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Designing with Native Plants

More and more of our customers are becoming interested in native plants, which we have been promoting since we opened our nursery in 1992. If you would like to know more about why growing native plants is important to our survival, click here. Now there is a design book, Native Plants for Small Yards by Kate Brandeis, that can help you seamlessly incorporate native plants into your landscape.

I am dedicating this post to doctors, nurses, and other health care workers all over the country who are still caring for very ill COVID-19 patients while the rest of us think about reopening. This crisis has taken a terrible toll on them as shown in this excellent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer where three doctors discuss how they cope. We owe it to them to continue to be careful and not spread the virus.

Nursery News: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops within the US. For catalogues and announcements of local events, please send your full name, mailing address, and cell number to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com and indicate whether you are interested in snowdrops. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.

.Each design in the book begins with a rendering of what the garden will look like, here a back patio garden

The author begins by explaining why native plants are important and her purpose in writing the book: introducing readers to the beautiful native plants that are suitable for small, residential landscapes. Brandeis wants to dispel the notion that native plants are messy, hard to manage, and do not fit in with suburban neighborhoods. She then gives some general design advice and explains how to use the nine design templates in the book.

Designs are provided for the following areas frequently found in small yards: corner gardens, mailbox plantings, water features, containers, downspout areas, rock walls, front porches, sidewalk strips, and back patios.

A schematic drawing, plant list, and photos are provided for each design.

Each of the nine suggested designs is rendered in a schematic drawing, which is clearly labeled to show plant placement and the number of plants needed per square foot. Next to the design is a list separating the plants by height and color coordinated with the design.

Alternate plant lists for varying cultural conditions are also provided.

The plants used in each schematic drawing are chosen for the conditions listed above the plan. For example, the back patio design is for drier conditions and more shade. However, on a third page for each design, the author provides alternate plant lists for varying conditions, also color coded for height and to show where they go on the plan. For the back patio design, there are plant lists for drier areas with more sun, wetter areas with more shade, and wetter areas with more sun. At the end of the design section, Brandeis explains how to install and maintain the gardens.

There are four pages of full color drawings of invasive plants.

Even if you do not use the designs, the book is worth purchasing just for the resources in the back. Appendix A features drawings of the 17 most common weeds, all of which we seem to have in our garden. Appendix B has renderings of 13 invasive plants to be avoided.

The book includes an extensive table of Native Plants for Small Spaces.

There is a 13-page Native Plant Table, listing native shrubs, vines, perennials, and grasses for various light and soil conditions. The table shows the scientific and common names, height, width, color, bloom time, and use in design for each plant as well as the plant’s light and moisture requirements and tolerance for deer, rabbits, heavy shade, drought, clay soil, black walnuts, etc. Finally, Brandeis profiles ten small trees suitable for residential landscapes.

If you wish to purchase this valuable and informative guide, it is available from the Lehigh Gap Nature Center located in Slatington, Pennsylvania. It is a great time to support this nature center (and all nonprofits) as they have been closed down by COVID-19. The book costs $10 plus postage and is available by emailing mail@lgnc.org. It makes a great gift for all your gardening friends and relatives.

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Our woodland garden, which is filled predominantly with native plants, is in full bloom right now. If you would like to see a video of our woodland in bloom, there is one on our Facebook page here, just scroll down past upcoming events to videos.

Blogs are a lot more fun for everyone, especially the writer, when readers leave comments. Scroll down to the end of the page to the box where it says “Leave a Reply” and start typing—-it’s easy!

Carolyn

.Notes: Every word that appears in orange on my blog is a link that you can click for more information. If you want to return to my blog’s homepage to access the sidebar information (catalogues, previous articles, etc.) or to subscribe to my blog, just click here.

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A Beautiful Garden, Part Two

Posted in garden essay, Garden Tour, How to, landscape design with tags Carolyn's Shade Gardens, elements of garden design, garden design, garden maintenance, garden ornaments on February 10, 2018 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

It continues to be cold, wet, and overcast in southeastern Pennsylvania, so I thought photos of a beautiful garden in its May glory would be welcome. Michael and I visited the garden, which is located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, US, on May 23, 2017, for an event sponsored by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. In a previous post, The Elements of a Beautiful Garden, I wrote about eight important concepts that work together to create a beautiful garden. This garden, which was lovingly designed and maintained by the homeowners, contains all those elements.

Nursery News: Local customers can order winter interest plants like hellebores, cyclamen, winter aconite, and more in the 2018 Winter Interest Plant Catalogue, to access it click here.

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.

The front garden has lovely lines.

I highly recommend that you read my previous post by clicking here. Each element is explained in more detail with accompanying photos. However, here is a list of the elements to think about as you view this glorious May garden:

A Good Design
Lots of Plants
Lots of the Same Plants
Attention to Detail
Trial and Error
Use of Hardscape
Garden Ornaments and Containers
Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance

Chinese ginger and ‘Golden Tiara’ hosta, contrasting colors and complimentary shapes. Every plant in the garden was healthy and robust.

.The walls of the house were an important part of the garden.

Color was used sparingly and really stood out from the luxurious green backgrounds.

