Dirty Fingers Muddy Knees

Shady Characters: Planting for Shade

by Susan | Aug 24, 2018 | LB Tutorial: Design Challenge, LB Tutorial: Skills, plants

Shady Characters: Planting for Shade

Tall fir and cedar trees tower over this garden bed which can create a tough place for plants to live. The roots of the trees and their greed for water will make many plants give up and die. However, these plants, with supplemental irrigation, can not only hold their own but thrive.

Pulmonaria ‘Diane Clare’ Lungwort

The leaves of the PUlmonaria ‘Diane Clare’ Lungwort have both spotty variegation and solid white leaves. The blue flowers, which turn to lilac with age, bloom in May and June. The long graceful leaves lends a different texture to the combination. Zone 3, can take dry shade or moist soil.

Ophiopogon planiscapus nigerscens – Black Mondo grass

Once a rarity Black Mondo Grass is now becoming more readily available. Many times it is used in a sunny situation where the black leaves become scorched and sad looking. Here in the shade mixed with low growing Golden Spike Moss it is amazing. Not fussy about water and great next to a path it is able to spread to its hearts content. Zone 6, prefers moist soil, blooms in July-August, evergreen (or ever black).

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’

Variegated spiderweb patterned leaves and floating blue flowers light up this area despite gray weather. Filtered sunlight and access to an adequate amount of water is all they need. Irrigation in this area helps to maintain their lushness and the shallow roots don’t have to compete with the deeper roots of the trees. ZONE: 5, likes moisture, blooms in April and May.

Selaginella krassiana ‘Aurea’ – Golden Spike Moss

This sweet little creepy thing really creates a matte of contrast to the black mondo grass. It disappears a little bit in the winter but comes back lushly in the spring. Zone 7, prefers moisture, part shade to shade, evergreen to semi evergreen.

Big Bold Begonias

by Susan | Nov 12, 2017 | plants, Plants I Dig

One of my favorite plants are begonias. I say plants because there are many different types of begonias. There are a couple I can’t be bothered with (like fiberous bedding begonias) but for the rest of them… Bring them on. Starting in early summer and stretching into the first frost you can’t beat the luscious texture and color of the flowers. Carefree except for a random slug they continue to be stunning for months. There are several ways to collect begonias and also several ways to keep them over the winter to bloom again next year. Here are a few of my favorites…

Begonia ‘Sparks will fly’ and Begonia b.’Bonfire’ (boliviensis)

These are cultivars of begonia boliviensis. This was originally found in the Andes mountains of Bolivia (hence the name boliviensis) and used to hybridize many of the tuberous begonias we have today. The bright flower and contrast of red leaf and heavy veining on ‘Sparks will Fly’ leaves makes for a powerful combination. Mine stayed in a black metal pot on the walkway all summer with very little additional water. I occasionally watered the pot but it mostly received moisture from a sprinkler that was watering the rest of the beds nearby. I also love Begonia b. ‘Glowing Embers’ with a darker foliage and apricot flowers. Begonia b. ‘Bonfire’ glows in the shade with solid green leaves and bright red orange flowers held well above the foliage.

Begonia ‘Sparks will fly’

Begonia ‘Bonfire’

Overwintering

This begonia should be kept in a container for the winter. I remove them from the outdoor pot after a light frost and divide them back into grower’s pots. At this point you can either keep them in the greenhouse (heated) for the winter and enjoy the flower and foliage as a houseplant or help them into dormancy for the winter. If you want to keep them dormant you should start withholding water and cut them back. They may die back after the first frost naturally. You will see a little bit of a tuber in the soil. This little tuber should stay firm in a dark place in the garage or cool dry space with only occasional water to keep it from shriveling. It is important for it not to let it freeze and to bring it back into light in the spring to begin to grow again. Water it more frequently but not soaking while it begins to grow. When there are a couple of leaves you can add a little weak fertilizer to the water and it should start really producing leaves. Harden off in a protected area and move into good warm place with good sun.

Begonia ‘Sensation Apricot, ‘Sensation Red’, and ‘Illumination Orange’

Begonia x tuberhybrida. These are hanging tuberous begonias. Hanging baskets are way too hard for me to keep up on watering so I put these guys into tall containers and let them spill over the edges. They used to be a yearly purchase until I found out how easy they were to grow and overwinter. They have a hairy potato like tuber.

