Hortiholic and plant evangelist, Russell Stafford, transplanted his first perennial at age 7 and thereby began a lifelong plant addiction. He is the founder and custodian of Odyssey Bulbs (and Odyssey Perennials), an online nursery specializing in cool and uncommon plants. Russell also works as a horticultural consultant, freelance writer (Horticulture and The American Gardener magazines), and garden editor. He formerly served as Curator and Head of Horticulture at Fernwood Botanic Garden in Niles, Michigan and as the Horticultural Program Coordinator at the Center for Plant Conservation, then located at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. His academic degrees include a masters in forest science from Harvard University.
Canna ‘Striata’ graces the center of an impressive patio pot. (Image by Mike Darcy)
Cannas emerge from dormancy and hit the horticultural market in late winter and spring, so now is the time to get the show started. Numerous varieties are available from on line and local nurseries, either as potted plants or as bare-root rhizomes (the technical name for the thickened underground stems that give rise to all that splendiferous summer growth).
Newly purchased plants should be grown indoors in a suitable potting mix until danger of frost has passed, such as Fafard Professional Potting Mix. Ten- to twelve-inch plastic pots and a two-inch planting depth work well for this initial, indoor growth phase. For their outdoor, summer home, cannas need containers of a grander and more massive order planted in a water-holding mix, such as Fafard Ultra Outdoor Planting Mix. An 18-inch-plus clay or ceramic pot (or something in the way of a cast iron urn) is ideal. Large wooden or terra cotta planters also work well. Simply knock the plants out of their temporary, indoor containers and place them at the same depth in their outdoor quarters. Then stand back and watch the fireworks happen (making sure to water liberally and fertilize regularly through summer).
Although spectacular on their own, containerized cannas make an even more extravagant statement if combined with other heat-loving plants. For example, the flowers and foliage of gold- and red-hued Coleus provide a striking foil for the sunset foliar tones of Canna ‘Phaison’ (right). The possibilities are practically limitless, given cannas’ wide range of floral and foliage colors.
When choosing cannas for container gardening, the sky’s the limit. For a lavish summer display on a less colossal scale, use a “dwarf” canna cultivar such as ‘Pink Sunset’, which offers dazzlingly variegated leaves and soft pink flowers on 3-foot (rather than the usual 5- to 10-foot) plants.
Or you can go the other direction and opt for something outrageously gargantuan such as the banana canna, ‘Musaefolia’, a Victorian-age behemoth that towers to 14 feet. A bathtub of a container (and lots of water) is recommended.
Cannas slow their pace in fall, requiring reduced water as they gradually die back to their rhizomes. Dormant plants can be moved indoors, pot and all, for the winter, or the rhizomes can be lifted and stored in paper bags in a well-ventilated location. Either way, cool temperatures (below 60 degrees F) are best for storage.
In early spring, move containerized cannas to a warmer niche and water sparingly until growth resumes. Split overwintered bare-root rhizomes into divisions of 3 or more “eyes” (the red, swollen growth points spaced along the rhizomes), and plant them in containers (as described above). And start planning this year’s summer spectacular.
An orange-flowered ‘Wyoming’ Canna looks in the back of a pot of tall red cannas and elephant ear. (Image by Pam Beck)
Nothing tastes better than firm, succulent cherries right off the tree – especially if they come from your own back yard! Thanks to a new generation of hybrid and dwarf cherry trees, home-grown cherries are literally within the reach of more gardeners – in more climatic zones – than ever before.
As with everything gardening, choosing the right varieties and giving them the right conditions and care are the keys to getting your backyard cherry orchard off to a good start.
Consider planting your cherries on foot-tall mounds.
What Cherries Want
All cherries thrive in full sun and fertile, well-drained, slightly acid soil. They also favor mild, relatively dry summers and chilly winters (most cherries won’t bear fruit unless they receive several hundred hours of sub-45-degree temperatures). If you can offer these conditions, as well as a planting site that’s not overly prone to late, bud-damaging frosts, you’re likely to have good luck with all kinds of cherries.
Start With the Soil
Nutrient-rich loam is ideal. If you garden in sand, apply 2 or 3 inches of Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost, and till it in before planting. If heavy clay soil predominates, consider planting your cherries on foot-tall mounds or berms of topsoil amended with compost. Higher berms (at least 3 feet tall) will also help protect flower buds from spring frost damage.
Avoid siting cherries in warm microsites (such as the south side of a building) that encourage premature, frost-susceptible bud development. In areas where heat and humidity are a challenge, maximize air circulation through proper pruning (see below) and generous spacing.
Pick the Right Cherry
Sweet ‘Rainier’ cherries require very specific growing conditions.
As fate would have it, the most popular cherries are also the most persnickety (of course!). Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) such as the supermarket standbys ‘Bing’ and ‘Rainier’ are good bets only where temperatures stay mainly between 90 and minus 20 degrees F (sorry, Southern gardeners!). Because of their chilling requirements, they also do poorly in regions with mild year-round climates. The few sweet cherry varieties (including ‘Minnie Royal’ and ‘Royal Lee’) with relatively low chilling needs are worth a try in marginal mild-winter areas. Wherever they’re grown, most sweet cherry varieties require another compatible variety nearby to set fruit (only ‘Stella’ and a few others are self-fruitful). For a list of varieties that “pollenize” each other, click here.
‘Montmorency’ is a classic sour cherry variety.
Sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) tolerate somewhat more heat, humidity, and cold, making them a safer bet than sweet cherries for regions such as the southern Plains, lower Mid-Atlantic, and upper Midwest and Northeast. Their self-fruitfulness and relatively compact size also make them a better fit for smaller gardens. The tart fruits are excellent in pies and preserves, or for eating out of hand. By far the most popular variety is ‘Montmorency’, but many others are available.
Even icebox climates such as northern Maine and the upper Great Plains now offer the possibility of fresh-off-the-tree cherries. Recently introduced hybrids between Prunus cerasus and its shrubby cousin Prunus fruticosa produce flavorful cherries on 6- to 10-foot plants that are hardy to minus 50 degrees F. Cultivars include ‘Crimson Passion’, ‘Carmine Jewel’, ‘Romeo’, and ‘Juliet’. All are self-fruitful.
