October Pleasures in the Garden

October is a month filled with fall garden chores - from cutting back dying perennials, to planting bulbs and the last new acquisitions still in pots, to preparing the houseplants for their return back into the house. It's easy to get caught up in the activity and not notice all the fleeting beauty that this month offers. Beautiful blooms, rich foliage and dramatic seed heads abound. In a few weeks it will all be gone, so take some time to enjoy the warm October afternoons outdoors in your glorious fall garden!

Above: Miscanthus and bloodgood Japanese maple.

Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

Hydrangeas 'Limelight' and ' Annabelle' with miscanthus zebrinus and dogwood

'Oregold' rose

Rhododendrons 'Patriot' and 'Album' with Siberian cypress

Variegated tricyrtis

Hydrangea 'Endless Summer', faded from blue to rose and burgundy, with Juniper 'Blue Star'

'Karl Forrester' grass with gold arborvitae, viburnum 'Winterthur' and variegated sedum

Montauk daisy with sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Winterberry holly 'Shaver'

Clematis 'Comtesse de Bouchaud' scrambles through 'Aloha' rose

Chanticleer's Fabulous Fall Containers

I discovered Chanticleer Gardens last spring, and now that my daughter attends school nearby, I plan to visit this fabulous garden as often as I can. Last weekend I was once again inspired by the dozens of fabulous containers found throughout the garden. Each pot is a spectacular blend of foliage, color and texture, and most do not use flowers at all!

Many of these beautiful arrangements are made of tender tropicals - or houseplants for those of us in the Northeast. Now that I will be moving all of my houseplants back inside for the winter, I am thinking about creating a few Chanticleer-like pots to decorate the inside of my house!

A grouping of containers surrounds a cozy seating nook tucked in at the side of the house.

Pepperonia and a variegated agave are beautiful in a bronze urn.

A miniature container garden in a cement leaf.

A grand display on the mantel of a porch fireplace!

A banana tree creates a towering centerpiece in the garden!

A second outdoor fireplace is festooned with succulents.

Last but not least, a chain of small succulent pots adorns a rustic column.

Creating a Jewelbox Entry Garden

Entry gardens are a challenge to design because they need to be interesting in all seasons. But they also provide a wonderful opportunity to showcase tiny interesting specimens that would be lost in a distant landscape.

We were delighted when our friend Deborah asked for assistance in designing a new entry garden for her suburban home. In addition to new foundation plantings, Deborah needed help with a small entry garden bed that is the focal point of her front yard.

The entry bed is a highly visible triangle bordered by the driveway, the walkway to the front door, and a winding brick path that Deborah installed herself. Mounded in the center, it has good drainage and dappled sunlight for most of the day. Deborah likes Asian-inspired gardens, and wanted to incorporate her ‘Crimson Queen’ Japanese maple, creeping phlox, hostas, and an unusual collection of geodes inherited from her grandfather.

Above, Deborah’s previous garden had included mostly sun-loving perennials that bloomed briefly and then blended into a mass of green. We wanted to give her garden interest throughout the seasons with fabulous colored foliage, different textures and a variety of plant forms.

Because the garden is so highly visible at close range, we came up with the concept of creating a “jewelbox” entry garden – a collection of small specimen plants with intricate details that delight the eye upon close inspection.

We decided to incorporate plants that would evoke an Asian garden. We chose a color scheme of yellows and maroons to complement Deborah’s house colors. And we came up with the concept of a large tufa trough that would serve as a focal point for the bed and unite several groupings of geologic specimens.

Hypertufa troughs look like stone, but are actually made of peat moss, perlite and Portland cement, so they are much lighter than they appear. Ours is filled with hens and chicks, mini hostas and a miniature carex.

Small objects in a garden, like these geodes, are more effective when grouped.

Although newly planted, the new garden already has interest from the variety of forms.

Our plant palette consists of spiky plants such as daylilies, dwarf iris, and blue fescue; low creeping plants such as sedum ‘Angelina’, creeping wooly thyme and Irish moss; large-leaved plants such as hostas and coral bells; and feathery plants such as Japanese painted fern and miniature conifers. As the plants mature, they will create a complex tapestry of colors and shapes.

Shades of maroon from the Japanese maple, red fountain grass, heuchera ‘Stormy Seas’ and the winter color of bergenia complement the home's brick façade and maroon shutters and doors.

Glimmers of gold from hosta ‘Great Expectations’, hanoke ‘All Gold’, heucherella ‘Sunspot’, yellow dwarf iris, and ‘Happy Returns’ daylilies echo the creamy yellow siding.

Four season interest will begin with miniature conifers and hellebores in winter; snowdrops, mini daffodils, creeping phlox, epimediums and bergenia in spring; alliums, irises, Astilbe ‘Key West’ and daylilies in summer; and hanoke grass, blue fescue, black mondo grass and ground-hugging sedums in fall.

Unusual miniatures include alpine lady’s mantle, carex ‘Beatlemania, and mini hostas ‘Stilleto’. 'Kii Hime', 'GinkoCraig', ‘Lakeside Cha Cha Downsized’ and 'Lakeside Baby Face'.

