Fall Nursery Shopping
Tuesday 24 November 2009 - Filed under Nurseries + Plants
I love plant shopping this time of year. I refuse to give in to the notion that the winter garden has to be dominated by naked trees and bare ground. I have aspirations to make my winter garden something to look forward to, just as I do spring. Evergreens are a staple, when they maintain a stable presence that doesn’t disappear in winter. But I also like the changes of the season, I’m always on the lookout for plants that have tricks up their sleeve, something you only get to see in winter, so there are new garden developments to look forward to, rather than a less vibrant version of the summer garden. Weekend before last, on my very first trip to Tsugawa Nursery, I found a good source for those fabulous under appreciated winter interest plants I’m looking to collect.
Sparkleberry winterberry. How fantastic is that name? Sparkleberry. Ilex verticillata gets vibrant red berries appear in late summer/early fall and hold on well into spring. All that decoration, plus they attract all kinds of birds including the cedar waxwings and flickers that can be lured into Portland backyards.
I go back and forth on whether I like evergreens that turn brownish in winter, but this Cryptomeria Japonica ‘elegans’ reminds me of another tree I’ve had on my list the last couple years. To save any confusion, yes, I’m being totally serious about that pink tree.
In the landscape it adds nice contrast with more standard colored evergreens.
Sometimes my enthusiasm for plants dies down after I track down one of my own, but I still get excited about sightings of Chief Joseph Pine out in the world. In summer, it likes to lie low, fading to a more standard pine green, but when the temperatures dip low at night, it lights up with bright gold needles through the rest of the winter. They’re a little hard to find, so a nursery sighting is sort of a big deal. They had two, about 2 feet tall each, with $350 price tags. Yikes. Which is why my own Chief Joesph Pine is considerably smaller but no less beloved.
My very own, which might not have the full sun that is ideal, has put on much larger and widely spaced needles since taking up residence in a partially sunny spot in my back yard.
Along the lines of never counting a plant out, I would have sworn to you a year ago that I would never be a fan of Oregon Grape, but I know now that it’s only a matter of time before I start to see the merits of a plant. This variety, Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’ had me debating about finding a spot in the garden. Evergreen with yellow flowers in fall. It does meet the criteria of plants that can be the star of their own show in the off season.
So many plants to want, so little available ground to put them in.
2009-11-24 » megan
24 November 2009 @ 11:40 am
Our Cryptomeria has never gone through the promised change of color. I wonder if it gets too little sun?
These are good suggestions. I have backed off on the search for plants, but I think you have the right idea. Shopping now would reveal the jewels in the winter season’s crown.
24 November 2009 @ 12:06 pm
That’s a lovely mahonia – the leaves are completely uncharacteristic of more common nervosa or aquifolium.
And I’m beginning to see the problem of too many plants, too little space for them myself. Who would have thought I’d be there in such a short number of years!
24 November 2009 @ 12:17 pm
And so why have you not bought the pink Christmas tree? DO IT! You’ll never regret it. I love my tinsel tree!
I saw a Mahonia at Garden Fever last week that I liked too. Not as nice as this one but still cool. Seeing your picture I’m wishing I would have bought this one, I had forgotten all about it!
24 November 2009 @ 12:45 pm
Love the sparkleberry. Winter gardening can be so interesting! I say go back and get that mahonia. I just noticed today mine is starting to bloom-yahoo!
24 November 2009 @ 10:05 pm
ricki – Interesting, so the Cryptomeria has potential to go the way of that elusive Euphorbia ‘blackbird’ so many of us have had trouble growing. Good to know.
Jane – those garden beds fill up awfully quickly don’t they?
Loree – I just keep thinking next year I won’t want a pink tree anymore. But oh, now you have me thinking I should go for it.
Tina – Oh good, a mahonia testimonial. Now I know I should have picked it up!
24 November 2009 @ 10:15 pm
That sparkleberry is super fabulous, maybe just pot one of those up for your living room and who needs a Christmas tree (or ornaments)?! I am relieved you are still loving your ‘Chief Joseph,’ having been among those who strongly urged you to get it. Every time you see one for $350, you can smile. Never seen a mahonia like that – I have resisted them but put in some ordinary ones this year in tough spots because I don’t really care if they die.
26 November 2009 @ 8:23 am
you probably are just not a fan of north american mahonias.
aquifolium always seems a bit ragged and hard to control in a small garden to me. i like them in roadside plantings when they bloom.
nervosa is pretty hard to establish, hard to transplant, and grows incredibly slowly. i think its best appreciated during hikes.
the chinese varieties i think are better for NW gardens. winter color changes to yellow and red in sun. winter flowering. hummingbird attractors. if you pick up a few varieties you can have a continuous flower show from nov. to feb. in the spring/summer they have pretty good looking edible fruits. not exactly the best tasting fruit in the word- but would do in a pinch (zombie apocalypse, etc.)
you can train them to be somewhat tree like (check out the arthur menzies at leach botanical gardens) or shrub like.
WHAT IS NOT TO LIKE?