Maurice’s Favorite Plants

At this years Portland Yard, Garden, and Patio Show Maurice was part of a panel where they discussed their favorite plants.  If you asked Maurice what his favorite plants are he would tell you he doesn’t have any.  He feels that there are plants that are better suited for certain situations.  There are also plants that he has had personal experiences with that make them more significant to him.  So any list of favorites is never a finished product.  Maurice eventually weaned down his choices to a small list that could be handed out during the forum.  Unfortunately, the handout for his talk on tubular flowers was given out instead.  So here is Maurice’s list for anyone who is interested along with links to the plants that we have on our website.

 ANNUALS

Eranthis hyemalis

Petunia – heirloom

Salvia x van houttei

Coleus – dark leaved forms many from Xera Plants

 

BULBS

Dichelostemma ‘Pink Diamond’

Crocosmia ‘Zeal Tan’ and ‘Orangeade’

Eranthus hyemnalis

Salvia 'UC Pink'

 

PERENNIALS

Salvia ‘UC Pink’

Lobelia laxiflora var. angustifolia

Alstromeria ‘Butterscotch’

Lathyrus vernus

Ceratostigma willmottianum ‘Palmgold’

Hosta plantaginea

 

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES

Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'

Panicum virgatum ‘Shenendoah’

Elymus magellanicus

Luzula sylvatica ‘Aurea’

 

VINES

Clematis ‘Negritianka’

Clematis crispa and ‘Princess Red’

Clematis ‘Rhapsody’

Clematis 'Rhapsody'

Clematis ‘Yūgiri’

Lonicera periclyminum ‘Late Dutch’

Clematis texensis

 

SHRUBS

Grevillea victorae

Halimium pauanum

Arctostaphylos ‘Green Sphere’

Hydrangea serrata ‘Miyama Yae-Murasaki’

Hydrangea ‘Blue Billows’

Hydrangea serrata 'Miyama Yae-murasaki'

 

Dichroa febrifuga

 

TREES

Magnolia ‘Moon Glow’

Acer griseum

Magnolia ‘Ann’

Azara microphylla

Winter Color of Cornus and Salix

Some of the brightest colors of the winter garden come from the bark of the shrub Salix (willows) and Cornus (dogwoods).  As their colorful leaves fall and the days get colder the bark turns dark red or flaming orange and yellow.  Maurice has long wanted to do a comparative study of each variety that we have so we headed out into the garden the other day and took eight samples.  The bark color is at its peak in December, but we did this February 2 , so the reds especially seem a little faded.  Click on the picture below to see a full size version.

While the picture shows the winter color I thought it might be helpful to include a brief description of each variety along with a link to its description on our website.

Cornus alba ‘Aurea’ has gold foliage and makes a great backdrop for other plants to stand out against.

Salix alba ‘Britzensis’ has similar color to ‘Flame’ but tends to be slightly darker.  It has small green leaves.

Cornus alba ‘Argenteo-Marginata’ has some of the reddest bark and a clean cream variegation around edge of a green leaf.

Cornus sericea ‘Hedgerows Gold’ is a featured plant along our patio.  It has bright yellow and green variegated foliage and makes a great specimen plant.

Salix ‘Flame’ lives up to its name.  It has green foliage during the summer and always a hint of its winter color.

Salix integra ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ is grown primarily for its bright pink shoots which open to mottled cream-and-green variegated leaves.  The winter color is strictly a bonus.

Cornus sanguineous ‘Midwinter Fire’ has the brightest winter color of any of them.  In the summer it is very plain, but when winter rolls around, it is one of the brightest spots in the garden.

Cornus alba ‘Gouschaltii’ is another red barked dogwood that had faded by the time this picture was taken.  It has wonderful pink flushed, gold-ringed green foliage and nice fall color.  It is truly a great four season plant.

Winter is about the Little Things

While summer brings a lush array of fantastic foliage and blooming exuberance, for me winter is about the details.  Evergreen structure is important and when you  plan any new bed thoughts of winter interest is a great starting point.   As I walk through our garden in the winter I find myself amazed by the smallest things.

Polemonium yezoense 'Purple Rain'

New growth on a polemonium caught my eye with its multi-colored resistance to the cold.  This is a little bit of life that has withstood the rain and cold and still manages to hang on.  As we clean up the garden this stalk will be removed but for a few moments I was able to appreciate it.

Cyclamen hederifolium

Another small player in the scheme of the garden is Cyclamen hederifolium.  It is dormant during the summer, blooms in the fall , and has wonderfully bright foliage all through winter and into spring.  It is not a plant that you are going to base an entire garden on but it provides something fresh when many other plants are on their way down.

Lamium 'Ghost'

Lamium ‘Ghost’ is not in bloom during the winter and will lose much of its own foliage, but it still can serve a wonderful purpose.  Being a shade plant often means the leaves that cast the shade fall and create a brown mat during the winter.  The silver crowns of the lamium peak up through the debris and shine their brightest.  It is an accent that was probably not planned but a little surprise that can be enjoyed.

Luzula sylvatica 'Aurea'

Sitting next to the lamium in the garden was the Golden greater woodrush  which I don’t know if I had ever noticed before.  It is a very lush bed in the summer full of golds and silvers.  But the humble luzula had somehow escaped my attention until now.  The leaves of Luzula sylvatica ’Aurea’ were undamaged by the heavy early frosts and the color was bright and clean.  It seems like some evergreen grasses  might still have their foliage but look damaged or worn out.  This was definitely not the case.

I recommend that  you go take a stroll through your garden, if you are not too snowed in that is, and see what little surprises there are to be found.  As you plan out future beds or look to add just one more plant, remember to think about all the small surprises that can be found in winter.