Overwintering

These are super simple too. Again, after the first frost is the time to dig them up. Note not the first freeze, the first frost. If you wait for them to freeze they will die. These will not overwinter in the ground in my zone 7 garden. Cut the tops back to about 1 inch above the tuber. Brush excess dirt off with your fingers and place on newspaper or shredded paper on a plant tray to dry out. Place them in a cool DRY place while they continue to go dormant. Don’t stack them and don’t let them touch. Check them every week and when they are very dry take off the dried stalk and brush soil off more vigorously. Make sure there is no soil in the hollow of the tuber. Store in a cool dry place until spring. At this point you can place them in a box with shredded newspaper left open or with air holes punched in it. Do not let this freeze either. The garage is the best place if it doesn’t freeze.

Begonia – ‘Non Stop Red’ Begonia ‘Mocca Orange’ Begonia x tuberhybrida

These are amazing upright begonias. The ‘Mocca’ Series have amazing dark foliage that really offset the flowers. A true designer plant!

Overwintering:

The same as the hanging begonia sensation series above.

Begonia sutherlandii

A hardy denizen of Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa, this exotic-looking tuberous Begonia sends up jagged-edged bright green foliage beneath a lovely cascade of clear orange flowers supported by pale red stems. After seeing this plant in Thomas Hobbs’ gardening book, Shocking Beauty, I had to have it. I found it several years ago and it has lived happily in a container for all this time. They are small tubers that stay in the soil and are hardy to zone 6b. They look like their fussy cousins but are anything but. Usually the pot looks empty when it dies back throughout the winter, but comes back as soon as it starts to warm up. I keep it outside the greenhouse. This year I put a big clump into the ground under the apple tree. This developed nicely into a larger clump and proved untouched by creeping marauders like slugs and snails. No overwintering necessary except to move container to shelter from freezing winds. You can find some of these wonderful begonias at Digging Dog Nursery and Far Reaches Farms.

Wispy, Wild, Wonderful Grasses

by Susan | Sep 15, 2017 | gardening, plants

Traveling is an amazing way to experience many different ways to plant, plants to use, and new ideas. Reading (for those who can’t travel) is another way to be inspired. I love to read books about gardening but I also love to read magazines. One of the best magazines to be inspired by is Garden Design Magazine. Aside from a total lack of advertising, which is amazing in itself, the pictures and articles take you to a place you can’t go except on a very expensive vacation. The Autumn 2015 Garden Design Magazine took me to a place (on paper) that was truly inspiring. The wiles and ways of grasses can be very alluring and Le Jardin Plume, Feather Garden, in Auzouville-sur-Ry France is an amazing showcase of these lovely plants.

(source)

This is a fascinating garden. Grasses are used throughout the entire garden in modern meadow plantings and inspired the name ‘the Feather Garden’. I am particularly inspired by the beautiful boxwood hedge that is shaped as a wave. The hard edges and great curves in the hedge are accented by the planting behind it. Calamagrostis grass with asters, thalictrum, veronicastrum, and sanguisorba in crimson and white are planted in small groups behind the hedge. The grasses are cut down during the winter keeping the clean lines of structure in the boxwood uncluttered. As the season progresses the grasses and blooms create an unstructured, tall, transparent wave of its own, a feathery mix that echoes the motion of the wave.

While I don’t have the scope and space that Le Jardin Plume has I think I can use the same principles to create something similar in my own garden. Just behind the Koi pond there is a path that moves through two different areas of the garden. This is a perfect place to plant the boxwood hedge. The straight lines of the stone covered edge on the pond will echo the boxwood hedge and as it grows taller will be visible behind the pond from across the lawn.

I’ve used Stipa gigantea (one of my FAVORITE) grasses as the base with white agapanthus, Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’, and salvia behind that. I am being a little more structured in the planting scheme than the random planting at The Feathers but I think it looks unstructured from a distance. The tall inflorescence of the stipa look so fabulous during the spring, summer and fall. The evergreen leaves of the grass have a blue cast that will look amazing in the bright light of the water’s edge. I’m thinking I might add some fall asters to the mix. The Amsonia goes an amazing wheat color as it fades so will blend with the grasses as they go soft caramel. (amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ is available from Burpee).

This beach garden has a beautiful planting of blue agapanthus with Stipa gigantea. Back lit it is stunning. Already this year the boxwood in the back has grown about 12-15 inches. The ground cover on the path is black pebbles, fine granite gravel, and thymus minus on the edges. Here is the planting of the soon wave hedge! What inspires you? Garden visits and travel (Blodel Reserve, see my Traveling Plantswoman posts), Lectures (Anna Pavord at Meany Hall in Seattle), specialty nursery sales (Plant Fest from the Hardy Plant Society in Portland), or visits to local gardeners to visit them and talk about plants (Windcliff Open days).