Choose the Right Sized Tree
Stark® Gold™ sweet cherry can be purchased on various sized rootstock.
At 20 to 40 feet tall, full-sized sweet- and sour-cherry trees are too large for many home gardens. They are considerably shorter, however, when grafted on dwarfing “Giselsa” rootstocks recently developed in Germany. For example, sweet cherry cultivars grown on Gisela 6 understock mature at 60 to 90 percent of the height of full-size trees, and begin fruiting within 3 years of planting. Gisela-grafted trees also show good hardiness and disease resistance. Most mail-order suppliers of cherry trees offer a smorgasbord of cultivar/rootstock combinations.
Caring For Your Cherries
Whatever the best cherry trees for your place and purposes, they’ll need constant care to thrive. Apply organic fertilizer and a layer of compost in spring, followed by 1 or 2 inches of bark mulch to keep the soil moist and cool and to inhibit weeds. Prune out spindly twigs, unproductive branches, water sprouts, and other superfluous growth in midsummer (avoid pruning during rainy or humid spells).
Harvest ripe cherries and collect and discard dropped fruits several times a week, to keep spotted wing fruit flies and other pests at bay. Rake and remove fallen cherry leaves, which may host disease-causing spores. Make your yard a haven for beneficial insects by planting species that host them (such as members of the parsley and daisy families). These and other measures can help keep your cherry trees happy, and your table brimming with fresh cherries.
Purple lythrum looks pretty in the garden but beware this dangerous invasive flower. (Image by Jessie Keith)
Some perennials have major territorial issues. Give them an inch, and they’ll take a yard – or at least a good chunk of it. Allow them a toehold, and their rampant root systems or prolific seedlings will likely haunt your garden for years to come.
Of course, such perennials don’t limit their thuggery to the garden; they also can spread (usually by seed) into nearby natural areas, out-muscling native vegetation. For the scoop on the worst offenders in your region, check your state’s list of banned invasive species. But keep in mind that many species with serious boundary issues don’t appear on most state banned lists. Even if it’s not listed by your state (as is probably true of the species described below), the perennial that’s captured your heart might have designs on taking over your garden.
Yellow loosestrife is pretty but a garden thug. (Image by Jessie Keith)Yellow wild indigo has characteristics similar to yellow loosestrife, but it is tame. (Image by Russell Stafford)
Just about any list (state or otherwise) of takeover perennials is likely to include a few that go by the common name “loosestrife.” Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) – the perennial that ate the Northeast (as well as several other regions) – is the textbook example. Close behind, however, are several species in the genus Lysimachia. Many a gardener has regretted falling under the spell of the arching white spires of gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides). Lovely in bouquets, this East-Asian native is a rambunctious bully in the garden, spreading rapidly via fleshy white underground shoots (known as rhizomes). A far wiser (and better behaved) choice for perennial borders is milky loosestrife (Lysimachia ephemerum), which forms 3-foot-tall, gray-leaved clumps surmounted in summer by candles of frothy white flowers.
Also too vigorous for most gardens are yellow loosestrife, Lysimachia punctata, and fringed loosestrife, Lysimachia ciliata (usually grown in its purple-leaved form, ‘Firecracker’). Both make good candidates for damp, isolated niches where they have room to romp. Yellow wild indigo (Baptisia sphaerocarpa) and its hybrids (including ‘Carolina Moonlight’) would be a better choice for situations where good manners and 3-foot-spires of bright yellow, early-summer flowers are desired.
Rudbeckia laciniata is pretty but aggressive. (Image by Jessie Keith)
Quite a few other yellow-flowered aggressors are commonly grown (and virtually ineradicable) in gardens. Almost all perennial sunflowers (Helianthus), for example, are rapid colonizers with tenacious questing rhizomes. If the mellow yellow blooms of Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’ beguile you, you might want to opt instead for Silphium mohrii, which produces summer daisy-flowers of an even softer pastel-yellow, but on 4-foot-tall plants that stay in place. Another popular splashy yellow summer-bloomer to avoid is the double-flowered Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Golden Globe’ (also known as ‘Hortensia’). Take a pass on this common pass-along plant (there’s always plenty of it to share thanks to its romping rhizomes), and seek out its mannerly look-alike, ‘Goldquelle’.
Also often passed along are some of the more assertive yellow-flowered members of the evening primrose tribe (including Oenothera fruticosa and Oenothera tetragona). These might best be passed by in favor of arguably the largest-flowered and loveliest hardy Oenothera, Missouri primrose (Oenothera macrocarpa). In contrast, goldenrods (Solidago) often get tagged with the “invasive” label, even though many of them are model citizens with arresting late-summer flowers. Stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida) holds dense, flat heads of lemon-yellow flowers above handsome clumps of gray-green foliage, while the equally fetching showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) carries steeples of bright yellow blooms on burgundy-red stems. As for the canard that goldenrods cause hay fever: they don’t.
Physostegia virginiana ‘Miss Manners’ is tidy and clump forming, unlike the spreading species. (Image by Jessie Keith)
The common name of Physostegia virginiana – obedient plant – also gives the appearance of a canard, given the relentless rhizomes of this Central U.S. native. The moniker, however, refers to the mauve-purple, turtlehead-shaped flowers that line its 3-foot-tall spikes in late summer. Push an individual flower into a new position, and it compliantly stays put. The white-flowered cultivar ‘Miss Manners’ departs from other physostegias in possessing obedient flowers AND rhizomes. Its flower color is also more compatible.
The domed flower heads of garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) share the adaptable, milk-white coloration of ‘Miss Manners’. This prolific ornamental onion isn’t so good at sharing space, however. Neglect to deadhead its late-summer blooms, and it will populate much of your garden with seedlings. The somewhat earlier blooming Allium ramosum also bears showy (and sweet-scented) heads of white flowers atop 18-inch stems, but without the resulting seedling swarm.
Three more invasive perennials to steer clear of (and suggested substitutes) include:
Plants sold under the botanical name Adenophora, which almost always are the fiendish, tuberous-rooted Campanula rapunculoides. Use peach-leaf bellflower (Campanula persicifolia) or great bellflower (Campanula latifolia) instead.