The garden was divided into charming garden rooms. The rose-covered archway led to steps down to the pool, just visible in the upper right of the photo.

Healthy, well-maintained boxwoods made a great edge and provided continuity from one garden “room” to the next.

Containers were used very artistically, not too many and just the right scale.

The birdhouse was a focal point from many areas of the garden.

Hillside above the pool.

This path led from the pool area, through the gate, and around to the main lawn area—simple and elegant.

The back terrace has a sweeping view down to the woods below.

The view from the back terrace.

.The entire lawn area was edged with native ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas backed by mature shrub specimens like this lilac.

View of the terrace from the lawn area.

This garden inspired me to focus on the elements of my own garden, and I hope you too will find it inspirational!

Carolyn

Nursery Happenings: You can sign up to receive catalogues and emails about nursery events by sending your full name and phone number to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information. Please indicate if you will be shopping at the nursery or are mail order only.

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

Facebook: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens has a Facebook Page where I post single photos, garden tips, and other information that doesn’t fit into a blog post. You can look at my Facebook page here or click the Like button on my right sidebar here.

Notes: Every word that appears in orange on my blog is a link that you can click for more information. If you want to return to my blog’s homepage to access the sidebar information (catalogues, previous articles, etc.) or to subscribe to my blog, just click here.

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Fun with Mini Hostas in Containers

Posted in container gardening, containers for shade, hosta, How to, miniature hosta, my garden, New Plants with tags asarum europeum, Athyrium filix-femina 'Minutissimum', Carolyn's Shade Gardens, container gardening, dwarf hostas, dwarf lady fern, dwarf Solomon's seal, European ginger, Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears', Hosta 'Cracker Crumbs', Hosta 'Curly Fries', Hosta 'Frosted Mouse Ears', Hosta 'Green Mouse Ears', Hosta 'Holy Mouse Ears', Hosta 'Sun Mouse', Hosta 'Twist of Lime', Hosta Appletini, Hosta Lakeside Cupcake, Hosta Pandora's Box, hostas in containers, little hostas, mini hosta companion plants, mini hostas, mini hostas for sale, miniature hosta, miniature hosta mail order, miniature hostas, Polygonatum humile, sedums with mini hostas, small hostas on May 18, 2017 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

You can use all sorts of fun containers to house your mini hostas. Here ‘Lakeside Cupcake’ and ‘Teaspoon’ (back row) and ‘Sun Mouse’ and ‘Munchkin Fire’ (front row) join mini hosta companion plants dwarf Solomon’s seal, European ginger, and dwarf lady fern in an old toolbox.

In May 2011, I wrote my fourth most popular post called Miniature (& Small) Hostas. In it I introduced a number of mini hostas and showed how to use them in the ground and in containers. To read it, click here. In this post, I continue the container theme with some new pots and some new plants in the old pots.

Nursery News: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.

‘Twist of Lime’ in a flea market metal milk pitcher.

Whether you use a smaller container with a single plant like ‘Twist of Lime’ above or a collection of plants like those featured in the toolbox at the top, there are some important rules to follow. First you must provide adequate drainage. We drill holes in the bottom of our containers and then cover them with pieces of broken terra cotta pots so they don’t get clogged. A layer of broken terra cotta in the bottom is even better.

‘Curly Fries’ continues to live in its re-purposed oil can. It would be bigger and fuller in the ground, but I think it is perfect for this container.

Second, if you intend to leave the containers outside for the winter, which is what I do, they must be made of a material that can withstand freezing like stone, metal, concrete, plastic, or high quality glazed ceramic. The plants in the container must also be able to withstand freezing, which hostas and all the companion plants I use are able to do. I store the large containers in place and move the small ones to a protected area and cover them with pine needles.

Two small hostas with contrasting habits make good container companions, here ‘Stiletto’ and ‘Blue Mouse Ears’.

Dwarf Solomon’s seal thrives in containers with hostas, filling in nicely. This container has been going strong for six years.

A small trough with a selection of rock garden plants and featuring ‘Pandora’s Box’ hosta (lower left corner) wintered over perfectly on the wall by my front steps.

Third, the container must be filled with a potting medium that drains well. Thanks to Janet Novak (who created this container) of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society (DVC-NARGS), I use a mix of one third ProMix, one third vermiculite, and one third small gravel like coarse builders sand or turkey grit. The DVC-NARGS is a great organization with wonderful speakers and events. If you are local you should consider joining, click here.

Those are the basics: now it is up to you to fill the pots. Here are some ideas from my containers:

A close up view of my toolbox, showing the contrasting textures, colors, and habits of the hostas, ginger, Solomon’s seal, and fern.

This is a view of the top of my glazed strawberry pot filled with 17 different mini hostas.

I have had this dish garden in full shade along my front steps for years. It features the bright gold of ‘Appletini’ and ‘Cracker Crumbs’ mini hostas, among others, and ‘Purple Form’ and ‘Tricolor’ sedum along with European ginger, which adds great shiny, round texture.

This antique stone trough filled with Mouse Ears hostas, my personal favorites, has been going for years too. This end holds ‘Holy Mouse Ears’, ‘Green Mouse Ears’, and ‘Blue Mouse Ears’, among others.

