GardenDesignOnline

Garden Design: Don't Buy Invasives

photo: James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service

When I lived in DC, I loved to use Japanese barberry in many garden designs, mainly the smaller ones that had burgundy foliage. My go-to nursery up here in New England does not even carry the plant because it's on the lists of invasives in this region.  Barberry may be just fine in urban or suburban locations, but when it escapes into open spaces, it can choke out native plants and trees.

According to scientists with the Weed Science Society of America it's best to check the list of invasives for your area before you run off on a big shopping trip to the local nursery.  WSSA member Mark Renz of the University of Wisconsin recommends checking the USDA's National Info Center on Invasives (here) ... to see what's on the list.  They add new plants all the time, and the new ones on their list include Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica), Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) and the barberry.

photo: J.S. Peterson@USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

I was surprised that my nursery referenced above does carry Scotch Broom, which is also on the invasives list.  I love broom for its early yellow or red blooms, but WSSA says that on the east and west coasts, it can crowd out natives, and each plant produces thousands of seeds that may remain viable for years.

Other ornamental plants on the WSSA list of invasives inclues Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium), Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica), and Tamarisk (Tamarix spp).

For more local information, consult the National Assn of Exotic Plant Pest Councils here.

Happenings February 2014

Selected Events Around the Country

 Exhibitions:

Thru Feb 23: Tropical Paradise, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, Enid Haupt Conservatory, 718-817-8700
Thru March 30: Orchid Extravaganza, Kennett Square, PA
Longwood Gardens, 610-388-1000
Feb 1-March 3, Orchid Show, St. Louis, MO
Missouri Botanical Garden, 314-577-5100
Feb 1-March 9, Orchid Mania, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Botanic Garden, 216-721-1600
Feb 8-April 13, Orchid Daze, Atlanta, GA
"Lasting Impressions," Atlanta Botanical Garden, 404-876-5859
Feb 8, French Landscape Architect Louis Benech, Great Barrington, MA
2PM, Lecture, sponsor: Berkshire Botanical Garden, 413-298-3926
Feb 15-March 16, Orchid Show, Glencoe, IL
Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-5440
Feb 22-April 27, Orchid Symphony, Washington DC
US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333

Events:

Feb 5-7 New England Grows, Boston, MA
Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Classes, lectures, trade show 508-653-3009
Feb 5-9 Northwest Flower & Garden Show, Seattle, WA
WA State Convention Center, 253-756-2121
Feb 7, Today's Horticulture Symposium, Kennett Square, PA
8AM-4PM, Longwood Gardens, 610-388-1000
Feb 7-9 Maymont Flower & Garden Show, Richmond, VA
Greater Richmond Convention Center, 804-358-7166
Feb 7-9 Nashville Antiques & Garden Show, Nashville, TN
"Inspiring Gardens," Nashville Music City Center, 888-405-7350
Feb 8-9 Camellia Festival, La Cañada Flintridge, CA
Descanco Gardens, 818-949-4200
Feb 8-16 Great Big Home & Garden Show, Cleveland, OH
I-X Center, 440-248-5729

Feb 13, Landscape Lecture, Boston, MA
7PM Landscape architect Laurie Olin, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 617-278-5156
Feb 13-14 LA Expo for Landscape Architects & Design Pros,  Long Beach, CA
Long Beach Convention Center, 714-979-5276 x 128
Feb 13-16, New Jersey Flower & Garden Show, Edison, NJ
NJ Convention Center, 732-449-4004
Feb 14-17 Great Backyard Bird Count
Help Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology keep track of our birds.

Feb 20, 14th Land Ethics Symposium, Langhorne, PA
8AM-4PM, Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, 215-862-2924
Feb 20-23, Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show, Providence, RI
21st Show, Rhode Island Convention Center, 401-272-0980
Feb 20-23, Connecticut Flower & Garden Show, Hartford, CT
CT Convention Center, "Backyard Paradise" 860-844-8461
Feb 21-23, Arkansas Flower & Garden Show, Little Rock, AR
23rd Show, Statehouse Convention Center, 501-821-4000
Feb 22, Mid-Atlantic Perennial Symposium, Baltimore, MD
8:45AM-4PM, Perennial Plant Assn & Hort Society of MD, 614-771-8431

Feb 24, Landscape Architects Lecture, Philadelphia, PA
6:30PM, Meyerson Hall, Penn Design. Sarah Weidner Astheimer & Lisa Tizona Switkin, of James Corner Field Operations, 215-898-6591
Feb 25, Landscape Architect Darrel Morrison, Bronx, NY
1PM-3PM, Lecture, Landscape Design: Where Art & Ecology Meet, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
Feb 26-27 Ecological Landscaping Assn Annual Conference, Springfield, MA
8AM-5PM, Conference & Eco-Marketplace, Mass Mutual Center, 617-436-5838
Feb 27-March 3, Nashville Lawn & Garden Show, Nashville, TN
25th Show, TN State Fairgrounds, 615-876-7680
Feb 28, Green Matters Symposium, Wheaton, MD
8:30Am-4PM, "Gardening in a Shifting Climate," Brookside Gardens, 301-962-1400

