Above is the fresh and vivid foliage of the Golden Shadows pagoda dogwood (
Cornus alternifolia 'W. Stockman') out in the gazebo garden. We have some
dieback each winter on this small tree although it is steadily gaining in size. Imagine this foliage ultimately on a 15' tall and 20' wide, "layered" specimen in the part shade...wow! We have three of these we're trying in different spots and hope they do well. The overnight temperatures (last night) were around 35 degrees F and Larry saw some very small pockets of frost here and there. I was glad we put row covers over our tender babies and brought as much in as we could inside. With over night temperatures around 40 degrees F this evening, I think we're finally "in the clear" as a warming trend is headed our way. To the right i
s another shot of the recently featured Chardonnay Pearls slender deutzia (
Deutzia gracilis 'Duncan') with chartreuse/gold foliage and the flower bud "pearls" ready to open. We have about 50 of these out in the gardens and many visitors enquire about them often. To the left is a neat green hosta (yes, green hosta!) named 'Reptilian'. This variety is known for blue-green leaves with heavy puckering and waves. I'm looking forward to adding to our hosta collection this year and there are many great nurseries within 50 miles that offer a wide range of hostas. Our collection grows (pun intended) by about 50 varieties each year and our obligation as a N
ational Display Garden for the American Hosta Society involves having appropriate signage as well. To the right are the beautiful (albeit small) dangling blossoms of the chocolate vine; also called the fiveleaf akebia. We have this vine on a support post of the porch overlooking the English cottage garden and while the flowers aren't noticeable from a distance, they are quite evident as you get closer. This vine will tolerate part shade and there is also a white blooming variety and a variegated leaf variety out there. This woody vine isn't as aggressive as many and has the perfect combination of foliage and flowers. We continue to add vines here and there when a vertical opportunity presents itself but have learned some hard lessons regarding over-vigorous woody vines and rampantly reseeding annual vines. It all goes back to "knowing your plant"!!! Directly below is 'Pretty Much Picasso' petunia with deep violet, veined flower petals with a green outer edge. This is a neat petunia and we have it in some hanging baskets as it likes to cascade. I saw it used well at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI) last year and would like to mimic what I saw there. Beneatht the petunia picture is the bright golden foliage of the lemon lace vine (
Fallopia aubertii 'Lemon Lace') that really packs a punch. I've shown this vine before and while it is hardy (and used at the gardens as a woody vine for repeat performance), we also use it as an annual as the foliage is as potent as any flowers could be. Needless to say, this vine will be part of our yellow and blue scheme this year!
Today was very productive with our smaller crew. We had lots of distractions with people still coming to the plant sale as apparently it was promoted somewhere that it was still occurring. We had to prod people out of the yard on occasion and have been trying to
dismantle and process plant sale plants, tents, signs, etc... Overall the sale went quite well and we'll see how the final numbers look after everything is taken care of financially. This is an important fundraiser and we appreciate all the volunteered that helped with the sale and those that patronized the sale as well! I met with Tom K., one of our volunteers, this morning regarding volunteer options and he'll continue to help us out (nice to have him back each year). I then hit the road and headed to on
e of our nurseries for a load of impatiens, coleus, begonias, etc. This was a quick trip as I wanted to get to what was a diminishing supply of certain plants. There was some "competition" at the nursery with a retailer there with a huge truck. I was like a ninja as I grabbed everything I needed and had no shame in my game. If I had come an hour later, my competition would have prevailed. In the meantime, Big John, Pat and Larry did a nice job taking down much of the sale, preparing perennials for return to the nursery and various odds and
ends. John and Pat also mowed, mulched and worked on some other smaller projects. Larry checked water features, watered containers and assisted here and there. Jenny was in the yard all afternoon matching up signs to plants that will be going out in the gardens and she also watered. Marianne was in briefly to "count out" the clearance sale income and hopefully enjoyed her first day off in well over a week. Janice was off today too. To the above right are the fragrant blooms of lily-of-the-valley (
Convallaria majalis) which looks good now but the plant itself is quite aggressive and looks battered by mid-summer. We have the variegated and golden-leaf forms and this is the only time of year I enjoy them. To the left are the blooms of one of our many crabapples (
Malus sp.). This is the 'Red Peacock' crabapple and is one of my favorites. To the right is the newly emerging peach/pink foliage of the dappled willow (
Salix integra 'Hakuro Nishiki') that is an eyecatcher each year. We cut ours down to 3" each year (November) so it gets nice, colorful fresh growth and stays around 3-5' tall and wide. Otherwise, without this severe pruning each fall, this plant can get large and the spring foliage isn't as exciting. One of my neighbors have a 12' tall specimen that is less than exciting. Keep them small! The same plant is below. At the bottom is that 'Brazen Brass' ornamental mustard (
Brassica juncea) looking sharp in our yellow containers out on the terrace. Tonight is our volunteer potluck which is always fun. More updates tomorrow as we continue to plant and will also be having our container planting workshop (15 participants signed up!).