A view of the other end of the Mouse Ears trough, featuring clockwise from upper left: dwarf Solomon’s seal, ‘Blue Mouse Ears’, dwarf lady fern, ‘Sunny Mouse Ears’, ‘Mighty Mouse’, ‘Voodoo’ purple sedum, and ‘Frosted Mouse Ears’.

There will be hand-carved, antique, solid stone troughs for sale on Saturday at the open house for you to use to create you own containers filled with a colorful collection of minis and companions. Four are available, first come, first served!

I hope you can stop by on Saturday between 10 am and 3 pm and see all my mini hostas containers in my garden. They are a lot of fun!

Carolyn

Nursery Happenings: You can sign up to receive catalogues and emails about nursery events by sending your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net. Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information. Please indicate if you will be shopping at the nursery or are mail order only.

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Edgeworthia Update

Posted in garden to visit, How to, my garden, Shade Shrubs, winter interest with tags Carolyn's Shade Gardens, edgeworthia, Edgeworthia chrysantha, Edgeworthia papyrifera, paper bush, paperbush on January 28, 2017 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

This is still the best photo that I have of an edgeworthia in bloom despite dozens of photos taken since my 2012 blog post. Edgeworthias without leaves are very hard to capture in a photograph. Photo taken by Rhoda Maurer and used with the permission of the Scott Arboretum. Scott Arboretum, March 2006

On December 10, 2012, I wrote an article for my blog entitled “A Shrub for all Seasons: Edgeworthia”, click here to read it. This post is my fifth most viewed of all posts since I started my blog in November of 2010. That’s saying a lot as my blog is just about to reach 2 million views! There are also 137 comments and responses on the post from readers all over the US and abroad. Readers are so interested in edgeworthias that I decided it was time to cover the topic again.

And my wholesale supplier just notified me that they will actually have edgeworthias in stock this spring so I can satisfy the demand that is usually created by showing photos of this elegant and unusual shrub. Send an email if you want to reserve one, sorry no mail order.

This edgeworthia in bloom won a blue ribbon in March of 2016 at the Philadelphia Flower Show, the world’s largest indoor flower show. Like the first photo, it shows the lovely rounded habit that can be achieved through judicious pruning and a part sun location.

Four years after my first post, edgeworthias are still very rare, and available cultural information remains sparse. In this post, I will let you know what I have learned in the last four years, but keep in mind that my observations are hardly scientific. I am not going to repeat anything in my previous post so if you are new to this plant, I suggest you read that article first, including the comments, click here.

The beautiful and wonderfully fragrant flowers of edgeworthia. Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, March 2016

First and foremost, I can say with even more assurance than in 2012 that edgeworthias are hardy in southeastern Pennsylvania, US, and surrounding areas. We are in USDA hardiness zone 7 with an average annual minimum temperature of 0 to 10 degrees F (-17.8 to -12.2 C). In January of 2014, the weather for the suburbs of Philadelphia, where Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is located, repeatedly dipped into this range and below. In spring of 2014, all the established edgeworthias that I have been following remained alive and are still thriving. However, most of them did not bloom that spring as the buds were frozen. Some had stem damage but have since recovered robustly. To put this in perspective though, many shrubs with borderline hardiness for our area died that winter.

The buds, tropical looking leaves, and cinnamon red stems of edgeworthia in fall. Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, November 2015

The buds in winter are my favorite phase of edgeworthia although it is lovely 365 days a year. Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, January 2015

The only other new hardiness information I have comes from Andrew Bunting, the former Curator of Plants at the Scott Arboretum and now Assistant Director of the Chicago Botanic Garden. Andrew points out that there are actually two species of edgeworthia, E. chrysantha and E. papyrifera. Although they are sometimes treated as synonymous, Andrew thinks they are distinct species. In his experience, E. papyrifera is much weaker in growth than E. chrysantha. Commenters on my first post agree with Andrew’s assessment. The orange-flowered edgeworthia ‘Akebono’ is apparently a cultivar of E. papyrifera, although some sources disagree. My wholesale supplier doesn’t carry it because it hasn’t proved hardy for them.

This photo shows a very large edgeworthia in bud in the Winter Garden at the Scott Arboretum. The location faces south in an exposed but part shade area. March 2013

The same edgeworthia in September 2014.

What else have I learned? Sources generally describe edgeworthia’s ultimate height and width as much smaller than is actually the case. For example, my favorite source for plant information, Missouri Botanic Garden lists the height and width as 4′ by 6′. Edgeworthias in our area grown in part shade grow to a minimum of 6′ by 6′, and the one at the Scott Arboretum in the photos above is probably 8′ by 8′. If they are grown in a sunnier spot, they are shorter and more compact but still quite large. If you read the reader comments on my first post, which are a great source for information about edgewothias in different locations and climates, many people have been surprised by the size of their edgeworthia and have had to prune it drastically or move it. Luckily, it responds well to their pruning (I have never pruned mine).

