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The Darker Side of Spring . . . In a Vase

May 9, 2016, 11:42 am
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We usually imagine spring floral arrangements in pastel shades, but there are more dramatic colors available.  The arrangement above features purple 'Negrita' tulips, an 'Early Emporer' allium, and lighter violet 'Katherine Havemeyer' lilacs.  Last summer I put some phosphate fertilizer around my lilacs and this year they bloomed heavier than ever before, so I've had plenty to pick.


Various types of greenery - or maroonery, in the case of the 'Red Dragon' contorted filbert foliage above - are important supporting players in this garden arrangement.  I also used peony leaves to made a grid to hold stems, plus stems of coral-shaded snowberry and honeysuckle to add interesting lines.


'Moulin Rouge' astrantia is fabulous in the garden or the vase.  I grow seven types of astrantia and this one is the darkest and the earliest to bloom by several weeks.  In this shot you also see one of the last of the 'Double Queen' hellebore blooms for the spring.


This vase shows its dark side with a 'Buckeye Belle' peony, stems of 'Royal Purple' smokebush (Cotinus), more 'Moulin Rouge' astrantia, and 'Brunette' Cimicifuga leaves.


























The green shades come from variegated Solomon's seal, snowberry, apple mint, curly willow, hellebore and arching stems of 'June Bride' heuchera.  I find that hellebore stems collapse if I cut them right after they start blooming, but if I wait a month or so they hold up just fine in vases.


























Have I gushed about honeysuckle stems lately?  Some types of honeysuckle are invasive in some areas and other types are rampant growers unsuitable for small yards, but there are many other types available now.  Search Monrovia's catalog for 'honeysuckle' to see a great selection.  These twisting, arching stems end up in almost every arrangement I make.  They add a beautiful wild touch and I highly recommend them for cutting gardens.


























This final arrangement shades toward bold instead of dark with 'Red Charm' peonies taking center stage.  More 'Moulin Rouge' astrantia and purple stems of 'Caradonna' salvia add deep color, while honeysuckle and 'June Bride' heuchera curve around the edges.


























I'm embracing orange thanks to two types of geum.  Above is double-flowered 'Firestorm,' and I also used 'Totally Tangerine' geum in this vase.  Both types are vigorous, early bloomers that look especially good against other jewel tones.
In the next couple of weeks the garden will explode with color.  The main peony flush looks to peak at the same time as my English roses, and countless other perennials are in bud right now.  Of course this means there will be plenty of deadheading to do eventually, but my kids are helpful with that since I pay them a penny per deadheaded flower.  Yup, I'm a big spender!
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Giant Peonies and Floriferous Dogwoods

May 21, 2016, 1:35 pm
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The June flowers are blooming in May this year, and my'Coral Supreme' peonies (above) out front have been very showy for the past couple of weeks.  I didn't capture the color very well in these shots; it really is coral instead of pure pink.

























This type of peony is not supposed to need staking, but my plants grew so tall and the flowers so large that I finally put a ring around them.  Obviously I should have put the ring around this one earlier to hold it into a more upright shape.  Next year I'll know.

























Most of the flowers reached nearly eight inches across.  I cut several for vases, but the ones I cut in bud didn't open very well, and the ones I cut when open didn't last very long before turning brown.  I think the rose or bomb form peonies last better in vases than these lotus form flowers.  They sure were pretty in arrangements for a couple of days, though.


























My  two 'Heartthrob' Korean dogwoods (Cornus kousa) have bloomed better this spring than ever before.  They were fairly large when I planted them, so it has taken several years for their roots to catch up after transplanting.  Maybe this summer they'll finally put on some top growth and keep blooming hard each spring.


Here is the second tree.  It's hard to get good shots of these trees, as this one is next to the neighborhood's large bank of mailboxes and the other one is next to utility boxes.  These Korean dogwoods start blooming as the Cornus florida dogwoods finish up, and the flowers (actually colorful bracts) last for several weeks.


























If we walk around the southwest corner of the house to the west garden, the peonies give way to bearded iris, catmint and salvia.


























I meant to beg my dear hubby to divide the woody catmints this spring but forgot, and now they're all flopping with big holes in the center.  That hasn't stopped the fuzzy bumblebees, hummingbirds and cabbage white butterflies from frequenting the blooms.


