Just Breathe

by Susan | Jul 7, 2017 | plants, Plants I Dig

Summer is creeping up slowly. Hard to imagine that the 15^th of June was raining, blowing, and 52. Sometimes you have to just wait without railing against the weather and just enjoy.

Some things were very unhappy in the garden. The tomatoes think they got transplanted to Siberia. Basil seeds refused to budge from the soil. Clematis starts remained at 1 inch for the past month, and begonias only had two small leaves showing in each corm.

But other things loved the cool weather. The peas are producing and lush. Starts in the green house are patiently gaining girth and the rest of the garden was full of surprises.

The Himalayan blue Poppy – meconopsis ‘Lingholm’ is thriving in my garden. The incredible blue color is hard to imagine, even in person. Once considered a myth, I planted these spectacular flowers—which are native to the high elevations of the Himalayan Mountains—in my garden this year. One was planted last fall and is a little bigger than the ones I planted this spring. This cultivar, ‘Lingholm’, produces large flowers that are four-inches in diameter on average. The substantial petals are a mesmerizing deep sky blue color. When under stress, the plant may show a tint of mauve. Having grown Meconopsis betonicifolia once before (it lasted 2 years before it died) I was happy to try this easier version. The myth said to pinch off flowers for 2 years to make a stronger plant. I did it to one but couldn’t resist letting the other one bloom. They both died the same year. The ‘lingholm’ strain is easier to grow and is a more reliable perennial. Happy in my cold garden this May.

This dogwood (Cornus ‘Milky Way’) was transplanted from a client’s garden. It was unhappy down by the beach where I had originally planted it. With only three good branches, much of it was dead. I replaced it with a maple that was happier by the beach. Last year it was just barely alive, but this year it is very happy. The cool weather and lots of rain have made it so happy. The blooms lasted for two months and hung on despite the stormy winds.

Iris are also showing themselves in the garden. This little charmer is Iris ‘Leopard Print’. Although it is small it stops you in your tracks because of it’s unusual coloring. It needs a little slug protection but can hold it’s own place in the garden.

The spring combinations of Sambucus ‘lemony lace’, purple pansies, Weigelia ‘Dark Horse’, Nandina ‘Firepower’, and sparkle of Carex elata ‘aurea’ are fresh and vibrant against the gray skies. The extra moisture has insured its lush foliage is undamaged by too much sun. I will add Nicotiana later in the year for fragrance when the pansies are fading.

Walking through the garden is very necessary on gloomy days. I remember when I first started back to school for Horticulture. Walking to class through the arboretum I saw that spring happens one day at a time. Not in gulps and leaps but slowly. Every day there is something else to see that wasn’t there the day before. This is true in your garden too!

Growing In My Greenhouse

by Susan | Jun 9, 2017 | plants, Plants I Dig

Often, I find myself loving a plant that is hard to find. I also really want to put unusual garden worthy plants into the designs I do. I started last year to grow some of the things I love to use in my own greenhouse. While I may not be an experienced grower, I can grow shrubs and trees that come to me as whips or bare root. Dividing my own perennials and seedlings are easy and can be a great addition to my designs.

This year I’ve started growing several trees in the greenhouse. They are small but easily transplanted after they fill out to the edges of the containers they are in.

One of my clients suggested I might make them available to purchase to all clients instead of keeping them for just design work. So, my private venture into growing is now available to anyone.

Here are a few of the lovely things in my greenhouse now…

All things Magnolia are wonderful. This year the one plant I couldn’t find was Magnolia Sunsation. I saw it at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show two years ago at full size and it was truly amazing. A sunny yellow with blush of orange/pink makes is ‘sunsational’. Zone 5 – 9, 20 – 30 feet high with 8 – 10 feet in spread. Grows best in sun or part shade. Perfect for a small garden.

Available in 5 gallon pots and are currently about 2 feet tall for $ 27.00

Cercis canadensis ‘The Rising Sun’ looks like the rising sun. Surprising name huh? I have grown this for 2 years and still love every aspect of it. From the early emerging yellow buds to the amazing fall color it is crazy cool. Soft yellow and peach combine as the leaves come out turning to green at full leaf. The process starts over again as the cool fall weather starts. Zones 6-9 growing in sun or part shade. Tiny pink flowers in early spring it grows into 10-15 feet tall with a spread of 10 -15 feet. Again, perfect for a small garden.

