GardenDesignOnline

New Plants 2016 - II

I'm quite behind on new plants for 2016, but here are a few more, these from Monrovia.

Golden Duke™ Eastern Hemlock
(Tsuga canadensis 'MonJers')

A lovely small hemlock with upright, arching branches and golden foliage that turns a bright yellow-orange hue in winter. It's slow growing, just six to 10 feet tall and two to three feet wide in 10 years, so it's even suitable for a container.  It's a native American selection that also attracts birds and has year-round interest.  Only problem might be the wooly adelgid, and Monrovia did not say this cultivar is resistant.  But at its small size, it should be easy to control.  Great as a specimen or grouped for impact.  Zones 4-8.

Clematis Boulevard® Parisienne™
(Clematis 'Evipo019')

This particular vine is particularly good for containers, as it has sturdy, twining stems that only reach a height of three to four feet.  Its purple blooms begin flowering in late spring and continue through the summer.  It's fast-growing, attracts birds and butterflies, and can also be espaliered or used as a specimen in the garden.
Zones 4-9. Can't wait to try this one on my new balcony.

 

Moonlight Parfait® Daphne
(Daphne odora 'Monstrik')

A great new selection in the daphne world.  This cultivar has rose-pink, fragrant  flower buds that open to white in spring, and the blooms are said to be large and showy enough for cutting. In addition, the leaves have a double wide, creamy edge that is attractive year-round.  The shrub attracts birds and butterflies and is grest for north and east-facing garden beds.  Plant it near a path or patio where its strong scent can be appreciated.  Three to four feet tall and wide, Zones 7-9.

Lacy Hearts™ Chinese Hydrangea Vine
(Schizophragma elliptifolum 'MonHart'

Selected by Dan Hinkley on one of his plant-hunting expeditions, this is a rare cultivar of the Japanese Hydrangea vine, with heart-shaped leaves that have splashes of white.  It blooms in summer, with lace-cap type hydrangea flowers.  It's self-clinging, reaches a height of 10 to 15 feet, and is hardy in Zones 6-9.   

 

 

AHS Garden Book Awards 2016

The American Horticultural Society has announced its selection of top garden books for 2016. The American Horticultural Society has announced its selection of top garden books for 2016.

Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes (Timber Press, 2015).

The ultimate guide to sustainable planting design in the modern era.
By landscape architect Thomas Rainer, who blogs at Grounded Design. My review here. (And of the book below).

 

The Art of Gardening: Design Inspiration and Innovative Planting Techniques from Chanticleer (Timber Press, 2015).

If you've been to Chanticleer, you know this is one of the great gardens in the United States, and every designer I know who's been there takes tons of photos .... you want to remember how this garden goes together, what plants were used where ... it's a lesson in design itself, as well as planting design. 

 

  How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do (Science for Gardeners) (Timber Press, 2015) by horticulturist Linda Chalker-Scott. Loads of tips on planting, watering, fertilizers, weeds, what causes plant problems and much more.  Yes, it will help you change the way you garden. 

For a complete list of the 2016 winning titles, see the AHS website here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes (Timber Press, 2015).

The ultimate guide to sustainable planting design in the modern era.
By landscape architect Thomas Rainer, who blogs at Grounded Design. My review here. (And of the book below).

 

The Art of Gardening: Design Inspiration and Innovative Planting Techniques from Chanticleer (Timber Press, 2015).

If you've been to Chanticleer, you know this is one of the great gardens in the United States, and every designer I know who's been there takes tons of photos .... you want to remember how this garden goes together, what plants were used where ... it's a lesson in design itself, as well as planting design. 

 

  How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do (Science for Gardeners) (Timber Press, 2015) by horticulturist Linda Chalker-Scott. Loads of tips on planting, watering, fertilizers, weeds, what causes plant problems and much more.  Yes, it will help you change the way you garden. 