​The jewelbox garden is grounded by a simple foundation planting of ‘Green Lustre’ hollies, hydrangea ‘Quickfire’ astilbes and epimediums, along with a hosta hedge that was already on the property.

Shady Partners

Garden tours provide a wonderful opportunity to view private gardens, discover new plants, and meet the garden owners that have created these beautiful retreats. Sometimes the most interesting gardens are the smallest, such as this Sterling garden that I toured on the Garden Conservancy's Worcester, MA Open Day in late July.

The owner, who had served as a docent at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, had accumulated an intriguing collection of plants for her mostly shaded garden. My friend Julie and I were stumped by some of these rare beauties, and had to research them once we got home and add them to our own wish lists.

The real success of the plantings came from her artistic eye, as she grouped these shade plants for wonderful effect. Here are a few glimpses of her shady paradise:

A show-stopping mass planting of hakone grass (Hakonechloa 'All Gold') in the front yard.

An informal path leads the way to a shady backyard retreat filled with arresting combinations of perennials and shrubs.

The round, waxy leaves of Ligularia are set off by the delicate fronds of Japanese Painted Fern

A rough-hewn granite column markes the entryway to the back yard, surrounded by hosta and sineilesis.

he glossy marbled leaves of bessia calthifolia complemented by ferns and epimediums. Bessia is a Chinese native of the Ranunculus family, brought to the US by Dan Hinkley in 1996 and introduced to the American market through Heronswood Nursery.

he large maple-like leaves bearing red fruits of Golden Seal (Hydrastis canadensis) stopped us in our tracks. Golden Seal is native to the Northeast, and is extensively used in herbal medicine.

n unfailing trio for the shade: any combination of heucheras, hostas and ferns. The plants in this garden were incredibly robust thanks to the owner's annual application of a thick layer of home-made leaf mulch.

A trio of young Paw Paw trees intrigued me as I had just received a pair of Paw Paw sapplings last summer. Paw Paws are native to North America and produce a large fleshy fruit with a flavor similar to mangoes and bananas.

For more information about the Open Days program, visit The Garden Conservancy's website: https://www.gardenconservancy.org/.

Hydrangea Heaven

I love the lush flowers of hydrangeas both in the garden and in bouquets for the house. As a novice gardener, I had mixed success with growing hydrangeas and getting them to bloom every year. There are dozens of tantalizing hydrangea varieties, and the key was finding the best ones for my mid-Massachusetts location.

Planting several types of hydrangeas ensures color in your garden from June through October. Here are the hydrangeas that are blooming in my garden right now:

Hydrangea 'Annabelle' has been in bloom since late June. This hedge is five years old, and has provided me with more than 20 new plants. Annabelles are very easy to propagate via layering.

Annabelle's flowers fade from pure white to a soft chartreuse.

Hydrangea 'Endless Summer' is the most reliable blue mophead for my area because it blooms on both old and new wood. It is lovely paired with blue hosta and blue shrubs such as Juniper 'Blue Star' above.

Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' has loose panicles of flowers and is blooming well in the shade of two dogwood trees.

Pinky Winky's rosy flowers are highlighted by the pinkish new growth on Leucothoe 'Girard's Rainbow'.

Hydrangea 'Glowing Embers' is a new addition to my garden. I could not resist the deep pink and chartreause color combination of the flowers.

Hydrangea 'Fuji Waterfall' has white double florets tinged with pale blue and thick, shiny green foliage.

Hydrangea 'Wedding Gown' also has pure white double flowers that fade to a deep red in autumn.

Hydrangea 'Pink Diamond', in its second year in my garden, is a robust grower. Its flowers open in white and fade to a dark rose color by fall.

Hydrangea 'Little Lamb" was a rescue plant from Lowe's 50% off bin last year. It's growing well in a pot on the patio, and sports flowers that are similar to a PeeGee but much smaller.

Hydrangea 'Limelight' is just starting to open its buds. The flowers on this strong shrub will be close to 18" in diameter when they are fully open. They are a glorious contribution to the fall garden.

July is Perfect for Dividing Bearded Iris

Bearded irises are relatively easy garden plants to grow, and will give good results with a minimum of care. My collection of irises came about through the generosity of a fellow gardener – an elderly gentleman from the Historical Society. We met at a Society function during my first spring in town, and found that we shared a common hobby. On a sultry, hot day in mid-summer, he dropped by with several trash bags filled with iris rhizomes. His mother had been an Iris Society member and avid collector, so the irises that he inherited and then shared with me were heirloom plants and unusual varieties. Twenty years later, their dazzling pale pink, frosty blue and midnight purple blooms light up my garden in late spring.

Here in Massachusetts, July and August are the best months of the year to plant new iris rhizomes and divide overcrowded clumps. The irises have finished flowering, and are usually dormant during the heat of the peak summer months. Iris rhizomes that are planted now have plenty of time to have their roots well established before the end of the growing season.