Yellow archangel, Lamium galeobdelon. Rather than unleashing the garden-variety species on your yard, substitute its cultivar ‘Herman’s Pride’, which offers even more handsome silver-splashed foliage, sans the infinite spread.
Butterbur (Petasites). Yes, the romping colonies of immense, heart-shaped leaves are captivating, but the thick rhizomes will not stop until they’ve occupied every square millimeter of available soil. A Ligularia or Rodgersia will give the same foliage effect without commandeering the whole neighborhood.
Butterbur will take over a shade garden in no time. (Image by Russell Stafford)
Whenever you plant a mannerly perennial in your yard, be sure you know its soil needs. Fortifying soil with needed amendments will result in better overall performance. We suggest Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost, for starters. Although these and quite a few other perennials are too rampant for most garden areas, they might work in an isolated niche (such as a driveway island) where nothing else will grow, or in an informal planting (such as a cottage garden) that features plants that can fend for themselves. “Right plant, right place” is a garden maxim that never goes out of style.
The goal of permaculture is to create a landscape that sustains itself, its natural surroundings, and the people who steward it.
The first and perhaps most important choice in creating a garden is this: will it work WITH its surroundings, or against them? We can try to grow what we want to grow, heedless of the garden’s natural and domestic conditions, or we can choose plants and strategies that fit the situation on (and under and above) the ground. We can pour on the labor and chemicals to try to force the garden to bow to our will, or we can go with its currents, letting its characteristics be our guide. One choice leads to landscapes that are at odds with their setting, such as lawns in Phoenix. The other leads, in some cases, to permaculture.
Permaculture means different things to different people. Perhaps its ideal goal, though, is to create a landscape that sustains itself, its natural surroundings, and the people who steward it. Such a landscape rides with the rhythms of nature, with plants and microbes and soil and air working together as a cohesive, self-nurturing unit that requires minimal inputs of nutrients and labor. Here are some ways to do this.
Plant for the Site
If you know the right plants for the right site, you are on the right track.
Know your site. What are your soil and sun factors? What plants best fit your yard and wants? Then you can make smart choices for your yard and garden. (Much as you love raspberries, they’ll languish in too much shade. How about elderberries instead?) The garden’s domestic setting is also a factor. For instance, plantings should generally become less formal and more naturalistic with distance from buildings and paths.
Manage Natural Processes
Work with natural cycles and processes. Start a compost pile for spent vegetation and uneaten produce, to return their nutrients and organic matter to the soil. Mulch with beneficial amendments (such as Fafard Garden Manure Blend) and fertilize with organic materials that support beneficial soil microbes and boost organic matter. Disturb the soil as little as possible, to maintain its structure and to avoid bringing buried weed seeds to the surface to germinate.
Sustain “good” insects by minimizing pesticide use and by utilizing plants that attract them (such as members of the parsley and aster families). Cut back native perennials in early spring rather than fall, to provide food for birds, protection from erosion, and refuge for beneficial insects.
Choose Diversity
Plant using a wide diversity of beautiful plants suited for wildlife and the site. (image by Jessie Keith)
Use a wide diversity of plants – including natives – that complement and balance each other horticulturally and ornamentally. Try for a harmonious patchwork of species with different forms, colors, pollinators, pests, associated beneficial insects, and other characteristics. Include a variety of trees, shrubs, and perennials to provide structure, and interplant with numerous edibles and ornamental annuals to increase diversity and yield. Intermingle heavy-feeding plants (such as tomatoes) with nitrogen-accumulating plants (such as legumes) to balance and replenish soil fertility. Introduce some non-invasive, self-sowing ornamentals and edibles (such as celandine poppies and perilla and forget-me-nots), which make excellent subjects for a dynamic, self-sustaining landscape.
Choose Multi-Function Plants
American persimmons are perfect “dual-purpose” trees that are beautiful and produce edible fruit.
Create plantings that have multiple uses and functions. Why not plant a couple of pawpaw trees, whose handsome, rounded, bold-leaved crowns will produce fruit for the table and provide food for zebra swallowtail caterpillars? Or a highbush cranberry, for its platters of white, late-spring flowers; its fall harvest of red berries that make excellent preserves; and its attractive maple-like foliage that turns burgundy tones in fall? Or the stately American persimmon tree (Diospyros virginiana) with its edible fall fruits prized for baking? Or one of the many colorful leafy vegetables (such as ‘Rainbow’ chard and red orach) that are both ornamental and tasty?
Make the Natural Connection
Milkweeds make a natural connection with the monarch butterflies they feed. (image by Jessie Keith)
Connect the garden to surrounding natural areas by using plants that attract, shelter, and feed native insects and animals. A clump of columbine will draw local hummers to their nectar-rich flowers; a planting of winterberries (female and male) will feed yellow-rumped warblers and cedar waxwings and mockingbirds with their brilliant red berries; and a Dutchman’s pipe vine will host pipevine swallowtail larvae, which make excellent food for nestlings. Then there are the ever-popular milkweeds, which are essential to monarch butterflies.
Consider integrating “volunteer” seedlings of native plants into the garden, rather than indiscriminately weeding them out. Conversely, avoid introducing plant species (such as winged euonymus and Japanese barberry) that are likely to invade and disrupt nearby natural areas.
At its best and most satisfying, a garden that follows these principles develops into a dynamic little ecosystem of its own, where plants and wildlife and humans all have a place. Permaculture does not aspire to “permanent” landscape features such as a perpetually green, weed-free lawn. Rather, it’s a collaborative effort between plants and gardener to create a cultivated landscape that is shaped and steered by nature’s ever-changing forces. A permaculture garden never stops evolving – just as a permaculture gardener never stops learning and marveling.
Purple mustard greens (Brassica juncea ‘Osaka Purple’) are packed with nutrients and very easy to grow in spring and fall! (Image by Jessie Keith)
No garden vegetables offer more bang for the buck than those leafy wonders known collectively as greens. Nutritional champs of the vegetable tribe, they produce a season-long bonanza of vitamin- and mineral-packed foliage while requiring relatively little care. For home growers looking to eat healthier by upping their vegetable gardening game in 2017, greens are a great way to get there. They are the garden vegetables for your health.