 LOOKAHEAD:
March 1-9, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
"Articulture," PA Convention Center, 215-988-8899
March 4, Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
"It's All About the Plants," 206-979-6483
March 22, NW Horticultural Society Annual Symposium, Seattle, WA
"Small Space - Big Impact" 206-780-8172
March 29, Lahr Native Plant Symposium & Sale, Washington DC
US National Arboretum, 202-245-4523
May 20-24, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

New Roses 2014 - II

Roses aren't exactly on the radar screen of those devoted to native plants and sustainability, but well, I like roses.  Maybe it's because my father always struggled with them before the advent of so many disease-resistant cultivars.  In any case, I have a number of them in my own garden and love to cut them and bring them inside, and of course at times delight in the fragrance. 

Here are some new ones this year that are quite eye-catching. And click on each firm's website to see all of their new roses.

From Star/Conard Pyle:

click to enlarge

Look-A-Likes® BougainFeelYa
(Rosa 'Meicknava')
Yes, the flowers look like Bougainvilla blooms, only this is not a climber -- instead, a bushy, rounded shrub that's about 4 feet high and 3.5 wide. It blooms continuously throughout the season, and the flowers are followed by hips in the fall.  Said to be resistant to rust and mildew with a decent tolerance for black spot.  Hybridized by Meilland International, zones 5-9.  I have one that looks like a hydrangea, and it's quite a standout in the garden. This one would be as well.

Eyeconic® Lychee Lemonade
(Rosa "Sprolych")
Another in Star's series of hybrid Hulthemia roses (they're native to Iran & Afganistan and have a dark splotch at the base of the petal) bred by Jim Sproul.   This is a small, compact, bushy rose at just 18 x 18 inches, and it also blooms continuously.  Obviously a candidate for small gardens, or patio/deck containers.

Dee-Lish®
(Rosa 'Meiclusif')
And if you want fragrance, try this hybrid tea, with a very strong citrus and verbena scent. It's about 6 feet high and 3 feet wide, an upright form, and excellent disease resistance.  Bred by Meilland International, this rose won multiple awards in Europe.  zones 5-9. 

From David Austin Roses:

Rosa 'Boscobel' (Leander Hybrid)
Named after Boscobel House, where King Charles II hid from Cromwell's forces in 1651 during the English Civil War, this rose has salmon blooms that fade to deep pink. It's an upright shrub about 3 feet high and 2.5 wide, with flowers that have a medium to strong fragrance of myrrh. Zones 5-9.


Rosa 'Royal Jubilee' (Alba Hybrid)
Named after Queen Elizabeth's 2012 Diamond Jubilee, the flowers on this  rose are very deep pink, against a background of grey-green glossy leaves. It has a scent of blackcurrant, grows to about five feet high and three feet wide with with an airy growth habit.  Zones 5-9.

 

From Weeks Roses:

'Coretta Scott King'
(Rosa 'WEKstohoco')
This grandiflora has a tall, upright, bushy habit with deep green foliage, creamy white blooms that blush coral-orange, and a moderate fragrance of tea and spice.  It also has excellent disease resistance.  It's parentage is Moonstone x Hot Cocoa, bred by Christian Bédard.

'Good as Gold'
(Rosa WEKgobafa')
This hybrid tea has yellow-gold blooms with a tinge of red, an upright, bushy form and deep green glossy leaves.  It has good disease resistance and the blooms have a citrus scent.  Bred by Tom Carruth from Goldern Beauty x About Face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Urban Tree of the Year 2014

photo: DancingOaksNursery.com

The Society of Municipal Arborists has named the 'Vanessa' Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica 'Vanessa')as the 2014 Urban Tree of the Year.

The tree has outstanding fall color, withstands drought, heat and cold, and is very resistant to disease and pests.  It's also noted for its outstanding bark, which makes it a wonderful tree to plant for winter interest. 

'Vanessa' has an upright, columnar form, and will eventually reach about 35 feet high, although it grows rather slowly. It's hardy in zones 4-8, so it can be planted in most parts of the United States.

Garden Design: Plant Maintenance App

Yes, we love techology!

With this new app from the French company Parrot, you'll never go away for awhile and come back to withering or dead plants.  Parrot Flower Power -- the green device at the front of the pot -- is a sensor that can monitor moisture, fertilizer, temperature, and light. 

You sync it to your mobile phone with Bluetooth, and it links to an app that has a database of some 6000 plants and trees, along with the maintenance requirements for each one.  You'll get notice if the plant needs attention, and you can also chart and keep a year's worth of info. 

For the time being, it only works on iOS.  You can order it online through Amazon or purchase it at Brookstone and Verizon stores.  The sensor monitors soil conditions in a radius of about four inches, so it would certainly work in planter boxes.  But if you buy a number of sensors, it will work in the garden as well.