Available in 5 gallon pots and are currently about 3 feet tall for $35.00

Magnolia ‘Fairy Magnolia Cream’. Known sometimes as michelia this magnolia is a small structure evergreen Magnolia. It has an upright tidy habit with highly perfumed cream flowers. I originally purchased one from Cistus Nursery in Oregon. It was like a mini Magnolia grandiflora. The evergreen leaves have brown fuzzy indumentum on the back of the leaves and creamy fragrant flowers, similar to Magnolia grandiflora. This versatile shrubby tree can be used as a specimen or even hedged. Grows in zone 7b – 11 growing to 9 -12 feet in height and 7-9 ft in width. Happy with sun or shade does best with moderate moisture levels in the summer.

Available in 5 gallon pots and are currently about 3 feet tall for $25.00

Magnolia ‘Honey Tulip’ is another amazing magnolia with fabulous honey color on the blooms. It is actually a golden version of ‘Black Tulip’ with the same habits and goblet shaped flowers. Blooming in early spring on bare wood it loves a sunny position with protection from strong winds. Zone 5 -9, 20-30ft high and 8-10 feet in spread. Honey Tulips is a stunning little tree that begins flowering at an early age.

Available in 5 gallon pots and are currently about 2 feet tall for $80

Cornus capitata ‘Mountain Moon’ is, believe it or not, an evergreen Dogwood. Take everything you love about a dogwood and make it beautiful year-round. The creamy flowers cover the tree in mid spring and will take sun or light shade. It is tough enough to handle some wind and will grow to 30 feet tall eventually. Zones 8a or down to 15 degrees or less. This has been reliably hardy is many areas of the Puget sound. Slow growing it likes some water in the summer.

Available in 5 gallon pots and are currently about 2 feet tall for $30

Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck Gold’ is a beautiful golden beech tree. Being a narrow variety of beech it can be used as a specimen or in a hedge. Fagus is a traditional hedge in Europe. While not evergreen, it can be very twiggy so it remains a good hedge even when not in leaf. The Dawyck Gold has a great color that contrasts well with the plain variety. Good in zones 4-9 growing to 50 feet in height while maintaining a 6 – 15 ft width. It likes full sun to light open shade with regular water.

Fagus sylvatica Dawyck Gold in 5 gallon pots $33.00

Fagus sylvatica (larger variety but easy to keep hedged) in 5 gallon pots $12.00

I hope you enjoy looking these lovely plants up and discovering the new varieties that I’m adding to client gardens. I’m happy to share what is growing in the greenhouse now. I can also supply plants that are grown from other local growers if needed.

Happy Gardening!

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Sunny Day

by Susan | Apr 1, 2017 | gardening, plants

Today we are supposed to have sun. The sky is getting lighter and I saw the moon last night. This may seem silly to many of my readers out there that see the sun and the moon numerous occasions throughout the winter, but here in the Pacific Northwest it has been a long, cold, wet, gray winter. One thing that doesn’t change is spring. It may be later this year. Plants may have a harder time recovering from the brutal winter but nevertheless it comes.

In a garden one of the things that keeps you hoping is the first green shoots, buds then finally blooms. Today I want to celebrate what is blooming in my garden this week. Like the promise of a rainbow, God’s promise to never flood the earth again, the blooms of spring help us to believe that winter can’t last forever.

Snowdrops: Yes Spring Is Coming

by Susan | Mar 24, 2017 | plants, Plants I Dig

Finally we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, or should I say light in the sky for longer periods of time. Many gardeners say that winter is the best season. I tend to agree but this year, I’m so done with it. Left over plants from the garden show are ready to go in the ground. New garden beds have been created and developed… But not yet.

I’ll have to take comfort in one of the best parts of winter, snow drop season. The frosty frozen ground is no match for the hardy, pushy snowdrop. Yearly progress in the formation of clumps is wonderful to see. Some successes and some failures are also common. Bulbs I purchased from H. Lyman’s garden, Temple Nursery, (click the link to read about the unique way to contact Temple Nursery) last year are but one lone leaf. I’m not sure what the problem was but the large amount of money spent on the bulbs feels wasted. Purchasing snowdrops can be a challenge and in my humble, limited experience I would suggest being very careful ordering them as bulbs on the internet. My two trials so far have resulted in no viable bulbs, no matter how exciting it was to receive two packages from Turkey. Not much money spent on these so it was a good learning experience. Two great resources I have found, however, are Carolyn’s Shade Gardens in Pennsylvania and Cornovium Snowdrops in Cheshire England. Carolyn’s sends the bulbs ‘in the green’. Which means the bulb, with flower intact, come wrapped carefully and arrive moist by two-day postal service. I have ordered from them twice and both sets are beautiful and growing well in my garden. My order this year included:

Galanthus cordelia
Galanthus nivalis ‘Blonde Inge’
Galanthus Stratton
Galanthus Diggory (Diggory is beautiful and quite sassy swaying in the breeze)

Cornovium Snowdrop Nursery is staffed with the nicest people. I was a little behind this year in ordering and was having trouble getting what I was looking for. I contacted them and they so graciously let me buy a few that were listed as sold out. These are usually ordered in December or January (I will mark that on my calendar for next year) and are shipped as bulbs, not in the green, because they come from the UK. They dig them after they have gone dormant and I receive them in the fall. However they are caring for the bulbs has resulted in actual growing plants in my garden so I feel confident continuing to by bulbs from them. This year I’ve ordered:

Galanllthus nivalis Sandersii Group
Galanthus ‘Cowhouse Green’
Galanthus plicatus ‘Trym’
Galanthus plicatus ‘ Wandlebury Ring’
Galanthus plicatus ‘Trymlet’

After the garden show I had 4 flats of Galanthus nivalis or common snowdrops. They will go in a space by the upper pond under a large Japanese Maple. I’m hoping to create the look of England in the spring with the bulbs growing in the grass in mass. I’ll post pictures next year of my success (or failure). The beautiful white and green of the snowdrops in the frozen ground is truly a sign that spring is just around the corner. Here are a few pictures of my ever growing collection.

Galanthus nivilis ‘Blewbury tart’

‘Poculiformis’

‘Hippotyta’

Galanthus ‘primrose warberg’

Galanthus plicatus ‘Madaline’

‘Arnott’

Enjoy these additional posts that include these lovely snowdrops…

Gardening Obsession

Years ago I read a book that with a collaboration of several different authors. They shared their love of Gardening and why they do it. All with various reasons striking a cord of familiarity within me. I reflected on my particular obsession as I opened a box from…

Snow Drop Fever: Beguiling Galanthus

I remember seeing my first snowdrop as a child in my Grandmothers garden. She didn’t have much else going on in the garden but the old established clump of snowdrops came up every year. I’ve always planted snowdrops in whichever garden I’ve established. This year…

Lighten Up!

Gone are the days of festive Christmas Decorations. Tree is down and baubles and bits are packed away for another year. There is something about the excess and over stimulation of Christmas that calls for peace in January. Likewise when all the surfaces are…

Indoor Gardening – January Beauty

by Susan | Jan 29, 2017 | plants

Cold is still gripping the outside with frost that doesn’t melt off in the daytime and ice on the ponds, even the Koi pond! Raking the debris from storm damage has broken my bamboo rake while the leaves and branches remain stuck to the ground. Time to turn my attentions inside and put away all the Christmas decorations. Time to start with a clean palate. Inherited with my crazy house is a ‘garden window’ in one of the bathrooms. Quite large and deep (12 X 3) it houses my orchid collection. The only direct sun it gets is late afternoon and the glass on the top has some sun deflective film. Since I wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it, the orchids were given a temporary home there. Two years later they still remain and, despite a neglectful orchid grower, they seem to do well.

Orchids are hard to understand. I have wonderful clients who nurture, monitor, feed, change temperature, mist, and coddle orchids. I’m not that person. I buy them on a whim, enchanted by the possibility of something exotic possibly growing. Each year at the garden show I will invest (or throw away) a little bit more on a chance. Not a gambler, I say, but with orchids I wonder if I’m not doing just that. My orchids don’t have an understanding gardener, they have a hit and miss, I wonder if it’s dead, gardener. January is the time when against all odds (the gamble again), they will send out a spike, and then a bloom. Some are easy like Dendrobiums. They are happy to just be undisturbed and watered well after just getting barely dry. These usually sit in a pot with water collecting dish beneath them. I often water the dish and the clay will wick up and moisten the orchid bark. Occasionally I remember to mist the whole lot of them but not that often. Without central heating in the bathroom the heat comes from a radiator near the window. Not exactly the perfect conditions for orchids.

