Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’
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Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’ Family: Caprifoliaceae |
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Description: A deciduous shrub with an upright growth habit. Purple-black leaves are deeply cut, lending the plant the exotic look of a Japanese maple. Masses of showy cream-pink flowers appear in summer followed by dark, purple-black berries in late summer.
Special Notes: Native to Europe. Foliage holds its colour well, even in full sun. Plant benefits from an initial hard pruning in late winter or early spring if a fuller shape is desired. If garden space dictates keeping this shrub within boundaries, prune on a two or three year cycle as flowers are born on two year old stems. Berries are edible. Propagate by softwood cuttings in summer.
Great Plant Pick 2010; Sambucus genus – Herb of the Year 2013
Posted on May 12, 2013 |
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Sambucus canadensis ‘Aurea’
 Image coming soon |
Sambucus canadensis ‘Aurea’ Family: Caprifoliaceae Common name: golden American elderberry |
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Description: Description: A deciduous shrub with an upright growth habit. Foliage is yellow to yellow-green. Masses of creamy white flowers appear in late spring or early summer followed by red berries in late summer. Berries are edible if cooked.
Special Notes: Native to eastern North America. Foliage will be more yellow in full sun. Drought tolerant once established. Plant benefits from an initial hard pruning in late winter or early spring if a fuller shape is desired. If garden space dictates keeping this shrub within boundaries, prune on a two or three year cycle as flowers are born on two year old stems. Propagate by softwood cuttings in summer; hardwood cuttings in late winter.
Sambucus genus – Herb of the Year 2013
Posted on May 12, 2013 |
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Rosa glauca
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Rosa glauca Family: Rosaceae |
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Description: A vigorous-growing species rose with an arching habit of red stems. Leaves are blue-grey to reddish-mauve in colour. Unscented, single-petalled, delightfully bright, almost hot-pink flowers with white centres and golden yellow stamens appear in late spring to early summer followed by deep brownish-purple hips that turn red in winter.
Special Notes: Introduced in 1789. Grows best in full sun. Drought tolerant once established. Prune out old growth periodically. Reliably pest and disease resistant although there may be the occasional rose gall which should be pruned out. Propagate by fresh seed; softwood cuttings in early spring; hardwood cuttings in late summer.
RHS Award of Garden Merit 1993; Great Plant Pick 2002
In our Zone 7a garden: For a bullet-tough, no fuss, no muss rose this is IT! The shape of this shrub rose combined with the colour of its foliage and the glorious hips it produces are its real charms. Did I happen to mention it is not susceptible to the standard rose problems? Just one year out of 15, our mother plant did get some black spot on its leaves but that was an exceptional growing year. The mother plant has also had a couple of rose galls in its later years which were quickly pruned out and bagged for the garbage. Not sure if it is weather or age related. Have not seen galls on any of our other Rosa glauca shrubs. John has taken the mother plant out now as he was changing that bed around to accommodate his increasing collection of tree peonies. But I still have the daughter of the original shrub in my garden. And when I say bullet-tough, this rose will thrive in poor and/or sandy soil, drought (once established) and compete against mature trees. Granted, given those conditions, the shrub will not perform to quite its full magnificent self but it is still capable of lending its delightful vase-like form and dark foliage colouring to a landscape design in an incredibly tough, hard-to-garden area such as my front border bed. Sadly, for a rose, the flowers are the one disappointing factor, even with their lovely splash of colour brightening up the garden. They are devoid of all scent and do not last long…just barely two weeks.
Posted on May 8, 2013
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Buddleja davidii ‘Harlequin’
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Buddleja davidii ‘Harlequin’ Family: Scrophulariaceae (bud-LEE-ah dah-VID-ee-ee) syn. Buddleia davidii ‘Harlequin’ Common name: ‘Harlequin’ butterfly bush; summer lilac |
| Description: A deciduous shrub with a bushy, arching branch, vase-shaped growth habit. Lanceolate light green leaves are edged with creamy soft butter-yellow margins in spring that lighten to creamy white in summer. Masses of cylindrical panicles of reddish-purple fragrant flowers appear in early summer through to autumn.
Special Notes: ‘Harlequin’ is a sport of B. d. ‘Royal Red’. Large buddleja should be pruned annually as their branches tend to split with age. Prune shrub back to 2 ft (60 cm) in late winter. Do not prune hard in autumn as this may reduce its winter hardiness. Flowers on current year’s growth. Attracts bees and butterflies. Drought tolerant. Deer reportedly only feed on buddleja as a last resort. Propagation by softwood cuttings in summer.
Posted on April 19, 2013 |
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Spiraea japonica ‘Goldmound’
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Spiraea japonica ‘Goldmound’ Family: Rosaceae |
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Description: A deciduous shrub with an upright growth habit. Sharply toothed, lanceolate leaves are bright yellow to yellowish-green with red tips. Masses of showy rose-pink flowers appear in late spring through summer.
Special Notes: Native to Japan. Foliage tends to hold less golden hue in deeper shade. Flowers form on current year’s growth; either prune to shape or cut back young stems and remove old stems in early spring. Late frost can damage new growth. Drought tolerant. Rabbit resistant. Propagate by seed; softwood cuttings in summer.
Posted on January 31, 2013 |
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