Bearded iris should be divided when they become overcrowded, usually after three to five years. At this point, their bloom will decline. Dividing them is not difficult, since the plants have fairly shallow root systems. I follow these steps:

1.     To divide a mature clump, carefully lift the entire plant out of the ground. I like to use a spading fork for this job, as it does not cut the roots.

2.     Next, rinse the soil off the rhizomes so that you can see any diseased areas.

3.     Separate old, exhausted, unproductive rhizomes from new, young growth.

4.     Cut off any portions that are brown inside and discard.

5.     Slice the healthy portions into chunks about 3” in length. Make sure each piece has its own roots and leaves.

6.     Prepare a planting site in full sun where the soil has excellent drainage – raised beds and slopes are ideal for this. Amend the soil with compost.

7.     Space the plants 12-24 inches apart. Clumps of three plants set in a triangle with the rhizomes facing into the center makes an attractive grouping.

8.     Lay each rhizome horizontally in its own shallow hollow. It needs to be half-buried so that the back of each rhizome is visible (like a floating whale). Tamp the roots firmly into the ground to anchor the rhizome.

9.     Trim the leaves to about 6”. This will reduce transpiration while the plant is becoming established.

10.     Keep well watered. Newly planted rhizomes need moisture for their root systems to develop. Once established, irises should be watered when the top three inches of soil dry out. Over-watering irises is a common mistake once and will lead to rot.

11.     Fertilize with superphosphate or a well-balanced fertilizer with an N-P-K ration of 10-10-10. Avoid fertilizers high in nitrogen as they encourage soft growth that is susceptible to disease.

Bearded iris are a great addition to the garden with their beautiful flowers in spring, and their bold, vertical foliage throughout the growing season. Dividing your plants regularly will keep them vigorous and healthy and provide you with years of enjoyment!

Invasive Vine “Swallows Up” Your Garden

I came home from a week’s vacation to find that my garden had virtually “exploded” while I was gone. The heavy rains of June followed by the July heat wave turned my garden into a lush jungle of towering lilies, heliopsis, and hydrangeas. The explosion of flowers was coupled with an explosion of weeds, including the invasive black swallow-wort vine that I battle every year.

Also known as Louis’ swallow-wort, Cynanchum nigrum is a member of the milkweed family imported to the U.S. from its native Europe as an ornamental vine. It was first noted in Ipswich, MA in 1864, “escaping from the botanic garden where it is a weed and promising to become naturalized.” Since then, black swallow-wort has become an invasive nuisance in the Northeast and Midwest, crowding out native plants in fields and forests. It is also a deadly host for the monarch butterfly, which lays its eggs on the vine, but its larvae do not survive feeding on this plant. Conservancy groups throughout the country are trying to educate the public about the threat of this plant to the environment.

The vines emerge in the spring, and can literally grow a foot overnight in wet weather. They quickly wind around your precious peonies, pulling the heavy blooms down to the ground, sprawl over entire shrubs, or grow right through the center of a rare epimedium that you bought from a hybridizer for a tidy sum. These vines thrive everywhere, from sun or shade, rich humus or heavy clay, alkaline or acidic soil.

Black swallow-wort sports glossy oval-shaped leaves with pointed tips, 3-4 inches long, that occur in pairs along the stem.

The small, dark purple flowers are star-shaped and borne in clusters.

The flowers are self-pollinating and quickly produce a bounty of seed pods that dangle from the stems. The seeds are equipped with their own downy parachutes that aid in wind dispersal, which begins in late July and continues through fall. The plants also spread through underground rhizomes that form large clumps.

So how do we control this thug in the garden? As with all invasive species, early detection and removal is the best approach. There are no biological controls for black swallow-wort available in the U.S. Mowing will not eradicate the plants, but will at least prevent them from forming seeds. Once seeds have formed, the plants should be carefully cut down and bagged so that the seeds don’t disperse. The vines can also be dug out, but care must be taken to remove the complete root crown, which is difficult to do. Even a tiny piece of white root left behind will soon sprout into a new plant. Dug plants should be burned or bagged and disposed of in the trash.

Although I dislike using herbicides in the garden, chemical control is recommended as the most effective means for large, established infestations. Glyphosate (Roundup) is effective if sprayed on when the plants are in flower (prior to that, the plants do not have enough leaf surface area to deliver a killing dose to the roots.) If the black swallow-wort is twining around desirable plants, the glyphosate can be applied with a sponge or brush. Another alternative to spraying is to cut and dispose of the stems and apply a 100% solution of the herbicide concentrate directly to the cut stem surfaces with a small brush.

Unfortunately, once black swallow-wort appears in your garden, you will be battling it for several years. So don’t wait – if you see even the tiniest sprout of this tenacious vine, pull it immediately! Or you may return from vacation later this summer to find your favorite plants “swallowed up” by this insidious creeper!

Photos courtesy of Marie Brown

Vigorous and Carefree Climber: Clematis Viticella

Given that there are over 300 species of clematis and several thousand hybrids, it is no wonder it can be difficult to choose the right ones for your garden. If, like me, you prefer plants that are fuss free and easy to care for and bloom over a long season, then look no further than the vines in the clematis viticella group.