My unpruned edgeworthia is much larger than planned and is currently trying to eat my lion’s head Japanese maple. Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, November 18, 2016

Edgeworthia leaves turn yellow in the fall and sporadically through out the year. Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, November 7, 2015

The leaves also droop when the weather turns cold. Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, November 23, 2015

Edgeworthias in sunnier locations go through the fall transformation earlier and have a longer ugly duckling stage before the exquisite buds emerge from the yellow, droopy leaves. Scott Arboretum, November 6, 2016.

It is normal for the old leaves on edgeworthias to turn yellow and fall off through out the season. This has been a cause for concern for many readers, but it is something that can be ignored. In the fall all the leaves droop, turn yellow, and fall off unveiling the beautiful silver buds. The leaves also droop when it is really hot out. I think this is a natural protective measure in response to the temperature and not necessarily a sign that supplemental water is required. Other plants in my garden do this, ligularias come to mind. I have never watered my edgeworthia, even during the extended drought and high temperatures this past summer and fall. It is quite healthy.

A group of three edgeworthias behind the Scott Arboretum offices on the Swarthmore College campus. September 2014

edgeworthia-chrysantha-1-18-2017-2-11-10-am

The same group in January 2017. I feel like the edgeworthias on the Swarthmore campus are old friends as I visit them so often. If you are in this area and want to see edgeworthia specimens in a variety of cultural conditions, you should visit the Scott Arboretum.

Two final cultural pointers: I have concluded that edgeworthias grow best in part sun to part shade in an east-facing location. However, several southern gardeners have written in that they grow it in full sun, and it thrives. No one has mentioned success in full shade. Also, my original edgeworthia was planted quite close to two gigantic black walnuts. Although it has never died completely, it has slowly declined to the point where it is almost nonexistent. This is not scientific evidence of susceptibility to walnut toxicity, but I would recommend avoiding walnuts when siting edgeworthia.

Chanticleer also has a nice specimen in the courtyard near the swimming pool. October 2014

A large specimen in Charles Cresson’s garden. October 2014

Let’s keep this conversation going. If you are growing edgeworthia, please leave a comment describing your experience with it, especially if you are north of the Delaware Valley area.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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2017 Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS)

Posted in flower show, green gardening, How to, my garden, organic gardening, product review, sustainable living with tags Baltimore Maryland, Carolyn's Shade Gardens, fort mchenry, helleborus x molly's white, MANTS, Mid-Atlantic Nursery and Trade Show, molly's white hellebore, organic soils, star-spangled banner on January 15, 2017 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

A beautifully designed display decorating the MANTS booth of one of my wholesale suppliers.

Last week Michael and I attended the Mid-Atlantic Nursery and Trade Show (MANTS) at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland. MANTS is a yearly event in early January with over 960 exhibiting companies covering 300,000 square feet (seven acres) of the convention center and hosting 11,000 attendees. We go to MANTS not only to get ideas about new products and plants for Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, but also to discover potential new suppliers and renew acquaintances with existing suppliers. I thought you might enjoy a quick peak at what goes on at a trade show of this size.

I am very excited about this new hellebore that Carolyn’s Shade Gardens will be selling in 2017. It is called ‘Molly’s White’ and is a sister plant to the best-selling ‘Penny’s Pink’. I already have it in my garden, and it’s doing quite well. My ‘Penny’s Pink’ plants have lots of buds showing right now. to read more about this newer type of hellebore, click here.

There are many beautifully displayed plant exhibits at MANTS like the one above featuring an edgeworthia, camellias, and hellebores. It is difficult with the odd lighting to get a good photo though.

If you start flowers and vegetables from seed, you can’t go wrong with Hart Seed Company, a 100-year-old, family owned and operated business, specializing in untreated and non-GE (genetically engineered) seed. They support independent, local nurseries by refusing to sell to big box and discount stores.

Colonial Road, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, makes very comfortable, recycled plastic Adirondack chairs that come close to looking like the high maintenance wood version (at least if you buy it in the white shown in the poster instead of the kaleidoscope of colors displayed here). I loved my wooden Adirondack chairs but was constantly replacing rotted slats, and have you ever tried to paint one? Let me know if you are interested in seeing mine or buying any as Carolyn’s Shade Gardens can get them for you.

It is tempting to turn to harmful chemicals when confronted by the possibility of Lyme disease or Zika virus. Thankfully you don’t need to. Here’s Mark Wilson, President of Natural Repellents LLC, holding his ground-breaking product Tick Killz, a natural insecticide made from 100% organic ingredients and safe for children, pets, beneficial insects, and the environment. It controls deer and other ticks, mosquitos, fleas, mites, and aphids, among other insects. If you spray your property, this may be the product for you, 1 oz. makes 5 gallons.

I wouldn’t consider using anything but organic potting soil and mulch to grow vegetables for my family (and even in my perennial gardens). Coast of Maine makes 100% organic products using predominantly lobster and crab shells mixed with seaweed and blueberry bush trimmings. I have used their potting soil for containers at my family’s house in Maine with great results. Their website has a store locator to help you find local nurseries carrying their products, click here, and Whole Foods carries them.

