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Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials for Containers

3/30/2015

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I use to spend hours in the nursery picking out plants for my containers and then standing in long lines to check out. That is, until I got smarter about container gardening, specifically the containers. If I could leave the containers outside year round, then why couldn't I fill them with perennials, shrubs and even small trees? I would plant them once, watering them only during periods of summer drought. I could poke in some extra annual color, if I had the time. Otherwise, they would carry themselves through all seasons with little, if any, attention.

First, I had to get rid of all my terra cotta pots, which are porous and will crack in cold weather. Then I bought just a few very large containers made of a fiberglass, composite or ceramic rated for the outdoors. They were expensive, but what I saved in annual plants quickly justified the cost.

Then I had to select plants that enjoy average to dry soil conditions and the given light exposure and heat on my deck. I also wanted the anchor shrub or small tree to be upright or vase-shaped in order to accommodate perennials, keeping in mind, the perennials would eventually become well-shaded by the tree or shrub.
Here are several favorite trees and shrubs for containers... 

Deciduous Magnolia (The Little Girl Hybrids)
Holly (Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil')
Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)
Juniper (Juniper)
Oakleaf Hydrangea 'Snow Queen' (Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen')
Panicle Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata)
Red- or Yellow-twig Dogwood (Cornus alba, Cornus sericea)
Serviceberry (Amelanchier)
Variegated Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens 'Variegata')
Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata)
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as well as favorite grasses and perennials...

Arborvitae Fern (Selaginella braunii)
Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon 'Ebony Night')
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia)
Dianthus (Dianthus)
Euphorbia (Euphorbia)
Heuchera (Heuchera x villosa)
Sedge (Carex)
Hosta (Hosta)
Hypericum (Hypericum calycinum 'Briggadoon')
Japanese Shade Grass (Hakonechloa macra)
Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
Lamium (Lamium maculatum)
Miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis)
Panicum (Panicum virgatum)
Sedum (Sedum rupestre 'Angelina')
Spirea (Spirea japonica)
Sweet Flag (Acorus gramineus)

In a container I treat Spirea as a perennial (top photo). By plucking a few babies with roots from the base of the mother plant and tucking them in close to the middle plant of the container, Spirea will weave itself through, over, and around the other plants in just one season. Awesome effect, especially from Spirea japonica 'Goldmound'.
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Next, we'll start to discuss the design process given a blank slate. Until then... have a great week!
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Native Sedges for the Foundation

3/23/2015

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Our native Sedges (Carex) function very well as edge plants. Since most of them are less than 12-inches high and fine textured, I prefer to provide a buffer of mulch or hardscape to clearly define them before reaching the lawn. Otherwise, from a distance the lawn appears to be growing right up into the beds and this looks messy. Also, because I create zig-zag planting patterns whenever possible for a more natural look to the overall design, I usually use sedges in clusters of three to six and avoid a solid edge. This enables me to use several cultivars within the same bed.
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Sedge cultivars run the gamut in terms of moisture and exposure requirements. Matching existing conditions with individual plant requirements will just about guarantee growing success. My favorites native species are Carex flaccasperma, laxiculmus, and pensylvanica.
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Carex laxiculmus 'Hobb'
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Carex pensylvanica
Sedges also make great spillers in containers. Speaking of containers... with the spring planting season upon us, next time we'll look at shrubs and perennials suitable for containers. Imagine buying for and planting containers just once and never bothering with them again other than some extra water during summer drought?
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Native Perennials for the Front Foundation

3/16/2015

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As a designer, I go through a fairly extensive process of developing the structure of the landscape before choosing the plants. With lawn, beds and transitions in place, I pick the combinations of plants for the different beds, focusing on the leaves of the specimen plants and shrub masses. They are  the bones of each design.  As I step the beds down to walkway or lawn space, the perennials begin to come into play.  They are, perhaps, the icing on the cake. Although the native perennial category is large, I am laser-focused on perennials that perform well in all seasons and, for the most part, take care of themselves.
I like to mix Heuchera, creating a kaleidoscope of at least three leaf colors, especially where I've settled on too many medium-green shrubs due to existing environmental conditions. This can be difficult to do given the exposure requirements of dark- versus light-colored Heuchera. Although Heuchera is considered a shade plant, keep in mind, the darker colors require several hours of morning sun. Planted in full shade, dark-leaved Heuchera simply melt away. On the other hand, the yellow- and chartreuse-colored Heuchera prefer more shade than sun to prevent leaf-burn. All perform well in dry to moist soil conditions. In containers, Heuchera also provide great, all-season-long, filler color and almost always outperform their peers in the ground.
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Heuchera x villosa 'Georgia Peach'
A tremendous number of Heuchera villosa offspring have taken the nursery market by storm in recent years, many trying unsuccessfully to bust onto the tried-and-true stage. For now, I recommend sticking with the slightly older Heuchera that have consistently outperformed the newbies. In my journal, they are Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride', Heuchera x villosa 'Caramel', 'Georgia Peach', 'Berry Smoothie' and 'Pistache'. I may be adding 'Georgia Plum' this season as well.
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Heuchera x v. 'Georgia Plum'
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Heuchera x v. 'Pistache'
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Heuchera x v. 'Caramel'
Next week, we'll continue with native perennials for the foundation. Have a great week!
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Native Shrubs for the Front Foundation

3/9/2015

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PictureClethra alnifolia
The soil moisture levels around our house foundations tend to be average to wet even without irrigation. No gutters, overflowing gutters, add an irrigation system without a rain sensor and a foundation can be really wet all the time. From a native plant standpoint, we're in luck... kinda. Over the years I have found there are lots of native shrubs that enjoy extra water (i.e. Clethra, Itea, Aesculus, Vaccinium, etc.). However, not all are appropriate for foundation design.

