Variegated Daphne in Bloom - a fragrant flowering shrub with beautiful evergreen foliage

This beautiful variegated Daphne, in the Front Border, was blooming in late April (zone 6b). The blooms have a beautiful fragrance and groupings of small pink and white flowers.

Perhaps what I love about this shrub even more than the flowers is the interesting, evergreen foliage. Last June, when I hosted a garden tour, the shrub obviously had no flowers, but many people commented about how much they loved it.

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If you are looking for an alternative to a conifer, an evergreen without needles, try Daphne.

Japanese Beautyberry - Flowers and Immature Berries

To see what the berries will look like when they turn their distinctive purple, click here.

Weigela: pink and white spring flowering shrub on Goldberry Hill

Here are some pictures of the Weigela shrub in full bloom. Each cane is covered with pink and white flowers. As I wrote in a previous post, I used some of these flexible, flowering canes to make a crown of fresh flowers for my daughter's First Communion.

Viburnum - a great spring shrub for beauty and fragrance (zone 6b)

How and When to Prune Caryopteris, Spirea, Butterfly Bush, Pee Gee Hydrangea, Annabelle Hydrangea, Smokebush, Elderberry

After the "in like a lion" March first snow, we were blessed with "out like a lamb" seventy-degree spring weather this weekend. The whole family spent every waking minute outside and I took the opportunity to do some of my late winter shrub pruning. In my zone (6b), early March is the perfect time to prune the shrubs that are grown either for (i) flowers that bloom on new wood or (ii) foliage that is more vibrant on new wood.
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Some of the shrubs that I grow for flowers that bloom on new wood include caryopteris, spirea (pictured below), butterfly bush, pee gee hydrangea (pictured below) and annabelle hydrgangea. Some of the shrubs that I grow for foliage that is more vibrant on new wood includes smokebush (pictured below) and elderberry (or sambucas). As you can see in the pictures below, you can really cut these shrubs back significantly and by doing so, you will be rewarded with a greater number of blooms on your flowering shrubs and more vibrant color for your foliage shrubs.
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Does pruning these shrubs really make a difference? Yes! Last year, I cut back only some of the spirea and the difference between the pruned and unpruned was quite noticeable.

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Spirea before pruning

Spirea after pruning

Pee gee hydrangea after pruning

Smokebush after pruning

Autumn Beauty: Japanese Beautyberry

As a supplement to last year's pictures of my Japanese Beautyberry (Callicarpa japonica) in summer and winter, here are two autumn pictures with the berries and leaves. In the winter, the shrub will be left with just the berries.

"They are healthy and vigorous plants. I purchased very small plants and they grew quickly in the first year...For fall and winter arrangements, you can cut the branches with the Beautyberries. If you do so when they still have leaves, I recommend that you remove the leaves because they droop immediately after being cut."

For an additional post on propagation, click here.

Container Gardening: Pictures of Miss Kim Lilac

As a follow-up to my post on the variety, soil, and care of containers, here are some pictures of my Miss Kim Lilac, one of my favorite containers on the deck. As I previously wrote:

"When growing shrubs and trees in pots for the long term, I've learned to treat them as really large bonsai plants. Each year, I renew their soil by removing some and adding organic amendments and manure. Also, every few years I trim off the outer most roots of the plants on one side to allow more root development without the danger of the plant becoming root bound. With this treatment, my lilac is still growing in its original planting pot."

Hydrangeas: Why and How to Prune

Since my prior post about pruning a pee gee hydrangea, I have received numerous follow-up questions on why and how to prune other types of hydrangea. Most of the hydrangea in the garden are either mopheads or lace caps (pictured). These belong to the group Hydrangea macrophylla. Most macrophylla bloom on wood or stems more than a year old.