Above is the fresh and vivid foliage of the Golden Shadows pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia 'W. Stockman') out in the gazebo garden. We have some 
dieback each winter on this small tree although it is steadily gaining in size. Imagine this foliage ultimately on a 15' tall and 20' wide, "layered" specimen in the part shade...wow! We have three of these we're trying in different spots and hope they do well. The overnight temperatures (last night) were around 35 degrees F and Larry saw some very small pockets of frost here and there. I was glad we put row covers over our tender babies and brought as much in as we could inside. With over night temperatures around 40 degrees F this evening, I think we're finally "in the clear" as a warming trend is headed our way. To the right i
s another shot of the recently featured Chardonnay Pearls slender deutzia (Deutzia gracilis 'Duncan') with chartreuse/gold foliage and the flower bud "pearls" ready to open. We have about 50 of these out in the gardens and many visitors enquire about them often. To the left is a neat green hosta (yes, green hosta!) named 'Reptilian'. This variety is known for blue-green leaves with heavy puckering and waves. I'm looking forward to adding to our hosta collection this year and there are many great nurseries within 50 miles that offer a wide range of hostas. Our collection grows (pun intended) by about 50 varieties each year and our obligation as a N
ational Display Garden for the American Hosta Society involves having appropriate signage as well. To the right are the beautiful (albeit small) dangling blossoms of the chocolate vine; also called the fiveleaf akebia. We have this vine on a support post of the porch overlooking the English cottage garden and while the flowers aren't noticeable from a distance, they are quite evident as you get closer. This vine will tolerate part shade and there is also a white blooming variety and a variegated leaf variety out there. This woody vine isn't as aggressive as many and has the perfect combination of foliage and flowers. We continue to add vines here and there when a vertical opportunity presents itself but have learned some hard lessons regarding over-vigorous woody vines and rampantly reseeding annual vines. It all goes back to "knowing your plant"!!! Directly below is 'Pretty Much Picasso' petunia with deep violet, veined flower petals with a green outer edge. This is a neat petunia and we have it in some hanging baskets as it likes to cascade. I saw it used well at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI) last year and would like to mimic what I saw there. Beneatht the petunia picture is the bright golden foliage of the lemon lace vine (Fallopia aubertii 'Lemon Lace') that really packs a punch. I've shown this vine before and while it is hardy (and used at the gardens as a woody vine for repeat performance), we also use it as an annual as the foliage is as potent as any flowers could be. Needless to say, this vine will be part of our yellow and blue scheme this year! 
dismantle and process plant sale plants, tents, signs, etc... Overall the sale went quite well and we'll see how the final numbers look after everything is taken care of financially. This is an important fundraiser and we appreciate all the volunteered that helped with the sale and those that patronized the sale as well! I met with Tom K., one of our volunteers, this morning regarding volunteer options and he'll continue to help us out (nice to have him back each year). I then hit the road and headed to on
e of our nurseries for a load of impatiens, coleus, begonias, etc. This was a quick trip as I wanted to get to what was a diminishing supply of certain plants. There was some "competition" at the nursery with a retailer there with a huge truck. I was like a ninja as I grabbed everything I needed and had no shame in my game. If I had come an hour later, my competition would have prevailed. In the meantime, Big John, Pat and Larry did a nice job taking down much of the sale, preparing perennials for return to the nursery and various odds and
ends. John and Pat also mowed, mulched and worked on some other smaller projects. Larry checked water features, watered containers and assisted here and there. Jenny was in the yard all afternoon matching up signs to plants that will be going out in the gardens and she also watered. Marianne was in briefly to "count out" the clearance sale income and hopefully enjoyed her first day off in well over a week. Janice was off today too. To the above right are the fragrant blooms of lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) which looks good now but the plant itself is quite aggressive and looks battered by mid-summer. We have the variegated and golden-leaf forms and this is the only time of year I enjoy them. To the left are the blooms of one of our many crabapples (Malus sp.). This is the 'Red Peacock' crabapple and is one of my favorites. To the right is the newly emerging peach/pink foliage of the dappled willow (Salix integra 'Hakuro Nishiki') that is an eyecatcher each year. We cut ours down to 3" each year (November) so it gets nice, colorful fresh growth and stays around 3-5' tall and wide. Otherwise, without this severe pruning each fall, this plant can get large and the spring foliage isn't as exciting. One of my neighbors have a 12' tall specimen that is less than exciting. Keep them small! The same plant is below. At the bottom is that 'Brazen Brass' ornamental mustard (Brassica juncea) looking sharp in our yellow containers out on the terrace. Tonight is our volunteer potluck which is always fun. More updates tomorrow as we continue to plant and will also be having our container planting workshop (15 participants signed up!). 
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