They offer the added bonus of being trendy and made cool with diverse new offerings.
What once was a bland garden province is now a colorful universe of hundreds of leafy vegetables representing a wealth of culinary traditions. Yesterday’s dutiful row of green looseleaf lettuce has given way to today’s exuberant waves of purple mustard, vibrant Swiss chard, ‘Red Russian’ kale, purple shiso, and other delectable foliar delights. It’s a cornucopia of leafy edibles out there.
From this world of possibilities, we’ve chosen seven outstanding leafy vegetables that will help make 2017 your healthiest vegetable gardening year ever.
Kale
Kale ‘Lacinato’ mixed among lettuce ‘Black Seeded Simpson’. (Image by Jessie Keith)
What better place to start than with arguably the nutritional champion of vegetables, kale (Brassica oleracea)? Its dark green leaves brim with vitamins A, C, and K, and also offer significant amounts of calcium, magnesium, and iron. Elaborately ruffled varieties such as ‘Starbor’ get the most market play, but flat-leaved selections such as the aforementioned ‘Red Russian’ tend to be more flavorful, tender, and garden-worthy. The popular ‘Lacinato’ kale, commonly called dinosaur kale, is another perennial favorite.
Harvest begins about 1.5 to 2 months after sowing, and continues indefinitely if leaves are taken a few at a time (“cut and come again”). As with many leafy vegetables, kale tastes stronger in heat and sweeter in flavor after frost. Like other brassicas, it is very hardy and works well as a “winter green” grown in a cold frame or hoop house. Although highly adaptable, it particularly thrives in sun and rich organic soil, benefitting from the addition of a good soil amendment, such as nitrogen-rich Fafard Garden Manure Blend. Sow seed in spring and fall for a perpetual summer-to-winter crop. Where winters are mild, plants will overwinter and bloom in spring, bearing golden yellow flowers that bees cannot resist.
Collards
Collard ‘Flash’ (Image by Jessie Keith)
Rivaling kale in adaptability and nutritional value, collards (Brassica oleracea) are a traditional Southern U.S. staple now found in markets and restaurants throughout North America (and beyond). Robust in both flavor and texture, the pungent, leathery, wavy-edged leaves begin to mature about 2 months after sowing, with cut-and-come-again harvests continuing well after frost. Though they will withstand summer heat, these hardy greens truly taste best when kissed with fall frost, so most gardeners opt to grow them as late-season greens. Like kale, collards germinate best indoors in slightly warm soil.
Mustard Greens
Kale and collards are both closely related to another nutrient-rich group of leaf vegetables, mustard greens (Brassica juncea). Their fast-growing, peppery, tongue-shaped or lobed leaves make zingy garnishes for salads when young and tender, and even zingier additions to stir-fries as they mature and intensify in flavor. They’re at their best (in both flavor and vigor) in spring and fall, grown from early spring or late summer sowing. When subjected to summer heat, they quickly bolt with golden yellow flowers that are also spicy and edible. Seed catalogs offer many excellent varieties deriving from East Asia (such as ‘Osaka Purple’) and the Southeastern U.S. (including ‘Southern Giant’), two regions where mustard greens have long been a hot commodity.
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard ‘Ruby Red’ (Image by Jessie Keith)
A leafy variant of garden beets, Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) lacks the pungent kick of the mustardy greens described above. It is a peer, however, in nutritional value and ease of culture. Produced continually from summer until hard frost, the stalked, crinkled leaves are excellent in salads when young, or for sautéing and stir-fries when mature (about 60 days after sowing). Several varieties of Swiss chard (such as ‘Bright Yellow’, ‘Ruby Red’, and ‘Bright Lights’) have colorfully stemmed and veined foliage that makes a decorative addition to annual beds and other ornamental plantings. Plants grow (and germinate) best in warm, fertile conditions. Their leaves taste sweeter and more flavorful in cool weather.
Spinach
Malabar spinach ‘Rubra’ (Image by Jessie Keith)
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is notorious for flowering quickly in the heat and dying. Malabar spinach (Basella alba), in contrast, thrives in areas with hot summers. It’s also ornamental, nutritious, and just plain fun. Unrelated to true spinach, this rapidly climbing tender perennial twines exuberantly up garden teepees and trellises. Edible when young, the stems are lined with heart-shaped leaves that have a mild chard-like flavor and that go well in salads or cooked dishes. The purple-stemmed variety ‘Rubra’ is as eye-catching as it is tasty.
Orach
Hot summers also don’t phase orach (Atriplex hortensis), another trendy green often suggested as a spinach substitute. Pairs of tender, tongue-shaped leaves are produced on low plants that flourish in most soils and climates. Ready for harvest a month or so after sowing, orach’s mild-flavored leaves are perfect for sprinkling in salads and sautéed dishes. Varieties with colorful foliage such as ‘Red, ‘Magenta Magic’, and multicolored ‘Aurora’ make arresting accents for kitchen and garden.
Shiso
Flavorful shiso withstands summer heat! (image care of Gardenology.org)
Also doubling nicely as an ornamental is shiso (Perilla frutescens), long a staple of East Asian cuisines. Its upright, 1- to 3-foot stems are densely set with pairs of wrinkled, heart-shaped leaves that resemble those of coleus (to which it’s closely related). The resemblance is particularly striking in burgundy-leaved forms such as ‘Aka Shiso’, which integrate nicely into annual borders, containers, and other ornamental plantings.
The spicy leaves (whose flavor is likened to anise or cinnamon) are good for salads, stir-fries, stews, pickling, drying and powdering, and garnishes. Tail-like clusters of small flowers extend from the plants in late summer, ripening to seed that falls to the ground and usually germinates the following spring. Plant perilla once, and you may never have to plant it again!
Fashionable and nutritious, these (and other) leafy veggies are just the thing for adding productivity and panache to gardens of all sorts and sizes. Whether you tend several acres or several containers, you’ll find there are lots to love about greens.
