Berberis darwinii - Evergreen
It's hard to believe it's already the month of April. My oldest daughter will be 37 soon and she worked in the nursery with me when she was 13 years old! What a treat it was to have a child so avid, as well as a sponge, that soaked up every tidbit she was exposed to then took it ten times further.
Her plant knowledge amazes me still - the relationships she could detect between plants went way beyond what I ever taught her.
Ah reminiscing is all well and good but the shrubs are impatient for us to notice the delights they have in store for us now. Starting with Berberis darwinii - the Darwin Barberry from South America discovered by you-know-who - is a terrific, low maintenance shrub with vivid golden-orange flowers coming from deep orange buds. If you want some screening from the neighbors or road this barberry will work well. You can also prune as desired if you don't want it to get too large. Powder blue berries form in the fall which the birds will eat. It's a full service plant with very little work required. Would be lovely incorporated into a hedgerow as well.
Corylopsis spicata - Spike Winter hazel
Gracefully curving branches on this winter hazel reach upward and out making for a lovely profile. Pale buttery yellow flower bells hang in groups with little red stamens giving a color detail for a closer inspection as you peruse your chilly spring garden with either clippers in hand or a cup of hot tea.
I like doing a bit of pruning on my old corylopsis this time of year so I can enjoy emerging flowers on the branches I bring in the house. The slightly heart-shaped leaves are a fresh vivid green with a pink rim - new leaves emerging with that same brilliant color keep this shrub looking 'spring-like' well into the summer. Yellow fall foliage takes us one step further along in the 4 seasons of interest. The silhouette is also attractive in the winter.
Osmanthus x burkwoodii - evergreen and oh so fragrant
This very versatile shrub forms the hedge around the front entrance. It is a moderate growing evergreen which happily the deer are not fond of. It's massively budded up now ready to burst open any day with a delightfully sweet, fragrant, pure white flower. This is such a durable shrub, which gets to 12' tall if allowed, and is so underused in the northwest. Most effective as a hedge, yet escallonia is planted far more frequently probably because it blooms all summer. But during our past 2 winters the escallonia have lost most of their leaves and look downright scrappy for months before they leaf out again! Wouldn't you rather have a dependable evergreen with a shorter yet fragrant bloom time that will always look great all though the winter? It also has a little sister Osmanthus delavayi which also has very fragrant flowers of white and stays much shorter. We have some fabulous looking 5 gallons in stock of this right now.
Ribes gordonianum - Gordon's Current
Delicate two tone blooms of coral pink and palest yellow make this a very showy early spring flower. The stock plant is loaded with buds now that the hummers anxiously await to open. It's a shorter grower than one of it's parents - the red flowering current and has a graceful arching habit. The color is definitely unusual and so elegant. There is nothing special about the fall foliage so put it someplace you can enjoy when in full glory in early spring.
Spirea 'Magic Carpet'
A vivid and small growing shrub which the deer and rabbits don't care for make this a perfect plant for long season interest in our Whidbey gardens. The new foliage starts emerging in March with a deep coral leaf. As the plant matures the leaves go to golden yellow but still have the tips of growth with the coral - making for a happy show for months. About mid summer bright pink flower clusters add to the color display useful in gardens where you want some punch among the standard greens. It only gets about 2-3' and is easy to sheer to size as it is naturally a mound shape grower.
Physocarpus 'Center Glow'
Richly colored ninebark is both easy to grow and drought tolerant. I know at this time of year when all we see is rain, rain, rain, it's hard to remember we might head into months of little to no rain. Being a sole source aquifer, as we are on Whidbey, it's good to be aware of planting some of your gardens with drought tolerant plants like this stunning shrub with it's coppery colored foliage. It's bloom clusters are creamy white followed by hard triangle shaped seeds of a deep red - which actually stand our against the striking foliage. It's a good plant to use in floral arrangements with it's unusual color. Gets about 6-7' tall and 6-8' wide but takes to pruning as well. The stems do a neat exfoliating striping thing that shows up in the winter more when the foliage is off.
Ok I figured if you got this far on the blog you needed something entertaining so here is my great Mother's Day gift from my husband last year - a customized mask for being able to get within 6" of our hummingbird feeder. It works like a charm. I just have to stand still and the hummers can't see my face inside the welders mask which Tom covered with various red paper. If you look closely you will see the bird flying in for a feeding - it's the large dot between the feeder and the orange cup devise on the mask. The birds get so close with this mask on I have to wear my reading glasses to focus on their feathers and the rapidly beating chest as their powerful little heart moves the breast feathers.
There is one other plant combo I must tell you about. Unfortunately my camera has not returned from repairs or I'd include a photo of these 2 incredible plants together. Picture if you can a blue green Euphorbia martinii leaf with the deep rose pink reverse. It is sitting next to the very showy Hellebore 'Pink Frost'. This is a recent development and really stands apart from other hellebores. The pink starts out lighter from deep pink buds then ages into a melony / coral / rich dusty rose pink. As you can see it is hard to pin down just how to describe it. One thing it does is change color alot as it ages and is always stunningly beautiful. And if that weren't enough it is a strongly out-facing flower so you can see all it's glory. The pink on the flower and the pink reverse of the leaves of the euphorbia marry with each other in a magnificent way. It almost looks like whoever did the hybridizing was trying to match these plants up. Come on by the nursery and check them out along with all the other things. New plants arriving almost weekly and with it spring things change rapidly.
