winter cold. The foliage of heathers light up in reds, russets, ambers, and golds.

Calluna Vulgaris ‘Winter Chocolate’

Cornus Sanguineum ‘Midwinter Fire’

For a January pick me up, we cannot beat a red twig dogwood or scarlet willow, although planning for space is an issue with these plants. The twig dogwood shrubs and small trees light up in hot reds, burgundy and yellow.

Notice what is going on outside. If you have become a person who never ventures out in the winter……give yourself a gentle little shake, put on some warm clothes and get out there and see what is going on. Slow down enough to notice light on the tree stems, chilled dew on a leaf, and the leaf buds swelling on your Japanese maple in preparation for spring. This is good for our spirits and our minds.

Categories : Dramatic Flowers, Garden Tips, New Improved Plants, Plants I Recommend, Winter Gardening

Tags : curb appeal, dramatic winter plants, Winter Color in the garden

3 Colorful Shrubs for Fall

Posted by Carol

· October 3, 2014

Compact Burning Bush
The most popular variety of Euonymus alata ‘Compacta’ because people think it will be small, say 3′ x 3′. It is not the least bit small and easily grows into a beautiful small tree. The smallest variety on the market is called ‘Rudy Haag’ 5′ x 5′. Even the variety called ‘Pip Squeak’ is 6′ x 5′. If Burning Bush is not placed with room to grow, these shrubs get turned into ugly muffins by frustrated gardeners. If it is sheared properly, thinner at the top and wider at the bottom, this can be a very attractive hedge but it will need to be sheared two or three times a year. Ugh! Too much work for me.

I love to use this shrub as a shree (part shrub, part small tree). A client of mine, Ruth in Scappoose has hers planted in full sun and pruned into small multi-stem trees. They are underplanted with a hot orange summer flowering Euphorbia which is a wow combination. These “shrees” have been in their location for over ten years and they are not irrigated at all. Other than having a professional pruning every year or three, this privacy planting is very low maintenance and simply stunning. The ridged and winged bare stems of the Burning Bush are attractive and add winter interest. To establish this plant, water it once a week, or twice in hot weather. Once established, it will thrive with once a week watering. As it ages in place it needs less and less water. A plus … The deer don’t bother this plant in Ruth’s garden.

Fothergilla ‘Mt Airy’, (Bottlebrush) in full fall color.

Witch Alder (also called Bottlebrush)
This shrub has two seasons of wow, one is spring where the fragrance is heavenly, the bottle brush flowers are attractive in flower arrangements and if pruned properly, the shape of this “shree” will look good year round. The 2nd wow is the fall color.

Fothergilla (BottleBrush) fragrant flowers on naked stems delight in spring

This plant, Fothergilla ‘Mt. Airy’ will need regular water until it has been in place for many years. Almost all plants, even those listed as drought tolerant, look better with some irrigation in our Pacific NW Mediterranean style summer. See fabulous colorful art made from these leaves!!!

Hydrangea Quercifolia Oakleaf Hydrangea ‘Gatsby’s Moon’ is a new variety from Proven Winners.

Oakleaf Hydrangea
I’ve written about this plant many times but that’s because it’s so great. The full size plant may not fit in most landscapes but there are two semi dwarf plants that will. These plants have huge white conical flowers in mid- summer that fade to a nice pink. In fall the large and well textured leaf turn the most fabulous rich reds and stay on the plant well past Thanksgiving. These leaves always go in my Thanksgiving table centerpiece. Once the leaves fall, there is great rusty exfoliating bark on the stems that glow in the winter light.

Hydrangea quercifolia, Oakleaf Hydrangea ‘Sikes Dwarf’ and ‘Pee Wee’ are the two varieties I use the most. They are NOT tiny shrubs, still expect a 3′ to 4′ wide and tall plant. My experience is that ‘Sikes Dwarf’ is taller than ‘Pee Wee’. The leaves are smaller than the species, 4 to 5 inches instead of 8 to 10 inches and they still have the interesting grainy texture and great flowers. One drawback … deer seem to like the leaves. It is native to the South Eastern United States.

It’s easier to prune than a traditional hydrangea AND it doesn’t need as much water. If you want you can cut it off at the ground in late winter and start over. Here is a video “How to Prune Oak Leaf Hydrangea” by Cass Turnbull of Plant Amnesty.

Categories : Dramatic Flowers, Fall Gardening, Garden Tips, New Improved Plants, Plants I Recommend

Tags : cutting flowers, dramatic winter plants, fall gardening tips, Winter Color in the garden

Archive for Dramatic Flowers – Page 4

Sheri loves the views from inside her home

Hydrangea Pruning Made Simple

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