Brassicas, like kale, bear golden spring flowers that attract bees. These are also edible and look great in salads! (Image by Jessie Keith)
Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) is graced with outstanding evergreen foliage and glorious bowl-shaped spring flowers. (image by Pam Beck)
Gardening in eastern North America has many challenges. But it also has many glories. Among the latter are the two evergreen magnolia species that call the region home. Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) and evergreen forms of sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana var. australis) have it all: handsome gray bark; large, sweet-scented, creamy-white flowers in late spring (and sporadically until fall); and evergreen leaves that take center stage in winter.
Southern magnolias add evergreen beauty to dull winter landscapes. (Photo by Jessie Keith)
These native beauties are also more cold-tolerant than most gardeners know. Although they hail from the Southeast United States, they succeed in cultivation into USDA Zone 5b. Centerpieces of many a Mid-Atlantic and Southeast garden, they’re also capable of making a statement in parts of New England, New York, and the Midwest.
Southern magnolia is one of those big, bold, primordial plants that looks like it just dropped in from the Cretaceous. Indeed, its ancestors dominated much of Earth’s vegetation some 70- to 90-million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the planet. But this magnificent magnolia also works just fine as a visually dominant specimen tree for twenty-first-century landscapes.
In its boldest forms, Magnolia grandiflora takes the primordial look to awe-inspiring lengths (and breadths). The aptly named ‘Goliath’ (and the somewhat similar ‘Gloriosa’) produces enormous cupped flowers of ivory that open to a foot or more across, displayed against large, polished, relatively broad leaves. The flowers of ‘Samuel Sommer’ are even larger (to 14 inches across), and its leaves have striking rust-brown felting on their undersides. Selected for its abundance of bloom, ‘Majestic Beauty’ also features immense deep green leaves and a symmetrical, broadly conical growth habit. Cultivars ‘Angustifolia’ and ‘Lanceolata’ have narrower leaves, felted brown underneath.
The more delicate ‘Edith Bogue’ is best espaliered against a sturdy, protective wall.
Although typically forming a slow-growing, 40- to 60-foot tree, Southern magnolia sometimes assumes more compact forms, as in the narrowly conical, 30-foot-tall ‘Little Gem’. Its 4-inch-wide flowers are relatively precocious (most Southern magnolias varieties take several years to a decade to come to bloom), and as with most varieties, they recur sparingly after the main flush in late spring.
Two other compact Magnolia grandiflora cultivars are of particular interest to Northern gardeners. Both ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ and ‘Edith Bogue’ have a good chance of succeeding into USDA Zone 5b in sites protected from winter sun and harsh northwest winds. For sheer hardiness and sturdiness, ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ can’t be beat, although even this toughest of Southern magnolias will go brownish-tan in cold, Zone-6 winters. The slightly more delicate ‘Edith Bogue’ is notorious for losing limbs to heavy winter snow, and functions best in North gardens as an espalier, with her branches fixed to a stout frame (a shaded east-facing wall is ideal).
Whatever the climatic zone, Southern magnolia does best in relatively fertile soil that’s not too sandy or heavy. A good compost (such as Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost) can help bring marginal soils into line.
The highly fragrant blooms of sweetbay appear in spring and are almost primrose yellow. (Image by Jessie Keith)
Native from Texas to North-Coastal Massachusetts, Magnolia virginiana makes a natural choice for gardens from USDA Zones 5 to 9. Evergreen forms of this elegant small tree – known botanically as variety australis – are confined to the Southeast, and tend to either expire or defoliate in Zone 5 and 6 winters. Exceptions do occur, however, including the cultivars ‘Henry Hicks’ and ‘Moonglow’, both of which are hardy and often evergreen (or semi-evergreen) into Zone 5b.
In all its forms, sweetbay magnolia is one of the finest small trees for American gardens. Typically single-trunked in warmer climes and multi-stemmed in chillier regions, it bears oval, rich green leaves with silvery undersides that shimmer in the breeze. The cupped, creamy (almost primrose yellow) flowers debut in late spring and continue sporadically throughout summer, casting a piquant, questing fragrance reminiscent of roses or lemons. Attractive clusters of red-fleshed fruits follow the blooms. Often found in wetlands in nature, Magnolia virginiana is well suited for moister areas of the landscape (and loathes dry, sandy soil).
Before planting evergreen magnolias, fortify your soil with Fafard Natural & Organic Compost Blend.
Also well worth growing is the hybrid between sweetbay magnolia and umbrella magnolia (Magnolia tripetala), which combines the fragrant, summer-long blooms of the former with the bold, primordial, deciduous foliage of the latter. Its cultivar ‘Cairn Croft’ is sometimes available from specialty nurseries. Crosses between sweetbay and Southern magnolia have been developed and introduced by hybridizers, but offer no notable advantages over the parents. For year-round leafage and beauty, these two exceptional natives can’t be beat.
The seedheads of Rudbeckia fulgida stay looking pretty into winter and will even hold the snow. (Photo by Jessie Keith)
Winter is the garden’s quiet time when its subtler charms hold sway. It’s the season of the three B’s – eye-catching bark, colorful berries, and architectural branching – and of evergreen foliage. And it’s also the time to appreciate the marvelous and often beautiful diversity of seed heads.
Miscanthus sinensis var. condensatus ‘Cabaret’ (Photo by Jessie Keith)
No plants better exemplify this beauty than grasses. Many produce large, elaborate flower heads that reach their full glory in fall and winter as the seeds ripen and scatter. Doubtless, the best known of the bunch (at least in eastern North American gardens) is Chinese maiden grass, Miscanthus sinensis. This variable East Asian native produces huge, plumy, silvery flower heads in late summer on 5- to 8-foot talks that erupt from fountain-like clumps of arching leaves. The ripening blooms gleam in the slanting fall and winter light, glowing most brightly when backlit by the sun.