This last shot features both 'Pure as Gold' and 'Evening Tidings' iris, plus 'May Night' sage (Salvia) and 'Walker's Low' catmint.  I'm continuing to collect shots from the backyard gardens to share next week.
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Hot Poppies, Cool Sage

June 1, 2016, 5:45 pm
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The northwest corner of the backyard is full of vivid color right now.  Orange Oriental poppies, purple 'Ambassador' Allium, red 'Montgomery' Astilbe, purple 'Caradonna' sage (Salvia) and rosy-orange 'Totally Tangerine' Geum fill the shot above.


Evening backlighting is especially pretty, though it's hard to capture with my amateur photographer skills.


'Caesar's Brother' Siberian iris helps the violet sage to cool down all the orange and red flowers.


A dozen small clumps of 'Moulin Rouge' Astrantia get lost among the taller perennials unless you look closely.


Last year I rearranged many of the plants in this area, and I'm pleased with how much better it looks.  But I have new transplanting plans now!


 I sometimes try out garden color combinations in a vase, and this arrangement has convinced me that I need to add some cranberry 'Kansas' and 'Paul M. Wild' peonies to the NW corner.  And some mid-pink 'Rivida' peonies.  Plus some deep red 'Buckeye Belle' peonies.  Yeah, peonies will make it even better.  Stay tuned for an even more colorful display next year.
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May Color Play

June 10, 2016, 9:25 am
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Here are a few more pictures from May.  It has been fun to see various color schemes come and go as plants come in and out of bloom.  Above purple 'Globemaster' Alliums bloomed next to the maroon leaves of my 'Red Dragon' contorted filbert (Corylus avellana 'Red Dragon').  A clump of 'Caesar's Brother' Siberian iris is shown in the upper left corner.

I'm still working on filling the edges of the pathway with low plants.  Above 'Firestorm' Geum and 'Dusseldorf Pride' thrift (Armeria) added color to the west curve of the backyard path.  This combo will be even better next year as I recently added several 'Dicksen's Gold' bellflowers (Campanula) with chartreuse leaves.  Magenta, golden-orange and chartreuse are so vibrant together.

The deep maroon leaves of my 'Royal Purple' smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria) played off the blooms of the 'Kopper Kettle' Itoh peony.  You can't see in this shot, but the base of the peony blooms showed maroon streaks that perfectly echoed the color of the smoke bush . . . it's a match made in heaven.


A combo of different colors and forms appeared on the east side of the house.  Fluffy chartreuse lady's mantle (Alchimella mollis) danced below linear 'June to Remember' Siberian iris while a 'Glboemaster' Allium joined the mix.


Here is the east garden area a couple of weeks prior to the previous shot, when pink creeping Phlox, 'Gladiator' Alliums and chartreuse leaves of an 'Ogon' (or Mellow Yellow) Spirea and 'Lime Rickey' Heucheras provided the color.


In the white garden a 'Snow Queen' Siberian iris bloomed behind a 'June Bride' Heuchera.  
There has been a lot of cleanup work to be done lately as the tulip and other bulb foliage turned yellow and various perennials finished blooming and needed deadheading or trimming back to the ground.  Today I'm happy that steady rain is giving me a good excuse to take a break.  

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Kopper Kettle Peony in a Vase

June 15, 2016, 9:45 am
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'Kopper Kettle' peony blooms work as well in a vase as they do in the garden.  This Itoh hybrid peony requires no staking to keep the flowers upright.  It grows 2.5 feet tall and 3.5 feet wide and is hardy in zones 4-8.  More sun means more flowers, but afternoon shade keeps the blooms from fading as quickly.

In this arrangement I also used coppery-pink buds from Filipendula hexapetala, cream buds from 'June Bride' heuchera, and chartreuse buds from lady's mantle (Alchimella mollis).

White hellebore (Lenten rose) blooms that had aged to green added texture along with green buds from 'Blueberry Muffin' viburnum.

The young shoots from my 'Scarlet Pearl' snowberry bush (Symphoricarpos) had a coppery cast that echoed the color of the peonies.

