shrubs

Posted by the gardener in Seasonal, plant profiles, shrubs, trees

Ten Winter Features

Everyone has their opinion of what makes something a joy to the eye. In winter everything is finely edited by our cold weather and killing frosts, but that only means we have a showcase for some plants that make the winter landscape beautiful and interesting. Trees: Crabapples- the bigger and brighter the fruits the better, but all of them lend a cheery spot to the landscape. Try Malus `Adams’,...

Posted by the gardener in Seasonal, landscaping, plant profiles, shrubs

Alberta Spruce

Alberta spruce, Picea glauca ‘Conica’ is a favored dwarf evergreen for foundation and landscape use. I have grown them in both my rural and city garden. Their greatest drawback is the spider mite infestations they are prone to- which I never suffered in the city because I was in the habit of hosing off the bushes regularly. Out in the country it was a different story, but read on to the...

Posted by the gardener in landscaping, plant profiles, shrubs

Viburnums: Plants for All Seasons

The viburnums here are in full swing of spring bloom. Most gardens would benefit from one of these shrubs, or in my case, many of them. Here’s look at some of the differences in varieties, some of the assets of growing them, and the care information. The viburnums have a pleasant fragrance, sometimes light on the air, like the Burkwoodii, sometimes more intensely spicy like the Carlesii. They tend to be open...

Posted by the gardener in Featured Articles, landscaping, plant profiles, shrubs

Endless Summer Hydrangea

A Cold Climate Hydrangea Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Endless Summer’ blooms on both new and old wood The color depends on soil pH. My neutral soil produces the blue-pink pictured. I coaxed the mophead and the lacecap hydrangeas along with meager success in my garden, so when I saw the promises of “Endless Summer” I was hooked. It was advertised as a macrophylla that would bloom despite the...

Posted by the gardener in Featured Articles, plant profiles, shrubs

Picea abies ‘Nidiformis’, Bird’s Nest Spruce

Bird’s Nest Spruce : Many dwarf evergreens begin as mutations of some larger tree, and that is true of this popular foundation plant. Forming from an aberration called a “witches broom“, superstitious souls once thought that trees were “bewitched” and brought forth these mutations, now we know that other scientific sources are the cause. However they come about, the bird’s nest...