Among the many outstanding varieties of Chinese maiden grass are the longtime favorite ‘Gracillimus’ and its descendants, all of which feature narrow leaves with silvery midribs. Broad, yellow, widely spaced bands mark the leaves of ‘Zebrinus’, which is floppier in habit than the similar ‘Strictus’. The broad-bladed, variegated Miscanthus sinensis var. condensatus ‘Cabaret’, has cream-striped leaves and reddish plumes that dry to silvery tan in fall. Compact cultivars such as the 40-inch-tall ‘Adagio’ make a good choice for tighter spaces. This (and other) grass species may self-sow, particularly in warmer parts of its USDA Zones 5 to 9 hardiness range.
Other notable grasses of winter interest (and of similar hardiness range) include:
The North American native Panicum virgatum (commonly known as switch grass), which produces hazy clouds of dainty pale flowers that darken as they ripen in fall. Most varieties grow to 4 feet or more.
Cortaderia selloana ‘Silver Comet’
Fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides), instantly recognizable by its large foxtail-like flower heads on 3-to 4-foot stems above finely textured mounds of narrow leaves. Several dwarf cultivars (including ‘Little Bunny’) are available.
The upright, tassel-flowered Calamagrostis acutiflorus (feather reed grass), with bronzy blooms that mature to beige tones as they mature in late summer and fall.
Cortaderia selloana (pampas grass) is an imposing tender grass surviving in USDA hardiness zones 8-10. The tall plumes reach 8-12 feet and appear late in the season. It can seed freely, so be cautious where you plant it.
Panicum virgatum ‘Prairie Sky’ in winter (Image by Jessie Keith)
These and most other ornamental grasses flourish in relatively fertile, not overly dry soil and full sun. A good nitrogen-rich soil amendment (such as Fafard Garden Manure Blend) will help bring heavy or sandy soils up to snuff.
Purple coneflower seedheads eventually shatter as their seeds are eaten by birds, but they do offer pleasing winter interest. (Image by Jessie Keith)
Like grasses, many broadleaf perennials have attractive seed heads that make a pleasing sight in winter (particularly when displayed against a blanket of snow). Among the best perennials for winter interest are species in the aster family that bear persistent conical heads of dark seeds. The near-black central cones of perennial garden favorite Rudbeckia fulgida remain long after the last golden-yellow petals of its summer-to-fall ray-flowers have dropped. Usually sold under the name ‘Goldsturm’, it’s one of a tribe of similar ‘black-eyed Susans” from the central and eastern United States. All are easy-care sun-lovers, are hardy from zones 4 to 10, and have a penchant for self-sowing. Rudbeckia nitida, by contrast, has greenish cones (with yellow petals) on stately, 4- to 6-foot stems, and is a less enthusiastic self-sower.
Also hailing from prairies and meadows of central and eastern North America are several species of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea and others). The large brown “cones” protrude pleasingly from the snow on 2- to 4-foot stems and also look nice in summer when fringed with purple-pink ray-flowers. Hybrids and selections of purple coneflower come in a host of flower colors, from white to red to yellow.
Tall sedums continue to look attractive in the garden well into winter. (Image by Jessie Keith)
The North American prairies are home to several other perennials that make great winter garden ornaments. The silver-white, spherical flower heads of rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) ripen into spiky globes that resemble some sort of miniature medieval weaponry. They cluster atop 3-foot stems that arise from rosettes of fleshy, spiny, yucca-like leaves. False indigo (Baptisia australis) and its kin are big bushy legumes that produce blue, white, or yellow pea-flowers in late spring and early summer, followed by peapods that become leathery and brown-black as the seeds mature in fall. All make wonderful low-maintenance perennials with spring-to-winter interest.
Attractive seedpods are also a feature of the many butterfly weeds (Asclepias spp.) that dot the prairies and fields of eastern and central North America. The pods split in fall to release seeds that float away on tufts of white down. Orange-flowered Asclepias tuberosa is one of the best, as is Asclepias purpurascens, which has rose to purple blooms. Tall Sedums (Sedum spp.) of all types also grace the winter with seedheads that can remain attractive through winter. Sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) is one of the numerous Clematis species (including many shrubby and vining perennials native to central and eastern North America) that bear seeds with plumy, silver-white appendages that continue to draw onlookers long after their flowers have fallen. Heavy-blooming plants appear to be enveloped with a feathery froth as the seeds (and their plumes) mature. As with all of the above (as well as the scores of other perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees with ornamental seeds), they’re essential elements of the winter garden and splendid accents for fall and winter flower arrangements.
Geranium sanguineum ‘John Elsley’ “knitting” into a silvery lungwort. (Image by Jessie Keith)
Flopping is often frowned upon in the perennial garden (and quickly corrected with bamboo stakes, peasticks, or other mechanisms, if it occurs). Some perennials, however, make a virtue out of laxity, their trailing growth providing the perfect foil to the upright stems of delphiniums, New England asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), and garden phlox (Phlox paniculata). In flower gardens, as in containers, nothing complements a towering thriller better than a contrasting spiller.
Trailing perennials are especially valuable for their ability to knit together with other garden elements, upright or otherwise. Mass them at the fringe of a perennial border, and they unify what lies behind them. Position them near a path or patio, and their tumbling stems interrupt and soften the line between hardscape and softscape. And they’re literally made for walls, producing cascades of texture and color that bring the landscape alive.
Margins and walls are not the only places where trailing perennials do their knitting. They excel at covering the voids left by large perennials that go dormant in early summer, such as oriental poppies (Papaver orientale) and bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis). Many will thread their stems through upright neighboring perennials, intermingling their contrasting foliage and blooms. Some ground-hugging sprawlers (including creeping thyme, Thymus serpyllum) can even be planted into lawns to form textured, flowering patchworks.
Here’s a sampling of some of the best of these perennial “knitters”.
Winecups (Callirhoe involucrata)
A native of dry prairies throughout the Central U.S., winecups (Callirhoe involucrata) has just about everything a North American gardener could want, including cold-hardiness (USDA Zones 4-9), drought-tolerance, and a long season of showy blooms. Its lax stems typically form low mats, but will also clamber up neighboring plants or cascade down banks or walls. The bowl-shaped, bright purplish-pink, white-eyed blooms continue for many weeks in summer along new portions of the continually lengthening growth. Several other species of Callirhoe – of various habit – are also well worth growing. All of them prosper in dry habitats.