There are several other challenges as well. Many native shrubs mature at a height taller than four feet, which, unless you have an usually tall foundation, is greater than windowsill height on most homes. We want sunlight coming through those windows without giving up our Saturdays to keep it that way. The availability of native evergreens is also problematic. It's a relatively small category of plants.

So locating shrubs that are native, evergreen or deciduous, thrive in average to wet soil, and grow to a maximum height of four feet or less is not an easy task. But, I have a few suggestions, both evergreen and deciduous...

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Leucothoe f. 'Whitewater'
Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Whitewater' can be a difficult plant to site successfully in the landscape. But where it is happy, it's a winner. It prefers moist conditions and full shade. Maturing at three to four feet in height (between hip and chest) and four to six feet in width, Leucothoe is a weeping, subtly variegated evergreen and puts on a show all year long as it changes color through the seasons. Performing as a very a-la-natural shrub, it is not recommended for a formal design. Underplant it with Carex Grasses, small Ferns and dark Heucheras to create some color and textural contrast.
Fothergilla gardenii is deciduous, which means its amazing fall color is the trade-off for bare winter stems. Actually, this stiff upright shrub is somewhat sculptural and attractive in the winter landscape. Anticipation is what the changing of the seasons is all about, so a mix of deciduous and evergreen plants in the foundation is preferable anyway. Fothergilla blooms white in early spring and also has a blue cast to its summer leaves. Bloom and leaf color as well as fall color are best achieved in full-sun.
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Fothergilla gardenii (fall)
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Fotherfilla gardenii (summer)
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Fothergilla gardenii (bloom)
Plants within the Ilex glabra species can be large, leggy, and thin. With part- to full-sun, Ilex glabra 'Shamrock' is a smaller, denser cultivar and functions well in the formal landscape. The new light green foliage of spring changes to a lovely blue green as the summer progresses. Although this cultivar can reach 5 feet at maturity, it is a slow grower. A hard pruning with loppers and hand-pruners every few years will ensure Ilex glabra maintains its natural growth pattern and continues to be a low-maintenance shrub.
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Ilex glabra
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Illicium floridanum 'Pink Frost'
Illicium floridanum 'Pink Frost' is a relatively new cultivar and has quickly risen to the top of my favorite list. Evergreen, subtle variegation, and extremely slow-growing, I will put this on a foundation because homeowners might prune this shrub every other year. It's that slow. Illicium must have full shade or no more than a few hours of morning sun.
The soil around these plants should not be allowed to become powder dry, and these plants will require supplemental water during drought. If and when to irrigate will depend on day and nighttime temperatures. Dig around periodically to assess the moisture levels of your soil and how well it drains.

Next time we will continue with native perennials and grasses, which is a huge category. I will stick to my favorites for the foundation and tell you why. Until then... stay safe and think spring. 
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Front Foundation Design: Thinking Outside The Box

3/2/2015

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I think we can all agree today's front foundation beds should be a mix of evergreen and deciduous plants. The best part of the different seasons is the anticipation of the plant changes from one season to the next. Right now, I can't wait for the popping of buds and that chartreuse leaf color of early spring.

So what does any of this have to do with native plants? A lot. For many of us, native plants are thought of as the wild ones, relegated to the backyard, perhaps the far backyard. Most of the available species and cultivars are deciduous, maturing at obnoxiously large sizes. Here's where an understanding of plant size and shape as well as some of the basic steps to design I've discussed so far come into play.
Let's look at our native Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea). Ahhh, one of my favorites for a front foundation corner. Planted far enough away from the house and with some selective pruning of outer branches as the plant matures, this one is fabulous. It not only blooms white early spring, but has a beautiful blue-green leaf that allows water droplets to bead. The fall color is awesome, the birds love the berries, and it's extremely sculptural in winter. What more could you ask for?
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Amelanchier arborea (fall)
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Amelanchier arborea (bloom)
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A favorite of the Cedar Waxwing
For another example, how about Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)? Although it's part of the Holly genus, the leaves are soft and the plant is deciduous. Depending on the cultivar, it ranges in mature height from 5 to 9 feet. The bloom and fall color are nothing to write home about. But the winter show of berries on this upright shrub is simply fabulous. But please note, a male Winterberry that flowers at the same time must be planted somewhere in the yard for cross pollination and eventual berry production. This plant makes a terrific multi-stemmed small tree on the foundation.
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Ilex verticillata (summer)
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Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red'
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Ilex verticillata 'Berry Heavy'
My third example is Magnolia, but not the large evergreen you may be familiar with. Two trees, or perhaps large shrubs, for consideration are Magnolia x grandiflora 'Little Gem', which is evergreen, and Magnolia virginiana (Sweetbay Magnolia). Both of them are upright and can be used on a house corner or between windows. You can keep them even more narrow by judiciously pruning the outer most limbs.
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Magnolia virginiana
The mistake most of us make is planting too close to the foundation for instant gratification, not accounting for the mature size of the plants. Set the buckets. Then force yourself to pull them off the foundation to the appropriate distance and then some, keeping in mind that the first year they sleep, the second they creep and the third they will certainly leap. Also, where plants are happy, they can outgrow the stated heights and widths by as much as a foot in all directions. Landscape materials are expensive and a long term investment for a home. It pays to be patient and anticipate the end result.
Here we've looked at large native plants used as small trees at the foundation. Next time we'll talk about several smaller native shrubs for the foundation and why they work well.
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    Karen
    Welcome to my journal. For over 20 years I've created original landscape plans to help homeowners increase property value and really enjoy their yards. I approach every project as an unique opportunity to develop a work of living art, one that will require minimal care and age beautifully with time. In this journal, I will share some of my field experiences and tricks of the trade with you. Feel free to email questions. Thanks for visiting.

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