What fun it is to create an arrangment with garden flowers that are a little different from what one usually sees in floral arrangements.
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Summer Astilbe Love

June 25, 2016, 11:04 am
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My favorite plant right now is astilbe, as it's contributing the most dramatic color to the garden now that the big flush of June perennials and roses is winding down.  'Montogomery' astilbe is shown above.

Remember this photo from late May?  At bottom right you see the deep red buds on 'Montgomery' contrasting nicely with the sage behind it.  The buds on pale colored astilbes aren't as showy, but I imagine buds on other deep colored types make a similar effect.  By the time 'Montgomery' finishes blooming, its buds and blooms will have yielded color for nearly two months.

This week I transplanted some tiny divisions 'Sunny Border Blue' speedwell (Veronica) and 'Fama' pincushion flower (Scabiosa) to the northwest corner to add more color during this time of year, but for now 'Montgomery' is providing the pizzazz.

The butterfly bushes, Russian sage and three new little 'Ava' agastache plants are starting to bloom in the NW corner and will add color until frost.  After being cut back to the ground last week, 'Caradonna' sage (salvia) and 'Moulin Rouge' astrantia will eventually send up new leaves and flowers.  Thank goodness for astilbe to fill the gap.

Six clumps of 'Peach Blossom' astilbe are jazzing up the northeast corner of the backyard as well.  'Blue Pearl' bellflower (Campanula), bubblegum pink 'Giles Van Hees' speedwell (Veronica), and the chartreuse leaves of iron-deficient mophead hydrangeas add color above.

The puffy spikes of astilbe blooms really make an impact in a part-shade, well-watered garden.  They are not happy in hot, dry gardens.  Astilbe hybrids come in pink, red, lavender, purple, white, peach and coral.  They are hardy in zones 4-8.  Some stay less than 1.5' but others reach over 3' tall.  Established clumps are easy to divide with a sharp knife.  I started with one 'Peach Blossom' plant several years ago and now have six large plants.

Here in the NE corner the first peachy-pink bloom of a 'Jolyene Nichole' daylily is echoed by the 'Peach Blossom' astilbes in the background.

My three 'Bridal Veil' astilbe plants are still in bud but already add texture to the shade garden against the north side of the house.


Soon they'll open and look like this photo from last year.

After admiring the three types of astilbe already in my garden, I really had to have some more.  So I popped over to Gibson's Nursery and picked up four pots:  'Visions in Red' (above), 'Visions,''Rheinland,' and 'Maggie Dayley.'  I'm excited to watch these new little plants get established and then strut their stuff next season.
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Daylily Season

July 4, 2016, 8:54 pm
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The garden is at the peak of daylily season right now, with generous flushes of deep pink 'Hush Little Baby' blooming in the west garden each day.  Of course that means I have to deadhead quite a few blooms each morning, but it's easy work to snap the dead ones off.  Also blooming above are some apricot colored Asiatic lilies, lavender 'Walker's Low' catmint (Nepeta) and yellow 'Early Sunrise' tickseed (Coreopsis).

This part of the garden is especially cheerful in the evenings when the setting sun bounces off the side of the house and gives everything a warm glow.

Despite its shady spot in the backyard, 'Woodside Romance' is producing lots of mid-pink flowers.  I'm thinking this one deserves a place of prominence and plenty of sunshine (for up to 30-35 blooms per scape) in the front yard, so I'm adding it to my transplant list as soon as blooming is finished.


'Lavender Stardust' is also getting less than its fair share of sun in the east backyard garden, but I don't have a better place for it right now.

'Jolyene Nichole' is adorably short but the flowers are huge.


'Frances Joiner' is happier than ever this year while getting plenty of sun and plenty of water thanks to a foot-tall popup sprinkler head installed this spring.

This cluster of three plants is growing in front of my 'Eglantyne' rose, which is resting after its first flush of bloom.  Daylilies are perfect for adding color just when the roses finish.
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Portraits in the Garden

July 12, 2016, 1:23 pm
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My talented friend Amber has conducted several portrait sessions in my garden, and this spring she offered to take a few photos of me.  My husband wandered out to say hello as we got started, so Amber told him he could be in a few shots if he'd put on his suit and trademark bow tie.  A few minutes later he came out in his bow tie . . . and his swimming suit (you can see the mischievous smile on his face above).  After we all had a good laugh he changed into a real suit and posed for some pictures.  He definitely belongs in these photos since he's the one who digs the big holes, helps with garden cleanup in the fall, and hauls countless wheelbarrow loads of compost and bark.