Unlike most nurseries, I mix my own potting soil using compost with ProMix added to lighten it. ProMix has a high proportion of sphagnum/peat moss, which cannot be sustainably harvested. Ground coconut hulls or coir is a sustainable product, and the condensed block above, which yields this wheelbarrow-full when water is added, reduces transportation and storage costs. However, the product is made in Sri Lanka so I am not sure where I come out.

The folks from Jolly Gardener have just introduced a new line of organic soils and mixes. I always want to support companies who decide to take the organic route!

Given the trend towards legalization and what a big business this is becoming, I was surprised there wasn’t more marketing to this specialized segment of the green industry.

Another fun aspect of MANTS is seeing the lengths exhibitors go to attract attendees to their booths. This tree touched the roof of the convention center, and the holly and evergreen next to it are huge too.

Michael standing next to the biggest tree spade I have ever seen.

Amazing boxwoods

Baltimore is a fun city to visit. We had a delicious dinner at Woodberry Kitchen, a farm-to-table restaurant located in a charming re-purposed factory.

We visited Fort McHenry, a late 18th century, star-shaped fort guarding the entrance to Baltimore Harbor. Francis Scott Key composed “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1814 about the flag flying at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore against the British in the War of 1812.

orpheus-statue-fort-mchenry-1-12-2017-2-51-48-pm

On the grounds of Fort McHenry, you will find this somewhat startling 24 foot statue of the Greek mythological figure Orpheus on a 15 foot tall base and clothed in nothing but a fig leaf. It was commissioned in 1914 to commemorate Francis Scott Key for the hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore even though “The Star-Spangled Banner” did not become our national anthem until 1931. Click here to read the rather humorous background of the statue.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Curating a Plant Collection: Snowdrops or Otherwise

Posted in bulbs for shade, How to, my garden, snowdrops with tags Carolyn's Shade Gardens, collecting snowdrops, fall-blooming snowdrops, galanthus, idenfifying plants, plant collections, snowdrop, snowdrop bulbs, snowdrop catalogue, snowdrop plants, snowdrops, snowdrops for sale U.S. on December 6, 2016 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Galanthus reginae-olgae is the earliest snowdrop to bloom in my garden, around the third week of October.

Our current snowdrop catalogue is on line here.

My garden is not a collection of plants, especially those that require any sort of extra maintenance. If you visit Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, you will see that most plantings are quite natural looking with a focus on natives. However, there are a few exceptions, and most of you know by now that I am an unapologetic collector of snowdrops. I also sell snowdrops, click here for the 2019 catalogue, and some of them are quite pricey, so I thought it would be helpful if I explained how I keep track of mine. This system can be used for any plant collection.

Nursery News: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops to the US only. For catalogues and announcements of local events, please send your full name, mailing address, and cell number to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com and indicate whether you are mail order only. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.

‘Potter’s Prelude’ always flowers by mid-November and, weather permitting, continues into January.

My system involves written records on my computer and physical markings in the garden. There may be a fancy computerized plant database available, but I use a simple table with columns in a Word document. The first column is alphabetical and lists the complete botanical name of the snowdrop, including the species and cultivar names if applicable, e.g., Galanthus nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’. The remaining columns describe the pertinent information about the snowdrop for each location in the garden: date planted, exact location, number of plants, and source.

This is the ‘Brenda Troyle’ planting that corresponds to the first location entry below.

For example, ‘Brenda Troyle’ is listed in column one as Galanthus ‘Brenda Troyle’ as it is a hybrid with no species name like elwesii or nivalis. Column two describes location one: “2012, front walk next to Dbl Rose hellebore, 2 Cresson.” Column three describes location two: “2014, carriage house 2^nd bed on left, moved 1 Cresson.” It is very important that the location description is as detailed as possible so that if all your outdoor markings disappear, you still know where your snowdrop is located.

Another snowdrop blooming right now is Nancy Goodwin’s fall-blooming G. elwesii var. monostictus, which she shared with me in 2013. At the back of the clump is the metal tag and peeking out in front is the plastic stake.

Out in the garden, each snowdrop gets two markers. The first is a 10″ zinc plant marker produced by Bosmere, item H185, in sets of 10. Included is a carbon pencil, but I don’t use that to write on the markers. All labels in my garden are inscribed with an opaque paint marker made by Uchida, Decolor 200-S Black, and available at art supply stores. All other writing materials, including pencils and “permanent markers” wear off. I place the metal plant marker directly behind the snowdrop and record the full name, date acquired, and source.

Bosmere zinc plant markers

opaque paint marker

A paint marker is used to record the name, date acquired and source.

Each snowdrop is also marked with a second tag directly in front of the plant. For this, I use a 6″ Rapiclip plant label made by Luster Leaf in packages of 50. These plastic stakes are long and sturdy but flexible, not brittle. They can be pushed almost all the way into the ground and bend instead of breaking if you step on them. I write the same information on them with a paint marker.

Rapiclip plant labels

‘Foxgrove Magnet’ with its metal marker behind and plastic tag in front.

There are variations on my marking scheme. For example, this bed has random, unnamed, fall-blooming G. elwesii. Each clump has a plastic tag behind it describing its special characteristics, if any.