This January a gamble taken 4 years ago paid off. Remember I’m the ‘I wonder if it’s dead’ gardener, and this one did not die. It did nothing else, but it did not die. In December I noticed a spike starting to form. A spike looks different than the air roots around the pot, being fleshy and soft instead of rough and hard. This week it bloomed. Amazingly enough I could still read the tag, turns out it is an Angraecum sesquipedale. It has several common names including Christmas orchid, Darwin’s orchid, and Star of Bethlehem orchid. As usual, since it is not dead, research is required to know what neglect gave it the perfect conditions to bloom. It has an amazing story behind its lovely blooms and the moth that pollinates it in Madagascar, its native home. Darwin predicted that a moth with a 12” proboscis was the pollinator for the orchid. Years later the discovery of Xanthopan morgani praedicta proved him right. Here is a link to a video that shows the pollination of the orchid by the moth.

Moved out into the main room, the Angraecum has a lovely fragrance at night, and the ghostly blooms are so beautiful. It appreciated the bright light, not too much heat, lower temps at night and drying of bark between watering. Perfectly, by accident, what I gave it.

Also traveling to the living room from the garden window is a prolific blooming oncidium spider orchid. This is an easy to grow orchid with repeat blooming throughout the year.

Another oncidum (mendenhall ‘Hildos’) is in spike right now (referring to the flower spike sent out with a bud on it). It has bloomed once already this year and is amazing. I cut off the flower but did not cut the entire spike down and now it has two more spikes coming from the first stem.

Paphiopedilum Maudiae plantswoman design 002

While bringing these beauties out I was thinking of how to display them. The lanterns that were filled with Christmas balls and candles were empty so why not try and use them as mini greenhouses. Two Paphiopedilum Maudiae ‘Napa Valley’ went into one along with a Tillandsia Usneiodes or Spanish moss. These do form good displays although not completely air tight for moisture.

These bright things help to relieve the winter boredom and get me ready for spring.

Winter Garden Tasks

by Susan | Jan 13, 2017 | plants

Now that the dead trees are gone from the front of the driveway I need to put in new screening trees. Having a large space to work with gives me the opportunity to finally get some of the large trees I’ve been wishing for.

Large trees are best viewed from a distance. This gives you the opportunity to take in the total lovely shape and structure of the tree. The distance to the front of the drive from the house is about 100 feet which is perfect for the larger scale trees I have in mind.

The decision between evergreen and deciduous is always a consideration. I love the fall color of the deciduous trees along with the fresh green in the spring. The screening doesn’t necessarily need to be high because there is only one two story house nearby that doesn’t face my house. I have several large evergreen trees (conifers) on the property already. My neighbors garden is also a consideration. If I plant dense evergreen trees it will eventually shade out a corner of her garden.

This area is also very moist. There are drainage pipes throughout the area that drain excess moisture into the stream area. Trees that like a dry area (like Pine) will be unhappy there.

I will likely choose my replacement trees from the following list…

October Glory Maple – Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’

A Norway maple that matures quickly into an oval shaped 40 ft tree. The brilliant red leaves stay on for a long while. Small red flowers with fresh green leaves greet you in the spring. Not fussy about site considerations but does need full sun to have good shape and good fall color.

plantswoman design october glory plant information

Red Sunset Maple – Acer rubrum ‘Franksred’

This is another great cultivar. Growing fast to eventually reach 60 feet the spectacular fall color is in colors of orange and red. The samara, (helicopter seed pods), are red and also beautiful.

red sunset maple plantswoman design plant information

Black Gum Tree (Nyssa sylvatica)

A beautiful and fairly unknown tree is the Nyssa sylvatica or black gum tree. Hardy to zone 3 with a height of 50 feet, it likes full sun or part shade. Especially good to know is that it likes wet feet. The area by the drive entry has a lot of water from the property behind me.

black gum tree plantswoman design plant information

American Basswood (Linden)

While visiting family in the Chicago area I became enthralled with the Linden Tree or American basswood. The tilia Americana has much to recommend it. Lovely large tree smothered in fragrant small yellow flowers in the spring, I would love to try and grow it. It is hard to believe that it is considered weak and susceptible to wind damage while being one of the most used trees in the streets of Chicago, one of the windiest cities in the US. This tree reaches over 50 feet with good rounded branching structure. A good source of nectar for honey bees, and shelter for small mammals. Two things to consider are an intolerance for salt spray and need for good drainage. It does like moist soil so there is a good possibility that the area could be moist enough without being too soggy.

linden tree plantswoman design plant information

I have several other trees on the property including the Katsura, River birch, two Cornus, Ginko, several magnolias, eucalyptus, Dove Tree, and horsechestnuts. Two palm trees flank the drive for the evergreen elements there. Now I just have to decide! I welcome any suggestions from you!

*occasional water after tree is established