Fred Ortlip of STLToday.com shares in his article how they help Jody Mitori and Lynden Steele on their problem in their backyard. These two have been wanting to have a garden on their backyard but their crops just won’t grow and also they have little time to be gardeners. Ortlip teams suggested to grow ornamental grasses on their backyard and some Perovskia or Russian sage, ninebark shrub Physocarpus, Abelia, dogwood shrub and many more for these plants can withstand the hot and dry summer as well as winter. They also recommended to grow some low and easy maintenance plants. Soil amendments and mulching is a must to retain water from the soil and to keep the soil healthy for the plants.

Are you a non-gardener or having problem in your garden? Check Fred’s full article here to read their full solutions and recommendations on the garden.

Every texture and color conveyed richness and movement. Since we were located at the Botanic Garden, what a great opportunity to display landscape plants that are uncommonly used in floral design.

These photos were taken by the talented Tracie Howe over at Tracie Howe Photography. You will have seen hers (and our work) in May’s travel themed post in Wedding Chicks.

Here we show local physocarpus, willow, Mexican feather grass, and Blue Star Juniper in a copper trumpet vase. Also shown are orange coffeebreak roses, green hydrangea, spanish moss, faux pheasant feathers, and grapewood. Table, runner, and furnishings beyond are by Vintage Ambiance- Vintage and Antique rentals.

This arrangement began (as they all do) with a sketch.

More yummy, rich, fall colors were displayed on Vintage Ambiance’s display. They featured their new farm tables, gold toned vintage vases, and amber glass vessels.

Place settings by Vintage Ambiance, elegant invites by Izzy Girl.

I just love those ruffly Coffeebreak roses.

A rainbow of colors, my favorite ninebark by far!  

Physocarpus opulifolious ‘Coppertina’ 

‘COPPERTINA’ Ninebark

We grow five different ninebark varieties: the pacific northwest native ninebark, Diablo, Dart’s Gold, Centerglow and  Coppertina.  Coppertina is my favorite ninebark by far!  

A fairly new hybrid between Dart’s Gold and Diabolo displays an almost electric array of coppers in spring and turns to a rich red in summer.  It has light white to pink flowers on gently arching branches.  Blooms will grow on old wood in early summer.

Physocarpus  are deciduous shrubs that grow to between 6 ‘ to 8’ tall and almost as wide.  We prune ours to keep it bushy and well-shaped.  Ours grow in a range of ‘very wet’ to ‘sort of moist soils’.  They also grow best in semi sunny to sunny spots in our garden.  Physocarpus are very drought tolerant once they are established and said to be appropriate in zones 3-8. 

Why to add this plant to your garden: Incredible spring, summer and fall interest

How to Use this amazing shrub:

• In the landscape groupings
• As a mass planting
• As a border plant with perennials and evergreens
• For cut flowers and foliage
• In large pots

‘Dawn’s Early Light’ hosta with ‘Coppertina’ Ninebark

The ninebarks in our yard have been of interest to the deer on occasion, however not consistently.   We don’t plant them out in the open any more.  They are against the house or in heavily planted areas that are less traveled by the deer and elk.

My personal tip:  We grow this next to a very yellow hosta ‘Dawn’s Early Light’ .  The  combination is stunning.

Photo Note: the top photo was taken with my iphone 6-8-2012,  the second photo was taken later in the summer in 2010.   The coppertina’s color is very vibrant with more reds in the late spring and early summer. 

Hope you can find a place in your garden for this really stunning shrub. 

Physocarpus:  White fungus on Physocarpus

Yes, Physocarpus is susceptible to mildew. If you are experiencing mildew on a newly purchased plant, take your receipt (and a digital photo, if you can) back to the place where you purchased the shrub and request a refund. Mildew overwinters in dead leaves and can also overwinter in branches. A newly planted shrub with a mildew problem means that the vendor purchased stock from a careless nursery. Always purchase plants from a reputable merchant.

If your plant is suddenly showing signs of mildew, even though there were no previous problems, consider the following solutions: 

   • Thin out the Physocarpus to improve air circulation. Don’t be timid—remove entire branches if the plant has become too overgrown. (I prune my shrub at least three times a season because it grows so quickly.)

   • Move the plant to an area with increased airflow and/or more sun.

   • Use a sulfur-based fungicide, such as Sulfur Guard, or else use neem oil, or Serenade Garden Disease Control to control the mildew. Follow all label instructions precisely.

   • Rake up and destroy all fallen leaves—do not compost the leaves.

   • If you want to fertilize the plant, use a fertilizer with very low nitrogen. Overly succulent leaves, caused by excessive nitrogen application, promote disease and encourage insect attacks.

Taxus:  1) White fungus, 2) Yellow needles

1) If you see what you think is a white fungus on your yew, check a little closer:  it’s probably a cluster of Taxus Mealybug located in the crotches of the shrub. To control the mealybugs, spray with insecticidal soap, and be sure to drench the insects.

2) A few yellow needles on the ends of branches after winter are not uncommon. Unless you have extremely alkaline soil (pH of 7.5 or more), chances are that your yew is drowning:  either it’s situated right near a drainpipe by the side of the house, or the yew is planted in poorly draining soil, or you are overwatering the yew. To solve the problem, either move the yew, improve the planting conditions, or stop watering (yews really don’t need more water than what occurs naturally throughout the year—unless there is a prolonged drought).