For a complete list of the 2016 winning titles, see the AHS website here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Houston Garden Guide

Photo: TCLF

Don't miss another great garden guide (online) from The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF).  The What's Out There Houston Guide has info -- and photos -- on parks, gardens, landscapes, and open spaces you'll not want to miss.  Plus, there are biographical sketches of the major designers who shaped the city's landscapes.   And don't miss the other guides to Denver, Washington DC, Chicago and Toronto, all must-haves before any visit by a designer or dedicated gardener.

 

 

Happenings April 2016

SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY:

thru April 10, Orchid Daze, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Botanical Garden, 404-876-5859
thru April 10, Dallas Blooms, Dallas, TX
thru April 17, The Orchid Show, Orchidelirium, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
thru April 26, Interlocking Science & Beauty, Washington DC
20th Smithsonian Orchid Show, US Museum of Natural History 202-225-8333

March 30, LA Peter Walker, Philadelphia, PA
6:00 PM, Annual Ian McHarg Lecture, Penn Design, 215-898-6591

March 31-April 3, 81st Savannah Tour of Homes & Gardens, Savannah, GA
Daily walking tours, lectures & more, 912-234-8054

April 2, 30th Lahr Native Plants Symposium, Washington DC
8AM-3:30PM, US National Arboretum, 202-245-4523
April 2, Heronswood Garden Open & Plant Sale, Kingston, WA
10AM-4PM, Guest Speaker Dan Hinckley, 206-842-8922
April 2, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours
Tomkins County, NY; Jacksonville, FL
April 2, Landscaping with Perennials, Bronx, NY
9AM-4PM Workshop, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700

April 7, LA Margie Ruddick, Washington DC
12:30PM, Lecture, National Building Museum, 202-272-2448
April 8, 13th Green Matters Symposium, Wheaton, MD
8:30AM-4PM, "A Garden Gateway,"  Brookside Gardens, 301-962-1400
April 8, Work & Days Symposium, Philadelphia, PA
8:30-5:30PM, Many LAs, Penn Design, 215-898-6591
April 9, Designing for Serenity, Washington DC
10:30AM, Lecture, Designer Jan Johnsen, US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333
April 9, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours
Nutley, NJ

April 11-19, California Native Plant Week, CA
Lectures, garden tours, workshops, more 916-447-2677
April 13, Northern Gardening Symposium, Randolph Center, VT
9AM-2PM, New England Wildflower Society, 508-877-7630
April 14, Mexican LA Mario Schjetnam, Boston, MA
7PM, Lecture, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 617-278-5156
April 14, Film on LA Jens Jensen, Washington DC
7PM, National Building Museum, 202-272-2448
April 15, Water in the Landscape, Bronx, NY
10AM-3:30PM Workshop, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
April 15-17, Antiques, Garden & Design Show, Glenvoe, IL
10AM-5PM, Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-5440
April 16, 12th Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium, Woodstock, VT
8AM-4PM, Woodstock Inn & Resort (note: SOLD OUT, but accepting waiting list)

April 21, "An Architect in the Garden," New Canaan, CT
6PM-8PM, Lecture on Philip Johnson's Glass House & Garden, 203-594-9884
April 23, Flora of Central Park, Washington DC
2PM, Lecture, US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333
April 23-24, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours
San Francisco East Bay; Putnam & Westchester Counties, NY;
April 23-30 Virginia Historic Garden Week, Various Locations in Virginia
250+ gardens, homes & historic sites will be open 804-644-7776

April 24-26, 70th Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
8:30AM-5:30PM, "Gardens We Call Home," 757-565-8937
April 28, "All the Presidents' Gardens, Washington DC
7PM, Lecture, Dumbarton House, sponsor: Garden Conservancy, 845-424-6500
April 29-May1, Antique Garden Furniture Fair, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden 718-817-8700
April 30, Landscape Bike Tour, Washington DC
10AM, Tour Oehme vanSweden Designs, National Building Museum, 202-272-2448
April 30, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours
Houston, TX

LOOKAHEAD:

May 24-28, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

Garden Dialogues, Various Locations
Special Tours with Landscape Architects, TCLF, 202-483-0553