These smiles required seventeen years of marriage to create, but the bouquet was quick and easy.  First I laid a stem of peony foliage on the table, then spread spikes of 'May Night' sage (Salvia), 'Venice Blue' speedwell (Veronica) and 'Walker's Low' catmint (Nepeta) on top.  Next came a few stems of 'Caesar's Brother Siberian iris.  Then I added stems with rounded flowers from 'Totally Tangerine' geum and 'Moulin Rouge' astrantia, plus some fluffy lady's mantle (Alchimella mollis).  Finally I set a couple of 'Morning Lilac' intersectional peony blooms on top and tied the stems with raffia.  It was easy to adjust the flowers as they lay on the table, and the bouquet photographed well because it was flat and one-sided.


Reality check:  while gardening I usually look awful in a sweaty t-shirt with dirt smudges on my face, a few scratches from rose thorns on my arms or legs (I'm such a clutz), grime under my fingernails even when I remember gloves, and twigs sticking in my hair while it's falling out of a ponytail.  No makeup, no hairspray, no pretty dress.  But this photo accurately captures the joy I feel in my garden, so thanks Amber for nudging me to do this project!
Generally I don't mind if you use my photos for wholesome and appropriate purposes, but please do not download or use these photos as they are copyrighted by Amber McArthur.
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Summer Garden Scenes

July 18, 2016, 11:28 am
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The scenes in the garden keep changing as the season progresses.  This west garden is still one of the most  consistently colorful areas, but the backyard is getting better.  Rosy-orange 'Royal Sunset' longiflorum-Asiatic lilies, 'Golden Sunrise' tickseed (Coreopsis), and long-blooming 'Walker's Low' catmint (Nepeta) are blooming above.

'Miss Molly' butterfly bushes (Buddleia), Russian sage (Peroskvia), 'Victoria' sage (Salvia), and newly planted 'Double Scoop Raspberry' coneflowers (Echinacea) are blooming now in the main sunny bed.  This large area continues to befuddle me, which is frustrating since it's the main focal point of the backyard.  I've always got new ideas to try, though.  I just planted three lilac-rose 'Ava' hummingbird mints (Agastache) between the Russian sages, and I ordered 'Summer Drummer' globe allium and drumstick allium bulbs for fall planting that should bloom about this time next season.  I've requested six more 'Fama Blue' pincushion flowers (Scabiosa) from my local nursery to plant here, I recently transplanted six 'Caradonna' sage and three 'Rozanne' hardy geraniums, and I'm growing eight Euphorbia polychroma plants from seed to add.  Something's gotta work, right?

Earlier in the season I planted several annual 'Superbena Royale Plum Wine' verbenas in this area as they are exactly the same shade as the 'Miss Molly' blooms, and they help fill in gaps while I figure out the perennials.

A 'Miss Ruby' buttefly bush presides in the northwest corner bed, with 'Red Fox' speedwell (Veronica) and annual 'Supertunia Black Cherry' petunias adding color down low.  I only planted a few annuals this year, and they've all been moved once or twice as I add more perennials.  I'm really more of a perennial fan.

This is the view looking west from the bench in the northeast corner.  'Pearl Deep Blue' bellflower (Campanula) are in front with 'Thumbelina Leigh' lavender shrubs at center.

The east side of the house features towering meadow rue (Thalictrum rochebrunianum - my husband jokingly tells me to watch my mouth when I say the name) at center and a 'Comtesse de Bouchaud' clematis to the right.  A pot of 'Surfina Summer Double Pink' petunias sits bottom center.  Surfina petunias have to be deadheaded, which makes them much more work than Supertunias.
And so the summer continues with new ideas to try and plenty of deadheading to keep me busy even when I'm not digging something up to transplant.
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The Pros and Cons of Rozanne Hardy Geranium

August 9, 2016, 1:22 pm
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Each year an especially beautiful, useful and sturdy plant is selected as Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association, which is made up of landscape designers, contractors, growers, retailers, and educators in the herbaceous perennial industry.  'Rozanne' hardy geranium was selected as the 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year.  In addition to this award, 'Rozanne' was selected as Plant of the Centenary at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.  Truly this is an amazing plant to receive such honors, and I have nearly twenty of them growing in my landscape.