Clematis 'Betty Corning'

The  Viticellas  all share certain attributes that make them outstanding garden plants; they are highly tolerant of both sun and shade, they are disease resistant ( never succumbing to the dreaded clematis wilt), they  bloom profusely for many weeks in the summer, and are all extremely winter hardy ( most to zone 4 ,some to zone 3).

Clematis 'Albu Luxurians'

Many viticellas, like the pale lilac ‘Betty Corning’ sport delicate nodding bell- shaped flowers. This beautiful vine grows 10-12 feet very quickly and can easily bloom 16-18 weeks non-stop. Some other great viticella cultivars are ‘Alba Luxurians’ with its green tipped white flowers and dark purple stamens that put on quite a show , the vibrant red ‘Madame Julia Correvon’ , the aptly named  ‘Abundance’ that is continuously  smothered in reddish- pink semi nodding blooms , and the funky double flowered ‘Purpurea plena elegans’ .

Clematis "Purpurea Plena Elegans"

The viticella group are all perfectly suited to growing through large shrubs and small trees including viburnums, lilacs, hollies and forsythias and crab apples, giving these spring bloomers another season of interest when the clematis flowers hang down from their branches. Here in my garden I grow ‘Kermesina’ through my willows, and the dark dramatic purple ’Etoille Violette’  (an RHS Award winner) through my holly bushes,  and ‘Betty Corning through more shrubs than I can count!

 They are equally at home on a large trellis or fence where they will brighten any corner of your garden with their carefree blooms. All clematis in this group get hard pruned, meaning you cut them back to 8-12 inches from the ground in late winter/early spring.

Like all clematis they will benefit from deep planting, placing the crown of the plant 2-3 inches below the soil line and close attention to watering in the first year after planting to ensure their root system gets well established.  Once these gorgeous vines get going their profusion of bloom will be matched only by the profusion of compliments you will receive from your garden visitors. Feel free to take them all in and never ever tell how very easy this stunning vine is to grow.

For more information on growing and caring for clematis visit me at my website www.gardenintheburrow.com

Guest Post by Cheryl Monnroe, Garden in the Burrow. Cheryl is a licensed adult educator, master gardener and lecturer. She "follows the science," reading constantly and taking classes to stay current with the latest in plant research, new plant introductions and design trends. She grow dozens of ornamental vines, perennials, trees and shrubs in addition to almost 100 clematis varieties on her one acre plot in central Massachusetts.

Wakefield Estate Featured in Open Days Program

In the effort to increase public knowledge about the importance of historic landscapes, hundreds of exceptional gardens nationwide are selected to participate in The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program. This year, the Mary M. B. Wakefield Charitable Trust has partnered with the Conservancy to organize “the Greater Boston Area Open Days” on Saturday, June 8, from 10:00am – 4:00pm. Five distinct Milton gardens will be showcased, offering visitors a diverse range of designed landscapes. 

The Wakefield Estate is the former home of Mary “Polly” Wakefield (1914-2004), a trained horticulturist, landscape designer, plant propagator and collector, and an advocate and leader on many environmental issues of her day. Her vision for the purpose of the Wakefield Estate was to “organize to re-establish the contact between the land and the people.” An active member and trustee of many garden and volunteer organizations, Polly was especially passionate about the revival of the Public Garden in Boston. As a founding member of the Friends of the Public Garden, Polly was instrumental in restoring one of Boston’s most beautiful landmarks to its original glory.

One of the strong themes in Polly’s life was her avid interest in science and nature, both observing and studying it. Polly continually augmented her knowledge, accumulating a broad understanding of arboriculture and propagation methods, ultimately leading to her development, selection and naming of eight patented dogwood cultivars, including “Greensleeves” and “Fanfare”, two of the most highly praised dogwood cultivars today. She strived to create a formal garden that defied formality and convention, tested nature’s limits and embraced whimsy and a bit of the wild. An innovator when it came to sustainable gardening methods, she deliberately “crowded” her plants, remarking that “nature prefers it this way,” adding that “it eliminates much weeding … while giving it a more natural appearance and retaining a more even degree of natural moisture.”

The Open Days program coincides with the kick-off of the Wakefield Estate’s annual “Dogwood Days” – a week-long celebration of the estate’s hundreds of flowering kousa dogwood trees. Dogwood Days, which runs from June 8–14, 10am – 4pm daily, features tours, open gardens, and a tree and plant sale including kousa dogwoods, Japanese maples, river birches, eastern red buds, paper bark maples, metasequoias, and larches. New this year is “Dogs and Dogwoods,” a day to bring your canine friend to the estate for dog-friendly events, including a fun and informal dog show.  “Dogs and Dogwoods” is scheduled for Sunday, June 9th, from 10am-4pm.  The dog show will start at 1:00pm.  Dogs must be leashed. 

The Wakefield Estate in located at 1465 Brush Hill Road in Milton. For more information visit www.wakefieldtrust.org or call 617-333-0924. To see a list of the Open Days selected gardens and directions, see The Garden Conservancy’s website: www.gardenconservancy.org.