In late spring these can be pruned to remove dead wood. Since it is very difficult for me to distinguish between the dead and living wood in dormant hydrangeas, I wait until late April when the stems have begun to leaf out. Then I cut the dead wood at the base of the plant as far down as I can reach. This will allow plenty of new room for new shoots to emerge.

If your hydrangea macrophylla (pictured on Goldberry Hill) is getting too big and you want to reduce its size, prune it in mid summer after it has bloomed. You can either cut back the stems or just take out some of the longest wood at the base of the shrub. By waiting until July, you will have blooms and give the shrub time to prepare new growth to flower the following year. You do not have to do this type of pruning unless you need the space. Naturally hydrangeas develop a nice rounded shape.

Although I grow many heirloom hydrangea cultivars, I also love the new ones that have come out which bloom on old and new wood. Endless Summer and Blushing Bride are two such hydrangea. These are particularly useful in areas where hydrangea are marginally hardy. If your hydrangea gets killed to the ground during the winter, new stems can grow in the spring which will flower the same year. This also allows you to cut them to the ground or cut them back in early spring if you want to keep them smaller. Anabelle hydrangea are treated the same way.

Telegraph.co.uk - 'Annabelle' hydrangea: How to grow

I was walking around my garden this weekend and I couldn't resist taking yet another picture of my Annabelle hydrangeas. As I wrote in a prior post, my Annabelle hydrangeas--with their dried blossoms--are a highlight of my winter garden (http://heirloomgardener.blogspot.com/2007/12/annabelle-hydrangea-in-winter.html).

This past week, Telegraph.co.uk--the online version of the Telegraph in London--wrote an article praising Annabelle hydrangeas and giving advice on how to grow them. Val Bourne writes:

"The cool white Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' produces one of the most magical of all winter seed heads. After the flowers have faded and fallen, a skeleton of fine tracery remains to catch the frost and low winter sunshine. So this is one hydrangea that deserves a prominent place in every garden, somewhere it can shine in three seasons - summer, autumn and winter."

For the full article, click here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/main.jhtml?xml=/gardening/2008/02/08/garden-hydrangea-grow108.xml.

Dried Annabelle Hydrangeas

I have several Annabelle hydrangeas on Goldberry Hill. During the summer, their large white mopheads look great both in the garden and brought indoors as cut flowers. As they age, they turn green and then brown. This summer, my friend P cut some of them when they were green, dried them at her home, and gave them to me as a present in the early winter. As you can see, they have retained their attractive green color.

For a prior post about their contribution to the garden in winter, click here: http://heirloomgardener.blogspot.com/2007/12/annabelle-hydrangea-in-winter.html.

How to Prune Pee Gee Hydrangeas and Wisteria: Before Spring Growth Resumes

February is the time in my garden to prune the pee gee hydrangeas and the wisteria. I have two pee gee hydrangea standards: one along my front walk (pictured before and after pruning) in the Front Border and another along the fence in the back garden. I do this primarily because space is limited where it's growing and, secondly, by pruning it I get more blooms (for a picture of the blooms, click here: http://heirloomgardener.blogspot.com/2008/01/front-border-in-summer-plan-for-new.html).

The best time to do this is when the plant is dormant, before the buds begin to swell. If you wait until spring growth resumes, you risk removing this year's flowers. Pruning can be done in the early winter, but you will miss the lovely dried blooms during the winter. Every year I prune away the previous year's growth for the one along the walkway. I also take out any twiggy branches that have died back during the winter. For the other which has more space allotted to it, I trim it back to shape it and remove spindly growth.

The wisteria I have is grown as a tree, but the pruning for it is the same as it would be for one grown against a wall. Each branch is cut back to the third or forth bud and any wispy growth is removed. The wisteria is good now until mid summer at which point it will need pruning again.

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Here is a picture of the same pee gee hydrangea in bloom:

Related post: How and Why to Prune Hydrangeas

Winter Garden Highlight: Lace Cap Hydrangea on Goldberry Hill

As I've written about in some of my prior posts, I have been trying to improve the appearance of my garden in winter. Part of this improvement includes appreciating the beauty that is already there, such as the large, mature hydrangea at the top of Goldberry Hill. The form and color of the bare stems have a beauty all their own.