What is it that makes this plant so useful?  It grows in zones 5-8 in sun or part shade.  The long bloom time is amazing - from June until an October hard frost in my garden, with no deadheading necessary.  The spent flowers just curl up and disappear without leaving an ugly mess.  It doesn't reseed or spread outside of its original clump.  Basically it's like a perennial Supertunia - loads of color for months with very little maintenance, but then it comes back the next year.

It  makes a nice companion for hydrangeas like 'Tiny Tuff Stuff,' above.

It  mixes nicely with many other colors, including the steel blue of ornamental thistle (Echinops 'Ritro').


Yellow myrtle spurge (Euphorbia myrsinitis) is another good match for 'Rozanne.'

Even though it starts blooming with the roses in June, 'Rozanne' is still blooming when the Japanese anemones flower in fall.


'Rozanne' happily winds through taller shrubs like this corkscrew hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta').

At  the end of fall when leaves from surrounding trees are falling, 'Rozanne' continues to flower until a hard frost finally sends it into dormancy for winter.

Some sources say 'Rozanne' has good fall color, but I've only noticed a little bit of red on my plants in fall.  Here it is next to a 'Shasta' doublefile viburnum (V. plicatum tomentosum).

With all of these good attributes, are there any drawbacks to including a 'Rozanne' geranium in your garden?  Well, it's rampant growth might be a challenge in a small garden.  Some sources suggest planting it 12" apart, but I think that's much too close.  In the first year after planting it may stay in a small clump like the one above . . .

. . . but a few years after planting it may grow to six feet wide, like the plant above in my front yard.  Unlike many other groundcovers, the stems don't root at nodes.  And as I mentioned earlier, 'Rozanne' doesn't send out spreading rhizomes or reseed.  The plant will die back to the ground in winter and start growing in spring from a small clump, but those stems sure grow long by the end of the season!  I'd recommend giving it at least three feet of room to grow, and even then you'll need to trim it back before the end of the season.

Another challenge with 'Rozanne' is finding the perfect amount of light.  This plant is too shaded, so you can see how it's grown too tall and flopped over to expose the unsightly base.  But with too much hot sun or not enough water the leaves will get scorched by midsummer.  You can cut it back hard after a heatwave has left it crunchy and it will sprout fresh leaves.  But my plants that grow in morning sun with afternoon shade keep a nice shape and fresh leaves throughout the growing season.

'Rozanne' is not reliably deer resistant, so it might not be the best choice if you have deer problems.  It does attract lots of honey bees and bumble bees, so if you're allergic you shouldn't plant this in your yard.  But I recommend this plant to almost all of my friends for their gardens.  Even if it requires a little trimming to control the size, its long season of color with little maintenance makes it a valuable addition to nearly every garden.  It is one of my favorites, and well deserving of the honors it has received.
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Spokane Temple Summer Gardens 2017

August 18, 2016, 7:44 pm
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The annual flower beds at the Spokane LDS Temple are full of cheerful color right now.  Above is one of the Front Door Beds featuring 'King Tut' papyrus at back with 'Victoria' salvia, 'Double Deep Salmon Profusion' zinnias, 'Royale Silverdust Superbena' verbena, and 'Orchid Charm Supertunia' petunias, plus a chartreuse sun-tolerant coleus and black petunia whose names I have forgotten.


A closer look at the bed reveals that the black petunias are really deepest burgundy.  It felt daring to include a black flower in this bed - would it be dark and depressing? - but it has acted as a nice foil for the other bright colors in the mix.

This year I used plenty of chartreuse 'Margeurite' and 'Blackie' sweet potato vines for season-long color without any deadheading.  The Spiral Bed above, named for the spiral topiary juniper shrub in the corner, includes more of the salvia, zinnias and petunias from the nearby Front Door Bed.