Guest Post by Erica Max
Program Director, Mary M.B. Wakefield Charitable Trust

A Bouquet of Spring Containers

After a long, snowy winter, I can't wait to fill my containers with spring blooms! Here are some ideas for fun spring container plantings.

Above: Violas, creeping jenny and heart-shaped stones adorn a small wire basket welcoming visitors to a lovely private oasis.

Purple and orange tulips, purple heather, miniature daffodils, variegated vinca, accented with pussywillows in a classic iron urn. (courtesy smallspacegardening.com)

Orange and maroon tulips underplanted with english daisies and red lettuce. 
(courtesy gardeninggonewild.com)

A Victorian-style white wire basket planted with heather, trailing variegated ivy, pansies, white tulips, and  lily of the valley. (courtesy gardeninglife.ca)

Scarlett tulips, yellow, orange and burgundy primroses, and creeping jenny are fabulous in these dark crimson pots. (courtesy gardeninglife.ca)

Bright orange tulips are set off by blue grape hyacinths and heuchera, and complemented by 'Midwinter Fire' dogwood. (courtesy finegardening.com)

'Golden Hearts' bleeding heart in a beautiful jade-colored pot complements spring bulbs. (courtesy blackgold.bz)

In my own garden, pansies in shades of burgundy, yellow and pink with golden lamium highlighted by gold hosta and hanoke grass.

​I like to experiment with a mixture of plants in a large container - shrubs, perennials, annuals and veggies. Above, a PJM rhododendron is set off with blue salvia, violet wallflower, purple and white pansies, and red-tinged lettuce.

Davidia Tree – Worth the Wait?

When I first read about Davidia trees, I was immediately fascinated. Imagine finding something that satisfied both my love of flowering trees and my love of unusual plants! It seemed the perfect choice for the long shade border I was creating across my backyard.

So, when I found a Davidia involucrata at an end-of-season sale at Weston Nurseries, I immediately bought it. It was small, only about five feet tall, but I had high hopes. I planted it, nurtured it and awaited the grand show.

After five years had passed with not a flower in sight, I did some homework. I found that not only was it border-line hardy in my area, but it typically did not bloom for twelve years after planting. It was a good grower and created nice shade; its leaves were attractive and it had lovely bark; I consoled myself as I waited for Year Twelve.

Year Twelve came and went. Finally, after thirteen years, I was thrilled when one branch produced some of the most intriguing flowers I had ever seen: fuzzy brown spheres with two white bracts, the larger one nearly seven inches long! This continued for the next couple of years: a branch here and there with a smattering of flowers. But this year, nearly the entire tree is blooming. As the white bracts of each flower flutter in the breeze, I can see why its common names are Handkerchief Tree and Dove-tree. It is just as fascinating as I had imagined.

And, yes, it was worth the wait.

By Joan Butler

Inspiring Containers from Chanticleer

I was astounded by the beauty of the container plantings at Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, Penn.  Although it was only mid-April, there were dozens of richly planted pots throughout the garden. The containers themselves ranged from formal urns to terracotta, glazed ceramics and modern metals. Many were grouped or strategically placed to enhance the garden's design. I hope that you will be inspired to create your own artistic contained gardens!

Orange tulips, red lettuce and herbs complement the terracota pots in this courtyard garden.

Red tulips, red-twig dogwood, heuchera and euphorbia in a classic cement urn.

Grape hyacinths steal the show in this pot!

A grouping of potted shrubs, perennials and annuals in different pots that complement each other!

A quiet container water garden on the stone patio.

A vegetable garden with climbing peas on the terrace!

Another interesting grouping of potted shrubs, succulents and spring bulbs.

Pansies soften the spiky form of an agave.

Potted daffodils and tulips complement the Italian accent tiles with their lemon design.

Ranunculus, pansies, and yellow-twig dogwood in an indigo blue pot!

​A small centerpiece bowl of greens, herbs and flowers adorns the terrace dining table.

The Spring Glory of Chanticleer

To my family's chagrin, I always manage to find a nursery or public garden wherever our travels take us. So last week, when my daughter's college visit took us to the suburbs of Philadelphia, I was delighted to find that we were in the vicinity of the famous Chanticleer garden in Wayne, PA.

Chanticleer has been called the most romantic, imaginative and exciting public garden in America, and seeing it in its spring glory, I heartily agree with this description. The estate, with its 1913 mansion and themed gardens was once the country retreat of the Rosengarten family, whose Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical firm became part of Merck. The landscape was originally designed by Thomas Sears, and the 35 acres that are open to the public are now maintained by a staff of 12 gardeners and groundskeepers.

The terraces surrounding the main house are formally planted with thousands of spring-flowering bulbs.

The Teacup Garden's formal parterre gardens were a colorful tapestry of vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Dozens of lushly planted containers adorned the gardens around the home.

The estate's impressive lawns and trees were blooming with hundreds of daffodils. The saucer magnolias and cherries were magnificent.

The shady gardens of Bell's Woodland were massed with epimediums, ferns, hellebores, trilliums and spring bulbs.