I am superstitious so if I plant dormant snowdrops in the fall, they get a reused plastic tag and part of a bamboo garden stake until they come up in the spring.

I also use bamboo poles, hammered solidly into the ground, if the snowdrops are planted in an area where a lot of leaves fall and obscure the metal and plastic stakes. The photo below shows what I found under the leaves.

I may not have remembered that this snowdrop grouping was there if it hadn’t been marked with the bamboo stake.

I realize that not everyone is obsessed with snowdrops, but this system can be used for any plant collection that has grown to the point where its size exceeds the mental capacity of the collector :-). I grow about 30 varieties of epimediums and keep a chronological handwritten record plus metal and plastic markers outside. European wood anemones get metal tags and a handwritten list. Mini hostas are marked with plastic tags and recorded haphazardly. The rest of the plants have to rely on invoices and various notations in garden journals. Every winter I consider making a complete database of all the plants at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens but the prospect is daunting.

Carolyn

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Mini Hostas Make Excellent Groundcovers

Posted in groundcover, hosta, How to, landscape design, miniature hosta, my garden, Uncategorized with tags Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears', Hosta 'Twist of Lime', Hosta Baby Bunting, Hosta Dragon Tails, Hosta Green with Envy, Hosta Kiwi Golden Thimble, Hosta Lemon Delight, Hosta Lemon Lime, Hosta Little Wonder, Hosta Rock Prince, little hostas, mini hostas, mini hostas as groundcover, mini hostas for sale, miniature hosta, miniature hosta mail order, miniature hostas, mouse ears hostas, small hostas on May 13, 2016 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Part of my mini hosta rock garden in June of 2015. Be sure to see it when you visit Carolyn’s Shade Gardens—it is one of the highlights of the garden right now!

When it begins to warm up (finally!), the weeds are not far behind, and customers start asking for groundcovers. If garden beds are filled with plants, there is no bare soil on which weeds can germinate, and garden maintenance is greatly reduced. Covering bare ground can be accomplished economically by choosing plants that spread rather than form clumps. Spreading mini (and small) hostas are perfect for this task, but which ones work? Here is your answer:

Hosta Kiwi Golden Thimble

‘Kiwi Golden Thimble’ rapidly produces an adorable mound of golden leaves.

You can read more about mini hostas in these posts:

2016 Mouse Ears Hosta Update

Top 5 Favorite Little Hostas

The Mice Have Multiplied Again

New Miniature and Small Hostas for 2014, Part 2

New Miniature and Small Hostas for 2014, Part 1

New Mice for 2014

2013 New Miniature and Small Hostas

Miniature (& Small) Hostas

I LOVE Mice

Beyond Mice

Hostas Containers and Companions

‘Twist of Lime’ with its blue-green edge is a very fast grower and a favorite of my customers.

. Hosta Little Wonder

‘Little Wonder’ has colorful leaves and a very dense growth habit.

‘Lemon Lime’ is an outstanding groundcover hosta.

Hosta Blue Mouse Ears

‘Blue Mouse Ears’ is the only mouse ears hosta that I would use as a groundcover because it is so vigorous.

Hosta Green with Envy

‘Green with Envy’ is practically jumping out of my strawberry pot as it tries to expand.

‘Rock Prince’ filled in this whole area between the stones very quickly.

‘Baby Bunting’s’ tiny leaves make a very fine-textured groundcover.

Hosta Lemon Delight

‘Lemon Delight’ makes an excellent dense cover, and the wavy leaf edges provide a feeling of movement.

Of course any mini, if planted en mass, provides groundcover, here ‘Dragon Tails’.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Late Fall Interest at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens

Posted in Camellias, Fall, Fall Color, How to, landscape design, my garden, snowdrops, winter, winter interest with tags 'Potter's Prelude' snowdrops, 'Red Sprite' winterberry holly, Arachnoides simplicior 'Variegata', Arum italicum, Arum italicum 'Gold Rush', Camellia 'Winter's Joy', Camellia 'Winter's Snowman, Camellia oleifera 'Lu Shan Snow', Chionanthus retusus 'China Snow', Cyclamen hederifolium, Edgeworthia chrysantha, Epimedium stellulatum "Narrow Leaf Forms", fall-blooming hardy cyclamen, Galanthus 'Potter's Prelude', Ilex verticillata 'Red Sprite', Kuma bamaboo grass, Magnolia virginiana, Pennisetum 'Moudry', Sasa veitchii, sweetbay magnolia, variegated East Indian holly fern on December 9, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

The sunrise lights up the heavy frost outlining the semi-evergreen leaves of native sweetbay magnolia.

At Carolyn’s Shade Gardens in southeastern Pennsylvania, US, colorful fall foliage is mostly gone and deciduous trees and shrubs are no longer the focus of garden interest. We must rely on other plants to take over where fall color left off and help us satisfy our goal of providing ornamental interest 365 days a year. At this point, every plant still thriving assumes greater value in the garden, and we look to the understory to draw us outside for a stroll. Here are some of my favorites for December:

The berries of native winterberry hollies stand out in the landscape after their leaves have dropped. In my garden, robins strip the berries fairly early in the season, but I have noticed that in most locations they persist well into the winter.

