Category Archives: color in the garden

color in the garden, colorful foliage, flowering shrubs, Flowering trees, moon garden, white garden

Creating a ‘Moon Garden’

As the days grow longer I anxiously await those warm summer nights when I can sit outside and enjoy the evening air. As daylight fades it?s the white or silver plants and flowers that come to life. Whether your view is from a window or from your favorite place on the patio be sure you have a ?white garden? to light up the garden late into the evening. Sometimes the best color for your garden is white.

Cornus ‘Mountain Moon’

Even on a grey day a white garden looks fresh and inviting. With so many white flowering plants, those with white variegated foliage and silver leaved plants to choose from yours can beckon you throughout the seasons. White feels relaxed and clean and will slow you down after a long day.

The plants that take a starring role springtime in a white garden include some of my favorites. I just need to get them all in the same area of my garden in order for them to do their magic.

Iris pallida lends color to the white garden through it?s spectacular

Iris pallida in Butchart Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia

striped variegated foliage. Easy to grow and deer resistant they won?t break your water budget either. The bearded flowers are a spectacular shade of lavender blue and this variety of iris is more shade tolerant than most.

If I add a few more white flowering plants to another area I can have two moon gardens. I wish I had room for a sturdy trellis as I?d surely plant an evergreen clematis. Their scent alone would justify the space. Another candidate for a strong support would be a white blooming wisteria like Longissima Alba. Guess I could get a wisteria that?s been trained as a standard or tree. As it stands I?m keeping a star jasmine pruned to a shrub so I?ll have that sweet fragrance starting in late spring.

Leopard Plant

For my shady garden one of the flowering plants that glows in the fading light of the day or the light of a full moon is pieris japonica or Lily of the Valley shrub. The huge clusters of tiny bell-like flowers are spectacular. Along with the huge variegated foliage of ligularia ?Argentina? or Leopard Plant both are sure to draw my eye at the end of a long day.

Choisya or Mexican Orange is one of those work horse shrubs that grows fast, has few pests, is deer resistant and the fragrant lowers will scent your garden in the spring and sporadically throughout the whole year. The handsome foliage looks clean and vibrant even in the winter time.

Rhododendron occidentale

In addition to my white flowering dogwood I have long planned to add California native, Western Azalea to my garden. A true native of California it?s found only in our state except for a tiny spot where it extends into southern Oregon. In addition to the Sierra Nevada it grows naturally in our area and then up the coast north of San Francisco. The large floral trusses are breathtaking- sparkling white marked with a bright yellow spot. The fragrance of the flowers is sweet and spicy clove reminiscent of cottage pinks and carnations. Their beauty and fragrance will enhance any garden.

Other native plants with white flowers are Philadelphus lewisii or Wild Mock Orange. Also Carpenteria californica or Bush Anemone is a beautiful plant to include in a white garden as is silver lupine and douglas iris ?Canyon Snow? -often described as being one of the most reliable native iris.

Oakleaf hydrangea

Later in the season look to white hydrangeas– mophead, lace cap or oakleaf- to add to your moon garden. Sally Holmes roses, hardy geranium ?Biokovo?, Even the common Santa Barbara daisy when planted en masse makes quite a statement in the white garden.

bouquets, color in the garden, cut flowers, flowers, mulching, organic gardening, perennials, plant diseases, pruning roses, roses

About Roses

Roses are the flower of love. Many of us have fond memories of favorites in our mother?s garden or of a beautiful bouquet given or received on Valentine?s Day. It?s dormant season for roses which is good for both pruning and adding a few to the garden.

David Austin rose

As a designer I have clients who have inherited roses and want to keep them as a remembrance. Others want to create a cutting garden filled with roses and other perennials. Don?t feel guilty for growing those beauties in your own garden. They use less resources than you think and there are many ways to grow them sustainably.

Roses, whether bush types, climber or ground cover carpet varieties, use a moderate amount of water in order to thrive according to the latest Water Use Classification of Landscape Species (WUCOLS) list. This amount of summer irrigation is the same as many of the plants on the list of Scotts Valley Water District?s 800 Approved Low Water-Use Plants for lawn replacement. Plants such as Emerald Carpet manzanita, Joyce Coulter ceanothus, Siskiyou Blue fescue grass, Pacific wax myrtle, butterfly bush, yarrow hybrids and Tapien verbena have similar water requirements.