The Gravel Gardens were ablaze with tiny species tulips, miniature daffodils and grape hyacinths.

Naturalized frittilarias adorned a remote, quiet part of the garden.

Chanticleer is open to the public from April through October, and more information can be obtained at www.chanticleergarden.org. It is well worth a visit, and I cannot wait to return someday!

Pulmonaria Pops in the Shade

As a garden designer, one of the questions that I’m often asked is “What can I plant in the shade that the deer won’t eat?” We all know that while hostas may be gorgeous and highly collectible, they are also a tantalizing “salad bar” for grazing deer. Pulmonarias, with their eye-catching foliage and early flowers, are the answer.

Relegated to grandma’s shade garden for many years, Pulmonarias have seen a recent resurgence of popularity as hybridizers have produced wonderful new varieties. Like several other perennials, Pulmonarias are plagued with an unattractive common name – Lungwort, due to the resemblance of their leaves to a diseased lung. But their subtle beauty, hardiness (Zones 3-8), pest and disease resistance make them a great addition to the modern shade garden.

Pulmonaria 'Silver Bouquet'

Pulmonarias are low-growing, clump forming relatives of borage, with similar fuzzy leaves and deep-blue flowers. Like hostas, pulmonarias can be collected just for their foliage contribution to the garden. Leaves range from apple-green to olive and deep emerald, and many are spotted in white or streaked with silver. They also differ in shape, from spear-like to oval. The plants range in size from 8-28” high and 12-24” wide. Outstanding cultivars for foliage include ‘Silver Bouquet’ with solid silver leaves, and ‘Milky Way’ with large white spots.

Pulmonaria 'Milky Way'

In addition to showy foliage, pulmonarias rival hellebores to be the first flowering perennials in the early spring garden. Clusters of funnel-shaped flowers appear in early spring, and many change colors as they age. My pulmonaria flowers transform from sky blue to lavender and pink, and since they open gradually, you see all three colors on the same plant at once!

While pulmonarias are generally known for their deep blue flowers, there are varieties that bloom in white (‘Opal’), salmon (‘Redstart’) and raspberry (‘Berries and Cream’).

Pulmonaria 'Opal'

Pulmonarias are easy to grow in average, humus-rich garden soil, in part to full shade. Moist soils and good drainage ensure the best success. They spread slowly by creeping roots and can be easily divided in late spring or fall. They also cross-pollinate and self-seed naturally, so you may find unexpected new varieties sprouting up in your garden.

Pulmonaria 'Redstart'

Eye-catching as specimen plants, pulmonarias are also effective when massed as a ground cover. They can be artistically combined with almost any shade plants, particularly Japanese Painted Ferns, Coral Bells, Hostas, and Black Mondo grass. No matter how you use them, these old-fashioned, deer-resistant perennials will breathe new life into your shade garden.

Texture Enriches the Winter Garden

When you are designing your garden for winter interest, think of yourself as a set designer. Unlike spring and summer, when the garden goes through many scene changes, the winter stage does not change rapidly. The overall composition is a static one, but it will not be boring if you incorporate the basic principles of design: form, line, color, repetition and texture.

Texture is a sensory perception of our environment, much more subliminal than color or form. During the winter, the garden loses much of its bright color and leafy abundance, so the texture of winter plants becomes much more apparent. When skies are clear, the bright, glittering winter light accentuates the textures in the landscape. Because the angle of the winter sun is low, it reflects light on the glossy foliage of large-leaved evergreens like hollies and laurels, and the shining bark of ornamental trees.

Whether peeling, patchy, shiny or dull, bark is an asset. Botanists have classified bark into 18 different types, including scaly, peeling, flaking, fissured, corky, cracked, and spiny, to name a few. Trees with outstanding peeling bark include the Paperbark maple, River birch, Paper birch, and Shagbark hickory.

Sargent cherry (below) is a stunner with its glossy, burgundy striped bark. Other trees with shiny, colorful bark include Japanese maples and the Prairiefire crabapple.

Stewartias (below) and Kousa dogwoods display patchy bark in camouflage colors. These ornamental trees look best sited against a backdrop of evergreens, which will help to show off their interesting bark.

Evergreen trees and shrubs provide textures with their leaves and needles, and planting evergreens with contrasting textures creates interesting compositions. The large smooth leaves of a rhododendron can be set off with the ferny foliage of Siberian cypress and the fine texture of a boxwood. The soft long needles of an Austrian pine look great next to the shiny, spiky leaves of a blue holly.

Evergreen groundcovers add texture at ground level and perk up the garden when the lawn has turned to a depressing brown. Excellent groundcovers for winter interest include broadleaf evergreens such as pachysandra, vinca, euonymous, or gaultheria, and low-growing conifers such as ‘Nana’ or ‘Blue Star’ junipers.

Although many gardeners like to deadhead spent flowers in the fall, dried blooms and seedheads of sedums, astilbes, black-eyed susans and ornamental grasses enrich the winter landscape. The dried flowers of hydrangeas, pieris and leucothoe also add a nice texture to the garden, and look particularly beautiful when dusted with snow.