It's always interesting to watch the color schemes change through the season as different plants reach peak bloom or take a break.  Earlier in the season the 'Magenta Arrow' snapdragons added a lot of deep pink to these areas, but in the heat the snaps are taking a bit of a rest.  Now there is a peach, chartreuse and violet color scheme for the area.

The 'King Tut' papyri in the South Arc bed have exceeded expectations this year and might reach six feet tall by the end of the season.  Violet 'Royal Velvet Supertunia' petunias, 'Double Cherry Profusion' zinnias, 'Double Deep Salmon Profusion' zinnias, 'Margeurite' sweet potato vine, and 'Tango Dark Red' geraniums fill the base of the bed.


Sometimes Spokane summers aren't warm enough to elicit strong growth from heat-loving zinnias, but the warmer than usual growing season this year has led to especially vigorous zinnias.


A final shot from the Northwest Corner bed catches more happy zinnias along with verbena, snapdragons, licorice vine, salvia, and celosia.  This week I finalized planting plans for 2017 and sent my list of requests to Appleway Greenhouse so they can order seeds and plugs for the next year.  It's always an adventure to create to plant combinations in my head then see how they turn out in real life - not always how I imagined but sometimes even better.  I'm grateful to continue to be involved with the Temple grounds in this way.

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A Riot of Pink Peonies in a Vase

September 6, 2016, 10:47 am
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This vase of pink peonies from June was a little over the top.  I may have squeezed too many blooms into one arrangement, but it was really fun to create.  The pink peonies included nameless ones from my friend Kathy as well as darker pink 'Paula Fay.'


At  the base I used steel blue leaves from a 'Halcyon' hosta.  Grey spikes of Russian sage (Peroskvia) leaves continued the grey theme.   I also added a few stems of almost-black 'Chocoholic' bugbane (Cimicifuga) leaves, plus my favorite 'Hall's Purple' honeysuckle stems to arch out around the flowers.  

Some of my small-bloomed English roses were in flower, so I added white 'Francine Austin' above.

'Albrighton Rambler' was in bloom for the first time since being planted last fall, so I included a few of its creamy pale pink flowers as well.

White and pink ('Roma') astrantia were included.  I also used spikes of unopened Astilbe for texture, but they wilted by the next morning so I won't use them in arrangements again.

I like to add some unusual touches to the old classics, so I included a few buds from my 'Blue Angel' hostas.

Finally, the developing seed pods from my earlier-blooming 'Coral Supreme' peonies added fuzzy grey-green stars to the mix.

I started the season with thirty-some peony plants in the garden, but I didn't have enough of the deep colors.  So I divided my deep pink 'Paul M Wild' and 'Felix Supreme' plants, then added a completely new color, 'Black Mulberry,' above.  I also bought a chocolate-red 'Buckeye Belle' and ordered more 'Rivida,''Kansas,''Buckeye Belle' (one wasn't enough), and a new 'Green Lotus' to arrive bareroot this month.  When they all get going strong in a few years, June will pretty much be heaven around here!
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Kansas Peony Bouquet and Start of Construction

September 14, 2016, 9:59 am
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This bouquet from June featured dark pink 'Kansa' peonies along with lighter pink peonies, violet 'Caradonna' sage (Salvia), maroon 'Moulin Rouge' Astrantia, orange 'Totally Tangerine' Geum, yellow lady's mantle (Alchimella mollis), and 'Venice Blue' speedwell (Veronica).

These dark peonies are really special.  As I wrote last week, I have been working this year to increase the number of deep pink peony plants in my garden.


This week we were excited to begin construction on a project to add a new dining room to the back of the house and expand our cramped kitchen into the old dining space.  This photo shows the house after two days of demolition.


The photo above shows the back of our home when we bought it in 2007 (notice the lack of plants), but soon it will look like the drawing below.


Construction will be a challenge with our busy family of six trying to maneuver around the mess. Thank goodness my kids are at school for most of the day now that summer is over.  Demolition was very noisy with a jackhammer running for most of the day, but my youngest son was fascinated with the process and watched out the window for hours.  Help with entertaining my little tornado was an unexpected blessing!  I will continue to post photos as construction continues.
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Early Fall Garden

September 21, 2016, 1:20 pm
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The air is getting crisp and fall colors are appearing in the garden.  In the shot above the burgundy leaves of a 'Royal Purple' smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria) play off the flowers of butterfly bushes (Buddleia), 'Victoria' sage (Salvia) and 'Ava' hummingbird mint (Agastache).  The smoke bush was growing in another spot in the garden until last week, when my husband switched it out for the 'Red Dragon' contorted filbert (Corylus avellana) that was unhappy in this full sun spot.