Fall-blooming hardy cyclamen is done blooming, but the leaves are gorgeous all winter. If you look closely, they all have a different pattern like a snowflake. Although I plant them where I want them, they move and thrive in sites of their own choosing. Here they were planted at the front of the bed and moved to the back directly at the base of a stone wall, one of their favorite sites.

Here ants moved the cyclamen seeds about 30 to 40 feet up hill all around the base of a gigantic London plane tree where they have filled in and thrived. This is not an area of the garden that I visit often so you can imagine my surprise when I found this display. An Italian arum made the trek too.

Kuma bamboo grass, Sasa veitchii, has plain green leaves during the season but acquires this elegant white edge for the winter. I planted my sasa over 10 years ago, and this is the first time that it has spread to a decent patch. Generally it is considered quite aggressive.

Variegated East Indian holly fern, Arachnoides simplicior ‘Variegata’, is a beautiful evergreen fern. Before you go looking for it though, I think it is borderline hardy here and it doesn’t thrive.

Fall-blooming snowdrops like ‘Potter’s Prelude’ pictured here are a highlight of the fall season starting around October 15 and continuing until early main season snowdrops take over in January.

This photo could show any number of my evergreen epimediums, but this is E. stellulatum “Long Leaf Form”. They all have very interesting and attractive leaves which persist until spring when I cut them back.

Black fountain grass, Pennisetum ‘Moudry’, remains my favorite grass. After a few hard frosts, it turns a lovely tan. It does move around quite a bit but has never gone anywhere that I didn’t want it in 20 years. It is downright invasive for others though, so beware.

Italian arum stays fresh and beautiful all winter—it goes dormant in the summer instead. This cultivar is ‘Gold Rush’.

Another Italian arum with much more white on the leaves—for comparison a typical arum leaf is on the left of the photo. It is possible to get a variety of leaf forms from specialized nurseries.

Chinese fringe trees, Chionanthus retusus, produce lovely dark blue berries in the fall which persist after the leaves drop. This plant is the superior form ‘China Snow’.

Edgeworthia is beautiful all year round but especially during late fall and winter when the large silver buds start to swell. The leaves turn bright yellow and drop, leaving the bare branches covered with delicate silver ornaments.

‘Winter’s Snowman’ camellia blooms in November and December with large, semi-double white flowers.

‘Winter’s Joy’ camellia

‘Winter’s Joy’ produces hundreds of buds. When a hard frost turns the open flowers brown, new buds open and flowers cover the plant again as soon as it gets warmer. Although this is usually the case, it didn’t happen during the last two winters when the buds froze early.

The tea camellia ‘Lu Shan Snow’, C. oleifera, is particularly cold tolerant and has thrived in my garden for almost 20 years. Camellias planted from 2013 on have been very hard to establish in the garden due to our unseasonably cold temperatures during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 winters. The camellias that I planted prior to 2013 have all thrived.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Fall Foliage Color at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens

Posted in Fall, Fall Color, How to, landscape design, my garden, native plants with tags 'Angelly' witch hazel, 'Katherine Adele' hardy geranium, Acer palmatum, Acer palmatum Shishigashira', Asimina triloba, Cornus florida, corylopsis, Euphorbia 'Ruby Glow', flowering dogwood, Hamamelis x intermedia 'Angelly', Hydrangea quercifolia, Japanese maple, lion's head Japanese maple, oakleaf hydrangea, pawpaw, Ruby glow wood spurge, Viburnum x 'Mohawk', winter hazel on November 24, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Japanese maples are a great source of November fall color because they lose their leaves later than most other trees.

At Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, the landscape provides ornamental interest 365 days a year. To make this happen, I expect most trees and shrubs to have at least two ornamental qualities peaking at different times before they are given precious garden space. Ornamental interest can come from flowers, fruit, bark, leaves, habit, texture, and fall color. Brightly colored fall leaves are a wonderful way to extend your garden’s interest through November. Some of my favorite fall foliage stars are profiled below.

Native oakleaf hydrangeas turn beautiful shades of red and then burgundy over a long period of time. The leaves in the upper left of the photo are still green while the foliage in the upper right is deep burgundy. I also grow oakleaf hydrangea for its fresh and dried flowers, peeling bark, unusually shaped large leaves, walnut and dry shade tolerance, and tropical texture. It is a true four-season star.

Plants in the witch hazel family often have elegant leaves and beautiful fall colors, and winter hazel, Corylopsis, is no exception. Here it is surrounded by ‘All Gold’ Japanese hakone grass.

The lovely purple spots on the leaves of ‘Katherine Adele’ hardy geranium darken as the fall progresses. In mid-November, as other perennials go dormant around it, ‘Katherine Adele’ fills out and reaches an ornamental peak. I also grow it for its pretty pink flowers in spring. However, I grow many varieties of hardy geranium and this variety is the worst for self-sowing, and the seedlings are hard to remove.

‘Mohawk’ viburnum resulted from a cross between Burkwood hybrid and Korean spicebush viburnums. It is a medium-sized shrub with elegant and highly fragrant flowers. ‘Mohawk’, a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society gold medal winner, is particularly treasured for its stunning and log-lasting fall color. I also love the rose-red buds that precede the white flowers in April.