Berries, fruits and hips are like exclamation points in the landscape. The fruits of a hawthorn tree, the berries of cotoneasters, hollies and junipers, or the hips of a climbing rose add a delightful texture, especially when covered with frost.

Texture in the garden is most visible and effective when seen in contrast: lustrous with dull, prickly with smooth, ribbed with flat, feathery with broad, needled with flat. As the “set designer” of your garden, you can create a beautiful winter scene with the endless variety of textures exhibited by our trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

The Blazing Beauty of 'Midwinter Fire'

I have always admired bloodtwig dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) for its colorful contribution to the winter garden. During a recent visit to Tower Hill, I fell in love with a new cultivar of this wonderful plant – ‘Midwinter Fire’. This outstanding ornamental shrub features stems that are yellow at the base, igniting to shades of coral and culminating to fiery orange-red at the tips. Planted as a formal hedge with small boxwood at its feet in the new winter garden courtyard at Tower Hill, it was absolutely stunning.

This shrub is a plant for all seasons, with oval medium-green leaves, clusters of tiny white flowers in late spring, dark purple berries in summer, and golden autumn foliage. It grows to 5’ tall and 6’ wide, and looks great backed by dark green shrubs. For more information about growing and caring for bloodtwig dogwoods, please see our previous blog article.

‘Midwinter Fire’ makes a spectacular container plant surrounded by snowdrops and black mondo grass.

Dazzling Hellebores for 2013

Hellebores have fascinated me ever since I saw huge swaths of them blooming in a Washington, DC botanic garden 12 years ago. I started with a few plants in one garden bed, and as they faithfully returned year after year, I added more varieties, began dividing my own plants, and growing on seedlings in nursery beds. At this time of year, though, I realize that I just don't have enough of these amazing winter bloomers.

As I scouted the websites for new plants, I thought that I would share with you some of the dazzling varieties available to gardeners in 2013.

From Bluestone Perennials: Harlequin Gem and Amber Gem

From Pine Knot Farms: Pine Knot Pink, Double White with Pink Edging, Yellow Picottee

From Burpee: Onyx Odyssey, Phoebe and Stained Glass

From Arrowhead Alpines:  Potter's Wheel  From Plant Delights:  Golden Lotus, Red Sapphire

From White Flower Farm: Winter Thriller 'Ice Follies', Nite Coaster, Pink Frost

Gardens Under Glass

January and February are the toughest months for gardeners with snow, ice and bitter, cold winds making forays into the garden unpleasant. An afternoon spent in a warm, lushly planted greenhouse is a welcome respite from our New England winter. So call one of your gardening friends and make a date to visit one of our local gardens under glass:

The Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses at Wellesley College are open every day of the year and feature the most diverse collection of plants under glass in the greater Boston area. Designed by Professor Ferguson who taught at Wellesley for 37 years and served as the first woman president of the Botanical Society of America, the greenhouse complex comprises 7,200 square feet of indoor gardens. The maze of sixteen interconnected greenhouses includes a Tropic House of palms, cycads and banana trees; a Dessert House of cacti and succulents; a Hydrophyte House of aerated pools filled with aquatic plants, papyrus and mangroves; a Fern House, and a carnivorous plant collection. It is a wonderful place to get lost on a Sunday afternoon. (www.wellesley.edu/wcbg)

Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s Orangerie and Limonaia conservatories showcase beautiful collections of subtropical plants, camellias, and citrus trees. The Orangerie is a charming 18th century style greenhouse with potted plants arranged in artful combinations of complementary foliage color, texture and bloom. Statuary, seating nooks, fountains with trickling water and the scents of many blossoms add to its magical charm. The recently added Limonaia – Italian for “Lemon House” – features lemon trees with fruits in many forms and colors, from the school-bus yellow Meyer lemons to the soft-ball sized Ponderosas. Mingling with the lemon trees are camellias, ferns, bougainvillea and forced narcissus. It’s a feast for the senses. (www.towerhillbg.org)

The exquisite courtyard garden of Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum complements the architecture and artwork of this grand historic mansion. Known for its summer nasturtium display, this indoor city garden is a haven in all seasons. From January to February, masses of tropical plants fill the courtyard with many of shades of green, complemented by clouds of white blossoms on mature jade plants. Norfolk Island pines, tree ferns, begonias and a variety of palms create a green tapestry, while orange and yellow bromeliads, striped Draceaena and colorful crotons provide splashes of color. In late February through March, the courtyard overflows with weeping yellow jasmines and dozens of orchids: lady’s slippers, Moth Orchids, Cattleya, Oncidius, and Cymbidiums. (www.gardnermuseum.org)

Orchid and camellia lovers should also visit the Lyman Estate in Waltham, which features one of the oldest surviving greenhouse complexes in the country.  A grape house dates back to 1804, a camellia house to 1820, and an orchid house to 1840. The 100 year-old camellia trees are the stars of the Lyman Estate. Related to Camellia sinensis, which is the plant that tea comes from, Camellia japonica is a small ornamental tree valued for its beautiful, rose-like flowers. There are more than 2,000 varieties of Camellia japonica in existence, with colors ranging from white to pale pink to red, and blossoms that may be striped or speckled, and single or double in form. Visit the Lyman Estate and celebrate their camellia blooming season from February 6 to March 6. (www.historicnewengland.org)