Moss phlox (Phlox subulata) is so common as to be dismissed by gardeners who should know better. But, just because a plant species is sold at hardware stores and supermarkets (as well as about every other establishment that deals in plants) doesn’t mean that it’s unfit for sophisticated gardens. Hailing from dry slopes and ledges in the East and Central U.S., this needle-leaved evergreen can’t be beat for draping down a wall, or covering a dry slope, or fronting a xeric perennial planting. Its filigreed foliage would be reason enough to grow it, even if it weren’t also a prolific early-spring bloomer. Gardeners who are put off by brassy-flowered forms of this species have any number of subtler cultivars from which to choose. It’s worth considering for any sunny garden within USDA Zones 3 to 9.
Phlox subulata ‘Fort Hill’ (Image by Jessie Keith)
Several trailing bellflowers (Campanula spp.) occur on ledges and embankments in European mountains and take well to similar habitats in gardens. Among the most vigorous of the lot is Serbian bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana), which in late spring bears starry blue flowers on low, 3- to 4-foot-wide hummocks. The typically sprawling stems will also clamber or drape, given the opportunity. Plants tolerate a wide range of conditions and may become overly rambunctious in moist, fertile soil. Other bellflowers for edging or walls include Campanula cochlearifolia, C. carpatica, C. garganica, and C. portenschlagiana.
Also from Europe is another trailing perennial that excels on sunny dry slopes: bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum). A variable plant, it typically matures into a sprawling, 6- to 10-inch-tall mound of deeply lobed foliage, decked in late spring and summer with magenta, pink, or white, dark-veined flowers. This hardy (USDA Zones 5 to 9), a durable perennial is perhaps at its best in naturalistic plantings, where it can be allowed to seed around into informal colonies.
Clematis × durandii (Image by Leonora Enking)
An excellent geranium for threading through perennials and shrubs is the Geranium ‘Rozanne’, prized for its early-summer-to-frost bounty of purplish-blue flowers. This lanky, 2- to 3-footer will also sprawl obligingly across gaps left by early-dormant perennials.
The legendary garden designer Gertrude Jekyll liked to cover such gaps with the lax, non-climbing growth of, a hybrid between the shrubby Clematis integrifolia and the vining Clematislanuginosa. Its toppling, 7-foot stems bear a summer-long succession of large starry violet-blue flowers that resemble those of its vining parent. Other clematis for this purpose include Clematis recta, a 5-foot, splaying perennial that envelops itself in summer with small fragrant white flowers; and ‘Mrs. Robert Brydon’, another shrub/vine hybrid whose flopping 8-foot stems carry billowing clusters of pale-blue blooms in August and September.
Hardy perennials for knitting can be planted in fall. Good soil preparation and light mulch will help them become established and protect them through the winter months. Fafard® Premium Natural & Organic Compost should be worked into the soil at planting time and added as a light mulch around newly installed perennials.
Spider chrysanthemums, such as ‘Kishinonishi’, produce long tubular ray florets which may coil or hook at the ends. (Photo by Jessie Keith)
There’s so much more to chrysanthemums than the ubiquitous “garden mum”. Spider chrysanthemums are a wonderful and weirdly beautiful example. Like common “garden mums”, they trace their origin to hybrids of Chrysanthemum indicum, first developed in China more than 2000 years ago. Over the centuries, these so-called “florist’s chrysanthemums”, known botanically as Chrysanthemum morifolium, have diverged into a dizzying array of forms and colors, some of them bordering on the bizarre.
Which, brings us back to spider mums. As described by the National Chrysanthemum Society, this class of florist’s chrysanthemums produces blossoms with “long tubular ray florets which may coil or hook at the ends.” The masses of spaghetti-thin, curling “petals” do indeed have a spidery, or medusa-like, or starburst effect – spectacular in some cases, and almost sinister in others. Their distinctive form makes them favorites in wedding bouquets and other special-occasion floral arrangements.
As with most of the 13 classes of Chrysanthemum morifolium, spider mums have been bred and selected mainly for cut-flowers rather than for garden use. Consequently, few can tolerate frozen winters. Their October bloom times also leave them vulnerable to fall frost, limiting their usefulness as annuals to regions where frost comes a bit later (USDA zones 6-7 and warmer). Where suitable, they make choice additions to cut-flower borders and attention-grabbing (but relatively fussy) alternatives to common garden mums.
In the garden, spider mums are best planted in spring after the danger of frost has passed. They thrive in full to partial sun and friable, fertile, humus-rich soil. Numerous cultivars are available by mail order from specialty growers, with a few sometimes finding their way to local nurseries and greenhouses. Among the most notable are ‘Descanso’, which bears huge medusa blooms in shades of bronze and apricot, the white-flowered ‘Chesapeake’, and ‘Fleur de Lis’ with its fountains of lilac-pink “petals”. To find these and other spider mums, visit King’s Mums.
Of course, in whatever climate, spider chrysanthemums can be grown the traditional way: in containers. Young plants purchased in late winter or early spring will prosper indoors or out (after danger of frost) in a coarse, fertile, compost-based potting mix, such as Fafard Professional Potting Mix. A deep 4-inch pot is good to start, but vigorously growing plants should be moved to larger containers every couple of months. After plants flower, they can be cut back and kept relatively dry in a cool, frost-free location.
For the full traditional effect, these mums should be disbudded. This involves pruning out all but a few stems and removing most or all of their side shoots. Only one to several flower buds are left to develop at the tip of each stem, resulting in exceptionally large blooms – just the thing to wow greenhouse visitors or chrysanthemum show judges. If you don’t disbud, you will get more flowers, but they will be smaller.
Chrysanthemums come in many other forms, such as this irregular incurve, ‘Kokka Senkin’. These and many others can be viewed at select Chrysanthemum shows across the country.
Several U.S. public gardens – including Smith College Botanical Garden in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania – offer the ultimate in chrysanthemum “wow”, staging lavish displays of hundreds to thousands of florist’s chrysanthemums, grown (and disbudded) to perfection. Spiders, Anemones, Quills, and all manner of other chrysanthemums take center stage at Lyman Conservatory at the Botanic Garden of Smith College from November 5 to 20, and at Longwood’s 4-acre conservatory from October 22 to November 20. These chrysanthemum celebrations will convince even the most jaded observer that there’s far more to mums than the cushion mounds at the local garden center.
