Plant Talk

New Plant of the Week....Dwarf, Curly-Leafed Leucothoe in Shades of Red and Purple

'Tis the season for new plants, and this is one cool little shrub, developed in the Netherlands. I've never seen it before, and picked one up at Bayview Farm and Garden last weekend. You should be able to find Leucothoe axillaris 'Curly Red' at most nurseries, because it's being produced by the big California grower Monrovia. 

I've grown the big, gawky tri-colored rainbow leucothoe (L. fontanenesiana); it's a fine evergreen for shady spots, if a little awkwardly shaped. But this dwarf version is neat and tidy, densely leafed, and grows slowly to only about 16 inches high. And it's gorgeous, especially if you like twisted, curly-leafed plants. It looks as if a brisk wind is constantly tousling its pretty burgundy foliage.

'Curly Red' is very hardy, with thick, leathery leaves in dense sworls.  It's so satisfying to find a pretty little shrub that is so practical - it'd work for understory plantings, mass plantings, foundation plantings....

Best of all, the foliage is evergreen and changes colors with the seasons. In autumn, the leaves are red, turning purple in winter. Little white flowers in spring aren't the point. It takes partial sun, and of course I'm going to grow it in a container - this is a gem to admire close up. Little evergreens are a dream in pots, carrying plantings through the seasons which is just what this sweet little shrub looks like it was made for....I'll pair it with coppery colored carex and maybe some of the darkest purple ajuga to repeat the crinkly texture in another color....I'll post a photo when I pull the pot planting together....

 

Dwarf Holly and New Blueberry Win Monrovia "Best Of" Awards at the Farwest Trade Show

California grower Monrovia won two out of the six big awards at Farwest, the national nursery and greenhouse trade show, held in Portland last week. 

In the "Best Shrub" category, Monrovia's exclusive introduction of a dwarf holly called "Little Rascal" took top honors. Its name is bigger than the plant itself and sounds more like a racehorse or show dog than a plant: "Ilex x meservae 'Monnieves' Little Rascal Improved PP#21941", and I'm leaving out some symbols that aren't available on my keyboard. If you can get past that moniker, this little evergreen is disease resistant, with dark green foliage that turns shades of purple and burgundy in winter.

Monrovia also took top honors in the prized category of "Best Edible' with a plant as ornamental as its fruit is delicious; Bountiful Blue blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). This little shrub has blue foliage and works in the landscape, as hedging, or is pretty enough to carry the show in a container. The berries are large and sweet, and the plant is a semi-dwarf, growing three to four feet tall and wide.

The top prize of "Best in Show" was won by a plant whose name drives me crazy - "Flutterby Grande (TM) Peach Cobbler Nectar Bush". Really, this is getting ridiculous - who has any idea what kind of plant this even is?? Turns out it's a heat and drought tolerant butterfly bush (Buddleia) from Ball Horticulture with silvery foliage and peach-colored flower cones that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

 

 

Plants to Crave in 2011 - Fresh Variegation Brightens the Day

It's pouring rain in Langley and the wind is wuthering around the house - the garden is about as sodden as it ever gets. But the thought of new plants for spring is a sure spirit-raiser, so here's a couple of fragrant beauties, just coming on the market, to lighten up your day.

Forget that my Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' is mostly defoliated from hard freezes - hope springs anew with a colorful sport discovered in England called 'Rebecca'. It has the same sweetly scented pink flowers flowers in March, but the leaves are more vividly variegated than the original.  The stripes are wider and more buttery yellow, and perhaps the flowers are a softer shell pink. As you can see, it's a gorgeous little shrub, but the true excitement will lie in finding out if 'Rebecca' is as fragrant and how it holds up to winter weather...

I love wallflowers for their sturdy, old-fashioned little flowers, sweet scent, long bloom time, and for how well they hold up in the garden and in the vase. New Erysimum 'Fragrant Star' is boldly variegated, with bright lemon yellow flowers. It's more compact than the familiar 'Fragrant Sunshine', and it blooms from April to at least July, and may well continue into autumn if you give it lean soil and good drainage. The chocolate/purple buds contrast well with the pale foliage, and the bright flowers will cheer up our gardens just as I hope their photo lifts January gloom for a few mintues, anyway...

 

 

Metallic Magic

There's nothing like the glintingly metallic lavendar berries smothering beautyberry bushes (Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion') this time of year. Unfortunately, the berries are tiny, and despite their vivid pastel color, so unusual in autumn, they don't  show up well in the garden. Because beautyberries are skinny, twiggy shrubs that tend to disappear into the landscape, to get the full effect you need to mass several together in a little grove. Or better yet, plant beautyberries up against a gold-painted wall, like in this eye-catching display at the 3rd Street cottages in Langley....