A listing of gardens under glass would not be complete without mentioning Logee’s Greenhouses, a destination greenhouse for avid gardeners in Danielson, Conn. In 1900, founder William D. Logee bought a small Ponderosa Lemon tree from a grower in Philadelphia. It was know as the “American Wonder Lemon” because the fruit could get as large as five pounds. Planted in the original greenhouse on the property, the same tree still stands today and is reliably producing five-pound lemons every year. Thousands of lemon trees have been propagated from this original plant. Logee's Greenhouses is renowned for its collection of tropical and exotic plants including a large selection of passion flowers, Angel’s Trumpets, orchids, begonias, jasmines, and of course, citrus trees. (www.logees.com)

A visit to one of these wonderful greenhouses will lift your spirits, fuel your creativity and make the winter seem a little shorter.

Planning an Enchanting Winter Garden

For those of us living in Massachusetts, the winter garden begins in November, when most trees drop their leaves, and persists until almost the end of April, when the majority of trees leaf out again. We view our winter landscape for five months out of each year.

Winter is the perfect season to study your garden and plan its future, because the garden is at its simplest and starkest.

Jot down what you like and what is missing, and note changes to make in the spring. Start with the plantings near the house. Look at the views from your windows. Use a camera to record your views and thoughts.

What makes winter unique from other seasons?

When you are planning for winter, think of yourself as a set designer. Unlike spring and summer, when the garden goes through many scene changes, the winter stage is not going to change rapidly. The overall composition is a static one, but it does not have to be boring, as you can see from this winter scene.

Winter sun

The changing light is one of the most wonderful aspects of winter. Bright and glittering when skies are clear, it can soon become dark and brooding with the threat of rain or snow. The angle of the sun in winter is low, and the result is that it picks up and reflects light on glossy leaves and shining bark.

In open, sunny aspects, the light will bounce off large-leaved evergreens like hollies and laurels. In contrast, some areas of the garden will be in deeper shade in winter, as the sun fails to get over a fence or hedge.

On a clear, sunny day, it’s delightful to take a walk through the winter garden. All the evergreens that add quiet beauty to the garden throughout the year become the main focus in winter, when the perennials have vanished underground and the deciduous shrubs and trees have lost their leaves.

ome winter days are unrelentingly gray, and for these, small splashes of color are what is needed: colorful conifers, a mass of snowdrops, or the buds of the ‘Valley Valentine’ pieris pictured here.

Snow and Ice are prominent features of the winter garden.

Snow outlines the filigree of a garden gate, the arching branches of a climbing rose, or the geometric pattern of a porch lattice, adding intricate patterns to the winter landscape. The delicate textures of shrubs and perennials are highlighted with a sprinkling of snow.

Frost has a magical effect on the garden, altering the appearance of foliage, stems and fruits. Dried seedheads take on an ethereal quality. The sharp edges of frost highlight the leaves of an azalea, bring these wild strawberry leaves into crisp definition, and make berries shimmer in the sunlight.

Where should you situate the plants for winter interest?

Front gardens are particularly well suited to winter plantings. Plants can be observed at close quarters and scents appreciated by everyone coming and going from the house.The house wall often provides extra protection for tender shrubs, and eagerly awaited little bulbs can be enjoyed just as soon as they emerge.

You will want to plant late winter bloomers in entry areas where you will pass them frequently or see them from your window as their charming blossoms signal the beginning of spring.

Through the window

The view from the windows of the house keeps you in touch with your garden at all times of the year, but especially in the winter months, often providing the only picture of the garden during bad weather. Careful placing of plants and objects results in a changing scene as winter advances. Views from upstairs windows will show aspects of the garden not seen at ground level. Are there rooms in the house that you use more in the winter than in the summer? Create a lovely winter view by choosing plants with four-season interest.

Homemade Deer Repellents

Many of our gardening friends and clients ask for advice on keeping deer away from their gardens. In addition to commercial products such as Deer Off and Milorganite fertilizer, we have received these two tips for home made repellents from fellow garden club members:

Hot & Stinky Deer Repellent

Puree in blender until as thin and smooth as possible:

3 T. or more minced garlic

3 T. hot sauce

3 eggs

Pour into a gallon bottle

Add:

12 oz Wilt-Pruf concentrate (available at Walmart, garden supply or hardware stores)

Add water to fill the gallon jug.

Let sit one day.

Shake before using. Apply directly to plants with watering can or a spraybottle. You may have to enlarge the holes. The Wilt-Pruf makes it rain- and deer-resistant for months.

Egg Deer Repellent

Another friend swears by this simpler version:

Beat 2 eggs and place in a gallon jug with another water to fill the jug. Let sit one day.

Pour or spray on to plants.

The repellent lasts for several weeks.