Since now is the time to prune your roses here are a few tips.

Strike it Rich hybrid tea rose

Prune shrubs moderately to keep them compact. The goal is to keep the center of the plant open for good air circulation aiming for a vase-shaped bush with an open center. Cut out canes that cross, appear weak or are diseased, spindly or dead. Healthy canes appear green or reddish while old and dying canes are brown. Cut back the remaining stems by about one third. When pruning, cut canes at a 45-degree angle just above an outward facing leaf bud or a swelling on the cane. Clean pruners after every use to prevent the spread of disease and keep your pruners sharp.

Prune heirlooms roses such as David Austin and other old antique garden roses less because their open look is part of their charm.

Same goes for climbing roses. Cut out extra stems if there are too many and also cut back long established canes to about the place where they are slightly thicker than a pencil. Then cut each side stem down to several inches. This will make the cane flower along its complete length for a beautiful spring display.

Zepherine Drouhin climbing rose

Pluck off and rake away any old leaves. They can spread fungal spores. Consider spraying dormant plants with a combination of organic horticultural oil and copper soap or lime-sulfur. If you usually only have problems with black spot you can use a mixture of 1 teaspoon baking soda with a few drops of light horticultural oil in 1 quart water and spray every 7 to 10 days during the spring.

Prune your roses throughout the growing season, too. Deadheading, or cutting off spent flowers, encourages plants to re-bloom. Mulch around your roses to conserve water and encourage soil microorganisms.

Don’t worry whether you’re pruning job is perfect. Roses are super forgiving and you can always trim them up again later.

California Native Plants, climate smart plants, color in the garden, Deer Resistant Plants, drought tolerant plants, Orange flowers

Stars of the Fall Garden

More and more of us are embracing the concept of gardening with a sense of place. To garden where you live means accepting that your garden in California is naturally more subdued by fall. Plants that bring color to the garden at this time of year are invaluable. A successful garden is a feeling.

The fall bloomers and ornamental grasses are at their peak right now and thanks to our recent rainfall they are getting a big drink. Many birds are loading up on carbohydrates and fats to provide fuel for their migration. Others will stick around and want to be in the best possible condition for the winter season. In addition to seeds, nuts and acorns, flowers are important in their diets,

leonotis_leonuris
Lion’s Tail

With Halloween almost upon us orange blooming plants like Lion?s Tail look perfect in the autumn garden and gets the attention of birds, bees and butterflies. The scientific name leonotis leonurus translates from the Greek words meaning lion and ear in reference to the resemblance of the flower to a lion?s ear but this perennial shrub has long been called Lion?s Tail in California. A member of the mint family it starts blooming in very early summer and continues through fall. Having very low water needs and hardy down to 20 degrees it?s perfect for a drought tolerant garden.

California fuchsia is also at the height of its blooming season. Starting in the summer and flowering through fall this California native will be covered with orange or scarlet-orange flowers that attract hummingbirds like crazy. A great plant along the path or draping over a rock wall this perennial thrives in areas that might fry other plants. Also known as Epilobium canan or Zauschneria it is in the evening primrose family and native to dry slopes and chaparral especially in California.

bulbine
Orange Stalked Bulbine

Another good choice for your drought tolerant garden is the long blooming Hallmark bulbine. The Orange Stalked bulbine is a succulent you?ve got to try. Starting in late spring and continuing through fall and often into winter this one foot tall groundcover spreads to four or five feet wide. The orange star-like flowers with frilly yellow stamens form atop long stalks that rise above the foliage. Remove spent flower stalks to encourage reblooming.

mimulus
Mimulus Jelly Bean Gold

What?s a fall garden without an orange or gold hued mimulus to feed the hummingbirds? Mine haven?t stopped blooming since early summer. Deer resistant and drought tolerant Sticky Monkey flower get the sticky part of their common name from their leaves which are covered with a resinous oil discouraging the larvae of the checkerspot butterfly from dining too greedily.

Orange and blue are opposite on the color wheel so they look fabulous together. Enter the salvias with their mostly blue and purple flowers. From California natives such as salvia clevelandii to Mexican bush sage to Autumn sage there are thousands of varieties on the market. All are deer resistant, gopher resistant, drought tolerant and hummingbird magnets.