Annuals:  Can annuals be cut back?

No. Annuals complete their lives in one growing season. Cutting them back will not encourage re-blooming. Some annuals, such as Pelargoniums (Geraniums) can benefit from being pinched back early in the season to promote more branching, a more compact habit and larger blooms, but, pinching back a plant merely releases hormones that affect the plant’s growth habit. Otherwise, just keep the annual deadheaded to encourage prolonged bloom.

Perennials:  Should perennials be fertilized after blooming?

A small amount of organic or balanced fertilizer (5-5-5) applied after blooming probably won’t hurt the plant and may be beneficial. However, you don’t want to encourage new growth late in the season unless the plant is a re-bloomer. Definitely avoid post-bloom fertilization for perennials that flower in August, September or later.

Anemones:  Yellowing leaves

Yellowing leaves at the bottom of a plant usually indicate too much water or too little nitrogen.

Buxus:  White fungus on boxwood

What appears to be a fungus is actually the white, waxy exudate produced by Boxwood Psyllid nymphs. The best time to control the psyllids is in early May when the nymphs are active, at which time you can drench the insects in insecticidal soap or a very light horticultural oil (follow directions on the package precisely). Once the psyllids have matured, your only option is to use acephate, a systemic insecticide which is highly effective but requires very careful handling.

Geums:  Different colors on same plant

Most Geum cultivars are hybrids, meaning that they are bred from parents with different characteristics, including color. Sometimes, flowers do what is called “sporting back”—they revert back to one or another of the parents rather than maintaining their hybridization. I once planted seven identical peonies in a raised bed next to my garage, and every single plant sported back to the parents. The effect was quite spectacular, since I had dark red, palest pink and medium pink blooms all at the same time.

Itea virginica ‘Little Henry’:  When to prune

Suckers can be pruned out at any time. Wait to prune out deadwood after the winter until the leaves have fully formed. For general pruning, shape the plant immediately after flowering. Pruning at any other time is likely to result in a loss of flowers for either the current season or the next season.

You’d think that someone of my experience would pay attention to degree days, rather than launching into panic mode; but I can be just as irrational as the next gardener when spring approaches. Growing Degree Days, to those unfamiliar with the term, are units of temperature used to measure either likely insect emergence or anticipated plant development. To determine Growing Degree Days, you use a special thermometer which will record the high and low temperature of the day. You then add those two numbers together, divide by 2 to obtain the average temperature, and subtract 50° F. (10° C.), which is the typical temperature for active growth to begin. Then you add those numbers to determine how many GDD units have occurred so far during the calendar year. An easier way is to subscribe to your local cooperative extension’s newsletter. The newsletter usually contains an update on growing degree days by area of the state.

So here are some of my observations on rate of emergence, and I hope they’ll either keep you from hyperventilating or help you to realize that you need to replace the plant. Please offer any of your own observations in the comments, especially if you’ve noticed any plants that seem particularly slow to emerge in the spring.

Very Slow

Anemones                        Japanese Anemone
Clethra                              Summersweet
Gleditsia triacanthos     Honey Locust 
Hibiscus syriacus            Rose of  Sharon
Hypericum                       St. Johnswort 
Itea                                   Sweetspire

Slow

Fraxinus                           Ash Tree
Hosta                               Hosta 

Medium

Acer                                 Maple Tree
Coreopsis                        Tickseed 
Lilium                               Lilies
Perovskia                       Russian Sage
Physocarpus                  Ninebark                   
Symphyotrichum          Asters

Fast

Allium                             Chives/Onion
Berberis                          Barberry
Euonymus alatus          Burning Bush
Hemerocallis                 Daylily
Ligularia                        Leopard Plant
Syringa                          Lilac
Telephium                     Sedum
Veronica                       Veronica
Weigela                         Weigela

Bed 1 is to the left of the house as you look out of the bi-fold doors. It’s about 3m long by 1m wide and borders our neighbours’ fence. The problem is that we can now see a bit more of our neighbours than we used to (not that we don’t like our neighbours) so I’ve chosen a couple of shrubs that will grow tall enough to give us and them some privacy.

At the middle-left hand area of the bed I’ve planted a Cotonoeaster Cornubia. Semi-evergreen, it’s described as a ‘small weeping tree covered in white flowers turning to red berries’. It will eventually (if I let it) get as tall as 3m but my plan is to keep it under control and encourage it to ‘bush out’ where I need it to screen the gap above the fence. Obviously I can’t comment on the berries or flowers yet, but the new bark is a lovely dark shiny red.

Cornus cornubia

At the other end of the bed I’ve planted a Physocarpus opulifolius ’Diabolo’. This is a deciduous shrub with a bushier habit than the cotoneaster. It will eventually get to 1.8m high by 1.2m wide. I’ve never grown one of these before but was attracted to its purple foliage which will contrast well with the surrounding shrubs.

Underneath these shrubs I’ve dotted round a few miniature daffodil bulbs (Tete a tete I think) which I started off in little pots last autumn (and I’m so glad now that I had the foresight to do this). I’ve also dug up some congested clumps of Allium and planted these in the bed.

And this is what the bed looks like so far (yes, I know I need some more compost down the end!)

Bed 1