PHS Gold Medal Plants 2016

the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has announced its 2016 Gold Medal Plant awards. Here they are:

Photos: PHS

Betula nigra 'Fox Valley' Little King™
(Little King River Birch)

This dwarf river birch, which has been around since the early 1990s, is a great choice for small gardens.  River birches are too big for most urban (and many suburban) landscapes, but Little King is compact and small at 8-10 feet tall and 9-12 feet wide.  The tree has a rather mounded habit and its leaves, like other river birches, turn a golden yellow in fall.  The bark is also like its bigger cousins and makes the tree an eye-catcher through all four seasons.  It's also resistant to the bronze birch borer and many other diseases that can affect birch trees. 

Prunus x yedoensis 'Akebono'
(Akebono Yoshino Cherry)

There can never be enough varieties of cherry tree, and you should plant this one for its fabulous flower display.  Its size is about 25 to 30 feet tall with a similar spread, and of course you will see it all over Washington DC in early spring when the cherry trees bloom, usually around the first week of April.  Flowers range from light pink to white, and the leaves turn a nice yellow in autumn.  Great street or lawn tree, as it has a rounded habit with age.

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'
(Royal Purple Smokebush)

There aren't too many shrubs with foliage that remains purple through the growing season, but this is one of them, and a great choice for the garden. You need a little room for it, but if your yard can handle a shrub that's 15 feet tall and 12 wide, you'll not regret the display.  In early summer, of course, the shrub is covered with airy pink cloud-like flowers.  A real winner.

Ilex verticillata 'Red Sprite'
(Red Sprite Winterberry Holly)

I can't think of a garden designer, who, given a little room, would not like to plant some masses of winterberry because of the bright red berries that carry the garden through a season when everything else has given up the ghost.  Usually planted in larger gardens, now it's possible to arrange for this colorful display in smaller yards.  Red Sprite is only 3 to 5 feet tall and wide, the deer do not like it, but the birds certainly do, and it provides them with food when other things begin to disappear.  Great against a green backdrop or a wall or fence -- but something that will contrast nicely with the red berries.  For a good crop of berries, plant it near a male holly such as Ilex verticillata 'Jim Dandy.'

 

For more info on these plants and on the PHS Gold Medal perennials, see the PHS website here.

 

In the Magazines - March-April 2016

Garden Design Early Spring
*Fabulous, funky garden gates.
* Tips on design from Chanticleer, which some call "America's most inspiring garden."
* Mediterranean design in San Francisco by designer Brandon Tyson.
* Sonoran desert style in Phoenix by Colwell Shelor LA
* And, everything you always wanted to know about irises.

Sunset March
* Fescue for the front yard
* Bold color & wildlife-friendly plants for a house in Burien, WA by designer Manda Galbraith.
* Groundcovers that the dog won't destroy.
* Growing and designing with succulents.

 

Landscape Architecture March
*Bartram's mile in Philadelphia wraps around the oldest surviving botanical garden in the US -- and the new greenway was built with nearly all repurposed materials by Andropogon. 
* A jungle-style landscape in Miami Beach by Savino & Miller Design Studio
* Great new containers for the garden, deck and patio

Horticulture March
* Native tea plants: Ceanothus americanus, Spicebush, Sweet Fern and Goldenrod
* Haskap berries: rival to blueberries?
* Design tips for going vertical in the garden
* Profile of Keeping It Green Nursery in Stanwood, WA

Better Homes & Gardens April

 * Great rooftop garden in Chicago's Lincoln Park by the design firm Topiarius
* The best of Baptisias
* And, growing crops in containers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books: Plants & Plants!

Two new titles from Timber Press that you'll want this spring for your bookshelf.  Even though the second is California-related, you might find it interesting anyway, and if you live in a state that's climate-compatible with parts of California, it's a book you may want to consider. 