For a picture of this same hydrangea in summer, click here: http://heirloomgardener.blogspot.com/2008/01/gardening-on-hill-goldberry-hill-in.html

Japanese Beautyberry (Unexpected) Propagation

As a follow-up to my prior post about Japanese Beautyberry, I have an unexpected surprise to share with all of you. The Japanese Beautyberry that I cut back in November and put in a vase of water started rooting and sending up new shoots, as you can see in the pictures below. I should replant them now in some soil let them develop better roots inside before planting them outside in the spring.

For the original post, click here: http://heirloomgardener.blogspot.com/2007/12/japanese-beautyberry.html

Cut Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina)

As a follow-up to my previous post on Heavenly Bamboo, here is a picture of what it looks like as a cut flower.

I often use glasses, jars and other objects as vases. The vase in this picture is actually a small glass.

For the previous post, click here:

http://heirloomgardener.blogspot.com/2007/12/heavenly-bamboo-nandina-in-december.html

Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina) in December

Next year I plan to plant more heavenly bamboo. When most every other non-conifer has lost its leaves, nandina looks as fresh as it did two months ago. The red berries are beautiful and cuttings of nandina last for weeks in water.

The plants are pretty undemanding. They will grow in sun or part shade, do not require feeding, and have modest water requirements. They grow 3-5 feet tall and will spread with time. Nandina does have a tendency to become leggy, so good pruning in spring helps stimulate growth lower down on the plant.

Winter Garden Highlight: Annabelle Hydrangea

The distinctive white blooms of the Annabelle hydrangea turn green in the summer and brown in the fall. Even after the frost, as you see in this picture with the snow on the ground, they continue to hold some dried blooms that provide interest in winter. On my property, this hydrangea happily grows on a shady hill beneath white pines.

Japanese Beautyberry

The first picture shows what the Japanese Beautyberry is known for: its distinctive purple berries that appear in autumn and persist into the winter.

The second picture shows what the plant looks like in the summer, on the lower left, beneath the Pee Gee hydrangea.

I like these two stages of the plant, but am less fond of its other stages: the early spring when it looks dead and is late to leaf out; and the autumn when the leaves droop and look lifeless for about a month before they fall off.

They are healthy and vigorous plants. I purchased very small plants and they grew quickly in the first year. Next year, I am cutting them back to six inches off the ground in early spring to avoid the first problem. Further, I keep moving them around my property in hopes of finding the perfect place to enjoy them, and they are not bothered by this.

For fall and winter arrangements, you can cut the branches with the Beautyberries. If you do so when they still have leaves, I recommend that you remove the leaves because they droop immediately after being cut.

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Click here for a follow-up post on propogation: http://heirloomgardener.blogspot.com/2008/02/japanese-beatyberry-unexpected.html

Hydrangea Wrapped For Winter

When I moved into my home, there was a hydrangea by the lamp post that produced no flowers. I knew that the deer were eating it regularly. So I began a successful regiment of deer spraying, only to find that each winter it also got killed to the ground. I find that in my Zone 6b garden hydrangea are frequently only root hardy which means that the stems are prone to being killed by the cold. Since this hydrangea only flowers on old wood it produced no flowers--it was just a foliage plant.

That fall I asked my husband to wrap it in burlap and cover it with oak leaves. I asked him to do it too late and we ran out of leaves, so we only protected the lower half of the plant. This year we got a few flowers. For the first time I saw they were mopheads with pink sepals edged in white. I asked my husband to start earlier and we covered the entire plant. He wrapped burlap around three bamboo stakes and stuffed it full of oak leaves, covering it entirely to about four feet high. Hopefully next year, the whole plant will produce flowers.