Here is the sad 'Red Dragon' filbert shrub.  I learned this summer that when it gets too much sun its leaves turn from lovely burgundy to this sickly shade of brownish-orange-yellowish-green, but now it is planted under the dappled shade of the honey locust trees.  Thankfully the 'Royal Purple' smoke bush likes full sun, so they should both look healthier next year because of the switch.


Meanwhile I am very happy to enjoy the evening sun as it sifts through the trees.


I love the sun from this perspective, too.


And this one.

The white garden sports a few roses above yellowing leaves.



The honey locust leaves (Gleditsia triacanthos 'Shademaster') are usually the first to turn colors and fall, but the 'Spring Snow' crabapple trees are keeping up with them this year.  Soon we'll have plenty of raking to keep us busy, though not so much as if we had maples and oaks in the garden.
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October Leaves and Remodeling

October 20, 2016, 12:38 pm
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October has been cool and rainy with a steel-blue sky making a lovely backdrop for the colorful leaves.


A couple of weeks ago the garden was still mostly green and full of foliage.  This northwest corner is finally filling in, though next year should be even better after all the transplanting I did this month!  It seems like I've said that every autumn for several years.  I'm excited for the time when I'm done with big bouts of transplanting because this area finally looks right.


Our remodeling project isn't moving very quickly.  The plants on the west side were smashed when the excavator drove through, but it was time to cut them back to the ground anyway so they should recover next spring.


The path had to be partially disassembled so the flagstones didn't get crushed.  Putting it back together isn't going to be very fun.  But the hole was dug, the concrete foundation poured, and my crabapple tree is still standing in its place.  This tree will provide welcome shade on the west side of the addition, though it will need careful pruning to keep it from growing into the walls.  Good thing I know how to prune.


This is the current view of the project from above.  We're looking forward to the arrival of framers and the next steps of construction.
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Royal Purple Smoke Tree Vs. Red Dragon Contorted Filbert

October 26, 2016, 12:59 pm
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For the focal point of my main backyard garden bed, I have been waffling between a 'Royal Purple' smoke tree (or smoke bush, Cotinus coggygria) and a 'Red Dragon' contorted filbert (Corylus avellana).  After growing both burgundy-leafed plants for a while, I thought I'd compare and contrast the two.  Above is my Royal Purple smoke tree in late summer.


Royal Purple (zones 4-8) grows moderately quickly to 15 feet tall and 10-12 feet wide, but many gardeners keep it smaller by pruning back to the ground each spring.   Hard pruning reduces or eliminates the 'smoky' flowers (above) in spring, which therefore reduces the amount of pollen released to trouble allergy-sufferers.  I don't have room for a full-sized specimen, so I plan to prune each spring.


Royal Purple prefers full sun (though it grew fine in part shade for me) and keeps its foliage color throughout the growing season, though the new growth is more vibrant than the older leaves.  I enjoy using the stems in floral arrangements.


In  fall Royal Purple turns gloriously red before shedding its leaves.  Its bare branches aren't showy, so it fades into the background in winter.


In contrast, winter might be the best time of year for a 'Red Dragon' contorted filbert (zones 4-8).  The twisted branches are beautiful when bare, and in late winter they break out with catkins that sway in the wind.  The photo above actually shows one of my regular, non-red contorted filberts, as I don't have a photo of Red Dragon catkins yet.

The new spring leaves on Red Dragon are almost black, and then they fade through the season.  I learned the hard way that full sun in summer burns the leaves to a nasty orange-green-brown color, so this fall I gave up on full sun and transplanted my Red Dragon to a part shade spot.

Red Dragon grows moderately slowly to 6-8 feet tall and wide.  It has a more upright shape - stretching out like dragon wings -  than its green cousins.  In the photo above you see the mix of green older leaves and burgundy new leaves that cover the plant through the summer.