My grove of native pawpaws turns a beautiful yellow in the fall. Very easy to grow, pawpaws produce an abundance of edible fruit with a taste and texture resembling banana-mango-pineapple custard. Fruit production is enhanced by planting two different cultivars.

Native flowering dogwood, on the left above, turns a gorgeous red in the fall. Its flowers, fruit, bark, and habit are also highly ornamental.

Witch hazels have a very unique yellow-orange fall color that stands out in the landscape. ‘Angelly’, on the right above, is my favorite witch hazel because of its striking, bright yellow, spring flowers, which made my choice easy when I was confronted with a greenhouse full of hundreds of witch hazels in bloom. ‘Angelly’s’ flowers stood out. It also has the crucial ability to shed its old leaves. Witch hazel flowers blooming among hundreds of old brown leaves are not attractive and removing the leaves by hand is a chore.

Another perennial that comes into its own in the fall is Ruby Glow euphorbia or wood spurge. The leaves and stems darken as the season progresses and are much more purple now than when I took this photo on November 7. I also value Ruby Glow for its unusual chartreuse flowers in spring and its upright, shrub-like habit. Although its common name is wood spurge, it prefers a sunny location.

Japanese maples have stunning fall color very late in the fall foliage season. They can self sow prolifically and have sometimes been called invasive. This tree was a seedling that appeared in my garden in the right place at the right time. In the lower right of the photo are the beautiful yellow leaves of native ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud.

Generally unselected Japanese maples have red fall color. However, I prefer the seedlings that have yellow or orange foliage in fall. The above seedling growing out of the side of a giant London plane tree in my nursery sales area has multi-colored leaves.

If you are considering adding a Japanese maple to your garden, you can choose from the hundreds of cultivars selected from Acer palmatum. The variety of sizes, leaf shapes, habits, fall colors, etc., available is amazing. Pictured above and at the top of the post is ‘Shishigashira’ or lion’s head Japanese maple, one of my favorites. It is under-planted with ‘Shell Pink’ lamium and fall-blooming hardy cyclamen, fall stars in their own right.

I will end this post with a photo of three spectacular native plants. The taller tree is yellowwood, valued as a medium-sized shade tree with beautiful, fragrant flowers and striking yellow fall color. The small tree is a flowering dogwood discussed earlier in the post. The shrub with the orange fall color is a flame azalea, one of our stunning native deciduous rhododendrons.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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Unusual Garden Art

Posted in garden to visit, Garden Tour, How to, landscape design with tags garden art, garden sculptures, Scott Arboretum, Scott Arboretum garden tour, what is art on October 1, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Temporary art in a bowl of water at Chanticleer

In June, Michael and I went on the annual Scott Arboretum Associates’ Garden Day. This tour is one of the many wonderful events planned by the arboretum free of charge for its members. The tour was followed by a reception at world famous Chanticleer featuring delicious food and drink and providing an opportunity to stroll around the lovely gardens after hours.

Unfortunately, I didn’t record the name of this arresting sculpture.

One of the homes on the tour featured a collection of very unusual sculptures or installations. I didn’t count them, but it seemed like there could have been at least 100 and maybe more. Most of them were not what for want of a better term I will call “pretty art”; in fact, some of them were quite disturbing. Would you want the boxer above greeting you every time you entered your driveway? It really got me thinking about the age old question of what is art?

There were many of these installations, if that is the right term, in the woodlands surrounding the house.

untitled, Will Dexter, cast glass and steel

untitled, Bob Harrington, mahogany

“Sleeping Beauty”, Debra Rosenblum

“Arboreal Timbre”, Greg Leavitt, copper and steel. This life size metal tree was right outside the front door.

“Throne”, Peter Diepenbrock, metal washers

“Emergence”, Debra Rosenblum, bronze and slate

This is not the accumulation of an eccentric included on the tour for some obscure reason, but the well-respected collection of an art connoisseur frequently visited by groups from prominent area art institutions. I am definitely of the opinion that beauty (or if not beauty, then interest) is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone is entitled to design their garden in the way most pleasing to them. I found the garden thought provoking, and maybe that’s part of the owner’s intention. It is still hard for me to think of some of this as art. What do you think?

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

22 Comments »

CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS

Archive for the How to Category

Designing with Native Plants

A Beautiful Garden, Part Two

Fun with Mini Hostas in Containers

Edgeworthia Update

2017 Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS)

Curating a Plant Collection: Snowdrops or Otherwise

Mini Hostas Make Excellent Groundcovers

Late Fall Interest at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens

Fall Foliage Color at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens

Unusual Garden Art

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Welcome

Site Stats Since 11/3/10

Email Subscription to Blog Posts

Pages

Click image for links to all articles on snowdrops

Search My Website

All photos and text on this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without my express permission

Top Posts & Pages

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Click image to see Carolyn’s photos in The New York Times

Click image to see Carolyn’s Shade Gardens in the BBC News Magazine

Plant Information

Places to Visit

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Reader Locations (click to enlarge)

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