This is the latest in Timber's Plant Lover's Guide series, The plant lover's guide to clematis, and I can't think of a serious gardener who wouldn't want a copy of this book.  Author Linda Beutler is curator of the Rogerson Clematis Collection in West Linn, Oregon, and she was the first American president of the International Clematis Society.  There's a brief discussion of the genus, explaining the difference between various kinds of vines, and section on how to design with clematis, including lists of which ones are most reliable, which ones are best for containers and the like.

Then, there's a comprehensive listing of various clematis, with photos and descriptions of each, along with cultural recommendations.  At the back of the book, you'[ll find info on siting, planting, growing, and pruning clematis with excellent explanatory photos.  And, a big bonus ... a listing of nurseries around the world that specialize in the species.  Of course new hybrids are being developed all the time, so my current favorite, 'Sweet Summer Love', a purple version of sweet autumn, didn't make it in the book.

 

Even though California has gotten a lot of snow this past winter, the state is still in a phase of drought, so it's a must-have for any California gardener who wants a little color and interest in the landscape.  Written by designer Greg Rubin and author Lucy Warren, The Drought-Defying California Garden: 230 Native Plants for a Lush Low-Water Landscape profiles native trees, shrubs, perennials and groundcovers that require little water and are friendly to wildlife.  There are brief descriptions and photos of each one, and in the back of the book you'll find planting, irrigation and growing tips to keep your plants healthy and thriving.  Anyone who lives in a climate that's similar to California would find this book a welcome addition to the garden library.

 

 

 

Earliest in my Memory

 

 If you live in the mid-Atlantic region or even a little farther north, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.  But these cherry trees popped a few days ago in Washington DC, and the Park Service has now moved up peak cherry blossom time to March 18-23.  That's about two weeks earlier than normal, and two days earlier than the previous record in 2012.  No question that it's attributable to the warm winter we've had this year.  Although the Cherry Blossom Festival opens March 26th, most of the blooms will be fading by that time and completely gone by the time of other signature festival events.

Also, yesterday I saw two Magnolia soulangiana half-way out, so everything, I guess, will bloom at once this year.  Just hope next weekend's night-time temps, projected in the high 30s at the moment, don't turn everything to mush, as they've done on innumerable occasions. 

So don't stay tuned for Spring,... it's already here in mid-March.

Philly Flower Show 2016

click images to enlarge

Maybe not everyone's choice, but I loved this year's PHS Flower Show ... celebrating the 100th anniversary of America's National Park System.  Entering through Big Timber Lodge, complete with realistic natural waterfall, you can then spread out and visit any number of parks across the USA ... Grand Teton, the Delaware Water Gap, Saguaro, Yellowstone, Valley Forge, Olympic, you name it.

  Cape Cod National Seashore, anyone?  This landscape by Mark Cook Landscape & Contracting of Doylestown, PA, certainly looks like the real thing.  There are landscapes just like this one all over Cape Cod, with seaside grasses and simple fencing to keep the dunes in place. 

But for a realistic park journey, visit the Yellowstone exhibit by Stoney Bank Nurseries of Glen Mills, PA.  It illustrates a landscape that's naturally re-occurring after a wildfire, a scene many of us are never likely to see.

There are not so many flowers this year, but I loved the naturalistic plantings and combinations, what you really might see on a springtime hike in your local park or woodland.  Take one of the three "trails" that focus on the history and culture of the National Park Service; watch presentations by park rangers from around the country; watch videos of some of our most famous parks.  And make sure to write your congressmen and senators and ask for money for the Park Service, surely one of our great national treasures. 

The show runs through March 13th.

  

 

 

Garden Accessories: Folding Dining Sets

click to enlarge

Love these terrific folding outdoor dining sets from Westminster Teak. This one, Odyssey, seats four, and has a 32-inch dining table, perfect for a small patio, deck, or balcony.  For balconies, these teak and steel sets are perfect, as they fold up to practically nothing. The chairs fold up and the teak tabletop detaches for easy storage.

The Barbuda Set seats six, and also folds away whenever you need more room. This set, obviously, is all teak, and cushions are available for the chairs.

Many more sets and options are available ... so check out the Westminster website.  Lovely furniture for almost any size garden space.