 

 

Books: Landscaping Ideas -- All You Need

One of the best ways to get your creative ideas flowing is to look at photos of other landscape designs.  And now, in her latest book, Landscaping Ideas that Work (Taunton Press, 2013) designer Julie Moir Messervy covers everything you might want to know. 

From focal points to steps and stairs, side yards, fences, hedges and gates -- just to mention a few of the categories in this book -- Messervy offers a brief description of each landscape element, along with photographs to illustrate her ideas.

She says the goal of the book is to "create comfortable living spaces in the out-of-doors," and she notes that she and other design professionals featured in the book know how to help.

Aside from design elements, Messervy offers numerous case studies that highlight how designers approach a problem and turn a non-descript landscape into something quite spectacular.  A section on plants offers advice on bed layout, color combinations, xeriscapes, roof gardens, and much more.

Although the book is geared toward the homeowner, professionals will also find the photos very useful for new ideas and inspiration.

 

 

Climate Change: The Trees at Walden Pond

Biologists at Boston University report that trees and shrubs at Walden Pond are leafing out an average of 18 days earlier than the mid-1800s, when Henry David Thoreau made his studies there of nature. 

The scientists looked at Thoreau's observations on leaf-out times in Concord, MA and they did the same over the past five springs.  Boston University Professor Richard Primack said that "climate change is creating a whole new risk for the native plants in Concord."  He explained that if plants leaf out early in years that are comparatively warm, they could be damaged by frost, but if they leaf out after frost is gone, then they may lose their competitive advantage to invasives that are more resilient. 

The scientists believe that if spring temperatures continue to rise, invasive plants will be the ones that take advantage of the warmer climate.  Studies are also going forward on flowering dates, the flight times of butterflies, and the arrivals of migratory birds.

In the Magazines Jan-Feb 2014

Landscape Architecture January

*Olin's new projects in the firm's hometown, Philadelphia
*Quick field tests for soil composition
* Great plants for deepest winter

 

Sunset January

*A modern cabin takes it outdoors on Washington's Key Peninsula
*A hanging garden for the garage by designer Craig Boelsen
*Planting mulberries (but make sure they're not place near your drive, patio, or sidewalk).

Fine Gardening February

*Essentials of an outdoor living room
*Great plants for winter landscapes
*Designing with verticals

 

 

Horticulture January-February

*Profile: Sarah P. Duke Gardens
*Plants to fill the empty spaces
*Silvery-gray plants

 

Garden Design: Native or Not?

image: www.nigeldunnett.info -click to enlarge

If you're a designer and you've never been to one of Larry Weaner's annual conferences on native plants/meadow-making, make sure you sign up for the next one.  Many colleagues that I met at last week's conference come every single year ... to hear different speakers and gain new perspectives on the latest in native plant design.

One of this year's most controversial speakers was James Hitchmough, Professor of Horticultural Ecology at the Univ of Sheffield and designer, along with Nigel Dunnett, of the meadow plantings at Olympic Park in London.  Hitchmough uses a mixture of native & exotic species in order to create "urban meadows" that are attractive to the general public.  While some of my colleagues were appalled that exotics were part of the mix, I'd say, why not?  After all, another speaker pointed out that the UK has less than half the number of native plants found in the state of Ohio ... so a "native" UK meadow would likely look pretty darned ugly.  And the meadows designed by Hitchmough & Dunnett are far more sustainable than the herbacious borders favored for so many decades.  

I was also heartened by Thomas Rainer's thoughts on native plants -- mainly, that they don't always live up to their hype.  As he rightly noted, there are plenty of non-natives that are also drought tolerant, that have deep roots, ameliorate air pollution, support wildlife and absorb stormwater.  In his own garden in the DC suburbs, shown here, Rainer mixes native & non-natives to great effect.  While he embraces native plants, Rainer also notes that pure native designs are often loose & sloppy -- and quite frankly, look terrible.  He advocates making natives the ideology of "yes," instead of "no," ie, embracing natives and exotics that can work together to create beautiful landscapes inspired by nature.  Can't wait until Rainer's new book is published.

And p.s. -- the conference I attended was at Connecticut College -- the next one (with many of the same speakers) is next week at Temple University in Ambler, PA.  Details here.

The Garden Bubble

This sort of cracks me up, but imagine yourself out in the garden, inside the bubble on a rainy day.  Or inside the bubble at night, watching the stars.  Or at twilight, having friends in for a drink and safe from mosquitoes, gnats, and others flying pests.

 Casa Bubble is the U.S. distributor for a series of bubble houses by French designer Pierre-Stephane Dumas.  The spheres are inflated by an air turbine that maintains pressure so that the air inside is refreshed and moisture is kept out.  Temperature inside is controlled by zipped openings (or by air-conditioning). 

Ther bubble houses come in various sizes, and the larger ones can be equipped with bathrooms, built-in shelves and clothes racks, perfect for overnight guests.  Imagine one of these in the middle of your meadow!  Full information on the bubble houses is available on the Casa Bubble website, along with many more photos.