New (to Me) Plants for 2014

(Photo: Proven Winners)  Clematis 'Diamond Ball'

I have been plant hunting.  Oh, I haven't been scaling mountains in Turkey or Japan looking for something incredible, beautiful, and rare.  I have been traveling down the alleyways of the internet, which for someone curtailed by a walker and fairly housebound, is almost as much fun.  The cold weather makes it even more fun to contemplate possibly warmer days.

Anticipating walking unaided and removing myself from my brother's family's bene-magnificient care,  I have been spending some time looking at some of the new plants out there. 

Now, I can't possibly keep up with all the new annuals or the new and improved veggies on the market (and I have been saving veggie seed to develop some provenance, anyway, so sweet corn is about all I will look at these days).    Having no access to water for the family vegetable garden is something which I may have to deal with this year, so seed and vegetable selection and planting methods will need to keep drought-tolerance in mind.  I have also been analyzing how to incorporate more edibles into my borders in my home garden, too.  Curly parsley and 'Thai Queen' basil could be most enjoyably incorporated into the long border, a touch of deep green and dark purple.

Those struggles aside, perennials and shrubs are something I can wrap my hands around, though.

I have to say I am still waiting on the opinions to completely form regarding the pink Annabelle, Invincible. I'm waiting for that to mature in a couple gardens I know to see what I think of that one.  After Endless Summer series hype, I have become a bit leery regarding hydrangea other than the paniculatas, of which I am a confirmed big fan.

Clematis 'Diamond Ball' looks promising.  Almost no one I know grows any double clematis.  Double clematis look tropical in this area of central Wisconsin, which with the Polar Vortex and the sun hanging so low in the sky for almost the entire day, seems to have more in common with the Artic Tundra than places such a clematis might grow.

Researching 'Diamond Ball' and clematis scotti (actually hunting plants or seed on that one, with no luck) have led me to admire several beautiful images of clematis alpina.  I realized I choose two years ago to add to a pergola as a companion to a rose.  Last year I had just a scant half dozen blooms near the ground.  As it blooms on old wood it is a perfect companion for the unidentified (might be 'Eden') rose which is its companion, Neither climber will need much grooming other than for shape over the coming years.  given the exuberant growth this clematis experienced last year, I am anticipating loads of bloom competeing for trellis space.

Unidentified rose, maybe 'Eden'?

(Photo: Proven Winners) Rhododendron 'Handy Man Purple'

I would love to add more big, showy rhododendrons to my garden.  The breeding behind 'Handy Man' makes it a possible candidate.  I also have a couple 'Diabolo' ninebarks I have been trying to keep small.  'Tiny Wine' might make a better choice.

(Photo: Proven Winners) Ninebark 'Tiny Wine'

I have also been fascinated by alpine plants of late and have been hunting seed.   In addition to looking, make that drooling, over clematis and the continual hunt for that one rose; I have been looking at sub-tropical bulbs.

The cranberry taro (also known as red stemmed rhubarb colocasia) combined with this airy grass and peachy orange coleus  in this planting in the Janesville Rotary Gardens last fall.captured  my imagination.

I would also like to see if I can grow dierama from a bulb each year like we do dahlias.

I am also anticipating the corner of my garden where the black Austrian pine was shading a lot of the plants there to be much more spectacular this year.  Lacking sun, plants were diminishing, rather than expanding there.  Also this coming summer, I will be enjoying some new daylilies purchased from Dr. Apps through the Kiwanis fund-raiser last fall.  I think they will bring me much joy.

These are some of my plant musings keeping me warm these days of the Polar Vortex.  What new to you plants are you considering this year?

View of a Different Garden

View of a garden taken through the glass

This is my new garden view. It is a garden I drew up a plan for over five years ago.  It is a very formal parterre, 30' wide by 90' deep.  It has a diamond in the center with a fountain and pea gravel walks leading from each point and around the center diamond.  On the longitudinal sides are privet, which if maintained as I do in my yard could be a nice privatizing element, but is overgrown even with my impromptu hedging efforts taking it back a foot or so about once a year.  The differences with this privet hedge and my own show the need for constant pruning of privet used in this way.

There were several poor plant choices made in the lay out of this garden, however there are also a couple plant choices which have been excellent.  Lining the pea gravel paths is Autumn Joy sedum backed with shades of blue iris.  I would say the first 3-4 years this was an incredibly good choice.  It always showed to advantage.  At this point being perennial, desperately needs to be re-divided widening the path.

Pointing up each of the centers of the corner rhomboid shapes are Alberta spruce.  The original thought was to clip them into a formal spiral.  Clipping is, however, a time-consuming activity, and has not been done.  Running parallel to the center diamond are bands of yew clipped flat in a wide curled double "S".  There are some good bones here.

Plants were massed in the planted areas.  Still, there are a large number of interesting plants here:  the large large-leaved rhododendron which bloom in large balls of bloom in the spring, the Annabelle hydrangea, sundrops, allium glaucum, pink and white bleeding heart, masses of Asiatic and Orienpet lilies, various other species alliums.  There are also pedestrian things like rudbeckia which, however, is a good choice interplanted with the sundrops providing a continuously blooming triangle.

As the long view of this garden positions the sunrise behind the fountain from my window and the fall fog will hang like a mist above this garden at sunrise it provide a view of a garden in transitional light with the dew hanging heavy on the fall-colored foliage.  The fall colors backlit in the morning sunlight is something not present in my home garden.  It is an aspect of the light I have been admiring here, however over-run "my" new garden is.

It brings me joy.