We've had a few open garden days during the past two weeks and we are winding down. Usually during these tours, everybody seems to ask about a particular plant and it will always be one you least expect. This time there wasn't one particular plant that elicited questions but several kept coming up again and again.
Peony 'Doreen' - Many of the peonies had already bloomed but this one opened at just the right time.
Rose 'Michelangelo' - The roses are really fabulous at the moment but the one that everyone asked about was this hybrid tea which is an upright growing variety, about 6 feet tall.
Acer campestre 'Carnival' is a hedge maple with variegated leaves. Currently this one is green and white but shades of pink appear on new leaves.
Teucrium fruiticans 'Azureum' (Germander) - I brought this home last year on a whim and it has turned out to be a great doer and always seems to have blooms.
Silene uniflora 'Druett's Variegated' (Sea Campion) - I can never remember the name of this groundcover and always have to look it up. It has never bloomed as profusely as this year and it has looked like this for weeks. It is growing on the terrace steps underneath a potted Japanese maple.
Disporum 'Night Heron' (Chinese Fairy Bells) is a striking plant in the shade border.
Cercis 'Hearts of Gold' (Redbud) - I was afraid that the leaves would loose the yellow color due to lots of shade but it is doing nicely.
Cotula 'Gold Buttons' is a groundcover from South Africa with very fine foliage and bright yellow flowers. I brought this home from the nursery as a rescue. It is doing nicely and is slowly spreading. It is good for xeric areas.
Golden Catalpa 'Aurea' (Catalpa bignonioides) - I know, a big tree for a small garden and one that might be best kept to a minimum by pollarding. I'm not sure how I will proceed with it as I know little about the practice.
Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
Comments
I'm a bit of a wild child gardener .. I see a plant I love and plant it helter skelter ?
You asked about the blue "ground cover" , yes it is a campanula . I can't remember the specific cultivar. I have another one "Waterfall" that cascades and climbs but the flower isn't as neat and delicate as the one you like, although that shock of blue is still present. Night Heron is a plant I would absolutely love to have in my shade section, I have been looking for it. I am surprised to see a gold version of redbud, it belies the name ? LOL .. I understand your need for Golden Catalpa it is beautiful .. and indeed I have pollarded larger trees for my small gardens .. I would love a Gingko Biloba .. I love the leaf structure and that shock of stunning gold in the Autumn. Gardeners will always chase their dream plants. Gorgeous plants & trees !
-Ray