Wild senna (background with yellow flower) is a big, bold perennial that’s great for large sunny flower borders.
It takes all types to make a perennial border, from seasonal thrillers (such as oriental poppies and hybrid tulips) to carpeting fillers. But no type is more valuable than the sort that is tall and trouble-free and has handsome foliage that doesn’t quit. Such dominant, “architectural” perennials are perfect for providing the structural backbone of the border, punctuating and unifying it with season-long form and texture.
Many of the best architectural species for sunny borders hail from the prairies and meadows of central and eastern North American, where big, beautiful perennials reign supreme.
Eastern bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana), for example, occurs in moist open habitats from the upper Mid-Atlantic to Texas. A variable plant in the wild, in cultivation it typically forms 3- to 4-foot-tall clumps of sturdy upright stems clothed with slender, willowy, lance-shaped leaves. The foliage stays healthy and lush all growing season. Clusters of powder-blue, star-shaped flowers cover the plant in mid-spring, and the leaves glow butter yellow in fall. This long-lived species will thrive for decades in fertile, humus-rich garden soil. (Sandy or clay soil can be amended with a good amendment, such as Fafard Premium Topsoil).
The leaves of Actaea rubifolia are very large and textural.
Several other bluestar species are also well worth growing, especially Hubricht’s bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii), whose narrow, ribbon-like leaves form feathery 3-foot mounds. It, too, blooms blue in spring and turns buttery yellow in fall. The compact hybrid cultivar ‘Blue Ice’ is likely the best of all Amsonia for the garden, though its tidy, compact stature is less bold and architectural than most species.
Wild indigo (Baptisia australis) shares Eastern bluestar’s general geographic range, bloom time, stature, and longevity. Its spires of violet-blue flowers, however, are a different thing entirely. So, too, are its grayish-green, three-parted leaves and large, inflated seed pods. Plants emerge relatively late in spring, the asparagus-like new shoots developing rapidly into leafy 3- to 4-foot domes (or 18 to 24 inches in the case of subspecies minor). Yellow wild indigo (Baptisia sphaerocarpa) does much the same thing, but with grayer foliage and luminous yellow flowers. It’s also more adaptable to dry sites, making it a good choice for xeric gardens. White-flowered wild indigo species include lofty white wild indigo (Baptisia alba) and the relatively compact longbract wild indigo (Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea), which holds its creamy blooms on gracefully bowing stems.
Aralia racemosa is striking in the landscape.
Yet another lordly legume from the central and eastern U.S., wild senna (Senna hebecarpa) produces bright yellow midsummer flowers on towering stems that can reach 6 or 7 feet in sites with moist, fertile soil. The pinnate, ferny leaves give it a light, airy presence, despite its imposing size.
The same can be said of Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum). Its majestic, 4- to 6-foot stems carry well-spaced, star-like whorls of narrow, pointed leaves, to elegant, almost weightless effect. Candelabras of frothy white or pink flowers develop atop the stems in midsummer. Like wild senna, it grows best in full sun to light shade and moist, relatively fertile soil, and is native to much of central and eastern North America.
The steppes of Central Asia are another hotbed of large, handsome perennials, including the misleadingly dubbed Russian sage. In fact, Perovskia ariplicifolia (and its near-twin, Perovskia abrotanoides) is from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tibet, rather than Russia. No matter; it’s still among the best architectural perennials for hot, sunny garden habitats with dry, lean soil. Technically a subshrub, it sends up 2- to 5-foot, silvery stems from a low, woody framework. Dainty, fuzzy, aromatic leaves line the stems’ lower reaches, below branching clusters of misty lavender-blue summer flowers. Numerous selections and hybrids of the species are available, including lace-leaved ‘Filigran’ and dwarf ‘Little Spire’.
The starry flowers of Aralia racemosa add unique appeal to shaded gardens.
Two of the finest groups of perennials for shady gardens have both Asian and North American roots. The genus Aralia offers architecture aplenty, comprising some of the supreme foliage plants for partial to full shade. Eastern North American native spikenard (Aralia racemosa) gradually matures into a 4- to 6-foot clump of immense compound leaves that suggest something tropical. Sprays of small, white, starburst flower clusters stand tall in midsummer, ripening to purple berries. Some forms of spikenard have burgundy-purple stems that add to the drama. East Asian aralias include A. cordata and its radiant chartreuse-yellow cultivar ‘Sun King’.
Members of the erstwhile genus Cimicifuga (recently lumped into Actaea) also loom large in the shady perennial border, both literally and figuratively. With their artfully divided leaves and showy candles of fragrant white flowers, bugbanes are perfect for bringing life and light to the garden. Maroon-leaved cultivars such as ‘Black Negligee’ are the current darlings of designers, but perhaps the gem of the genus is Actaea rubifolia, from the mountains of the Southeast U.S. The luxuriant, jagged, maple-like foliage alone puts it in the first rank of perennials, and its showy white wands are the equal of any bugbane.
Although spectacular on their own, containerized cannas make an even more extravagant statement if combined with other heat-loving plants. For example, the flowers and foliage of gold- and red-hued Coleus provide a striking foil for the sunset foliar tones of Canna ‘Phaison’ (right). The possibilities are practically limitless, given cannas’ wide range of floral and foliage colors.
Cannas slow their pace in fall, requiring reduced water as they gradually die back to their rhizomes. Dormant plants can be moved indoors, pot and all, for the winter, or the rhizomes can be lifted and stored in paper bags in a well-ventilated location. Either way, cool temperatures (below 60 degrees F) are best for storage.
Whatever the best cherry trees for your place and purposes, they’ll need constant care to thrive. Apply organic fertilizer and a layer of compost in spring, followed by 1 or 2 inches of bark mulch to keep the soil moist and cool and to inhibit weeds. Prune out spindly twigs, unproductive branches, water sprouts, and other superfluous growth in midsummer (avoid pruning during rainy or humid spells).