 
Fall color on Red Dragon is not very showy, as you see above, but those falling leaves reveal the lovely twisting stems for the rest of the dormant season.

If you find yourself deciding between these two plants for a focal point, the amount of sun it will receive is an important factor.  Either will do fine with morning sun and afternoon shade, but you'd better choose a Royal Purple smoke tree if you have full sun, and for heavier shade you'd be wise to go with the Red Dragon contorted filbert.  You'll have more pruning to keep Royal Purple to a shrub size, but it has better fall color than Red Dragon.  The twisty branches and catkins make Red Dragon the winner as far as year round interest, though.  Other large shrubs in this size range with dark leaves include 'Black Lace' elderberry (Sambucus, I grow it and like it) and 'Diablo' ninebark (Physocarpus, I don't grow it because the pink/white flowers aren't attractive to me).

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Remodeling Progress

November 19, 2016, 1:19 pm
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Our remodeling project is continuing with the new dining room coming together.  It has been two months since work began, but the slow pace hasn't been a problem since the work so far has all been outside.  We're hoping things progress  more quickly once the kitchen is torn apart.

We  were relieved to see a lot of progress this week, as we hope to get the new concrete patio poured before the ground freezes for the winter.  There is a big pile of dirt to move first.


Now we have walls, a roof and a big mess!   My sweet husband has begun putting the path back together.  It's a cold and muddy job.
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Snowy Winter, Slow Remodel

February 10, 2017, 12:09 pm
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This winter has brought nearly six feet of snow to Spokane so far, with more likely to come.   My children have enjoyed sledding and building giant snow forts, but I think everyone is looking forward to spring by now.  I have to remind myself that these long, snowy winters are the reason we have water for the garden in the summers.
My boxwood shrubs have had branches flattened by the snow, but so far they have bounced back without breaking as the snow recedes.  The 'Otto Luyken' laurels are completely brown from subzero temperatures and frigid winds.  Thankfully no tree branches have broken from the heavy snow and ice.

Our remodeling project, originally to be finished by Thanksgiving, still lingers on.  We wait more patiently some days than others!  But after seven weeks with a gutted kitchen, we are very happy to have a functional sink and appliances again.  Backsplash, trim, roof, siding, vent hood, patio, an new pendant shade, seventeen holes in the ceiling to patch, tiles popping loose to be fixed . . . then we'll be done and I'll post more pictures.

 Meanwhile we are enjoying more light from all the new windows.  We hosted a big family dinner last weekend and the new dining room worked just as we hoped it would.  With seven windows, two skylights, and a sliding door, the new space feels like part of the garden.
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Missing the Green

February 21, 2017, 3:47 pm
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It snowed again this morning, and I'm really missing our green backyard.


The other day it warmed up enough in the afternoon to sit in a coat on one of the benches for a few minutes, but the view wasn't this nice.

Grey and brown, brown and grey, white and more white . . . . winter needs to stop now!

I'll take some chartreuse along with the green, please.

And some purple leaves, too.  Any day now.  They're coming!
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Little March Beauties

March 25, 2017, 1:05 pm
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It finally feels like spring with small bulbs blooming all over the front yard.  The photo above includes 'Golden Bunch' and 'Grand Maitre' crocus flowers, a 'Pink Tea Cup' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), and striped foliage from 'Jaap Groot' tulips.

The afternoon light shining through the petals makes a pretty scene.  Emerging daylily foliage creates a nice green backdrop for the violet flowers.


This winter wasn't the harshest one we've seen here in Spokane, but it was a lot colder and snowier than the past few years.  Seeing color in the garden again feels fabulous.


In the backyard east of the house, clusters of 'Harmony' miniature iris are blooming for the second spring since planting.  The drawback to these bulbs is that their leaves keep growing to reach over a foot long, so they are more noticeable as they die back.  But their gorgeous cobalt blue color and reblooming ability make them keepers in my garden.


'Ruby Glow' Crocus are a warm violet next to the blue iris.  I purposefully left leaf litter in this area to see if I can handle the disarray as it decomposes naturally and enriches the soil.

Nearby a 'Berry Swirl' Lenten Rose is starting its long bloom season.  It's a happy time of year as the sun regains some strength and the garden reawakens.
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