40/4201. While Our Gardens Are Asleep, The Growers Are Busy
Introduction
AT WALTERS GARDENS THEY GROW PERENNIAL PLANTS. Perennial plants come
back every year. In particular they specialize in hardy plants, plants
that grow in the upper mid west. John and his crew scour the entire
globe looking for new plants. They think there's a great market for
perennials and that these plants improve all the time.
Click here for more info
Lamium
WHEN JOHN AND HIS GROUP LOOK FOR PLANTS TO BRIGHTEN A SHADY GARDEN,
they look for something that will perform and something that will
provide texture. One plant that does this is Lamium maculatum 'Orchid
Frost.' John believes they were one of the first to bring Lamium into
the U.S. back in the early 1980's from Windsor Bressingham.
Click here for more info
Pulmonaria
PULMONARIA IS A PLANT THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE but they're
recently breeding a lot of colors into the foliage. The blooms are also
great. Majeste has a bright silver foliage. It's a new innovation in
Pulmonaria with bright leaves, full silver leaves. Again imagine this
plant in a dark place, it would bring a real pop of color to the area.
Click here for more info
Brunerra
THERE ARE SEVERAL VARIETIES OF BRUNNERA macrophylla 'Variegata'
Brunnera-Heartleaf. The first is Variegata, the other is Brunnera
macrophylla 'Hadspen Cream'. These have a proliferation of blue
flowers, Forget Me Not kind of flowers in the spring, followed by a
continuous performance of the variegated foliage. Eric mentions that he
knows Walters is on the cutting edge of Brunnera breeding and there are
2 great selections he wants to see.
Click here for more info
Coral Bells or Heuchera
CORAL BELLS, BOTANICAL NAME HEUCHERAS, HAVE COME ALIVE THE PAST SEVERAL
YEARS. John shows us 2 examples, Heuchera 'Frosted Violet' and Heuchera
'Silver Scrolls' have fantastic texture and wonderful foliage. These
come from Charles and Martha Oliver in Pennsylvania, who've done a
wonderful job. They have a nice splash of silver between the deep
purple veins and it's really stark. The flowers start on the silver
scrolls. Heucheras have not always been known for their flowering
performance, instead for their foliage. Now there's work being done on
both ends and we'll see some impressive results coming down the road.
Click here for more info
Heucherella
Heucherella is a cross between a Heuchera and a Tiarella cordifolia.
They are a couple of great plants, great companion plants especially
for the shadier garden.
Click here for more info
Hostas
ONE CAN'T HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT SHADE PLANTS WITHOUT LOOKING AT
HOSTAS. John has an exciting collection and a number of really new
Hostas. There are thousands of different Hostas that someone can pick
for the shade garden. Again the challenge is picking out varieties that
will work well. Our objective is to help the gardener understand the
different types of Hostas, the different colors and patterns available.
Click here for more info
Slug Control
WHEN TALKING ABOUT HOSTAS ONE MUST TALK ABOUT SLUGS. There is nothing
more disappointing than midway through the season to have slugs start
feasting on your hostas. To help avoid this John feels it's important
to look for hostas with thick leaves. The thicker the leaves, the more
slug resistant. And there are a number of varieties available. Not only
are thick leaves helpful in slug prevention but additionally leaves
that have more seer-suckering. The more seer-suckering the more slug
resistant but by all means look at the labels. On the labels one will
see information about the varieties that are more slug resistant. Also
if it is tetraploid, that will indicate that it is more slug resistant,
as well.
Click here for more info
Hellebores or Lenten Rose
ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING GROUPS OF SHADE PERENNIALS IN THE LAST 10
YEARS IS HELLEBORE OR LENTON ROSE. Here again there are a lot of new
and exciting Hellebores that have just come on the market.
Click here for more info
Carex Family - Ornamental Grasses
THE CAREX FAMILY IS VERY GOOD FOR SHADE OR PART SHADE. Many think of
ornamental grasses as a big clump of Pampas grass but there are so many
different variations and some we'll look at are excellent for shade.
Click here for more info
Design Ideas
WE'VE LOOKED AT SO MANY NEW AND EXCITING PERENNIALS BUT MANY ARE
PROBABLY ASKING - how do we put this all together? We next look at some
combinations and some different ideas as to how to use these plants
together. Heucheras or Coral Bells are great to address different color
schemes because there is so much variety and so much interest in these
plants. They also provide an opportunity to see how the different hues
and densities of the colors work together.
Click here for more info
LINKS:
Boyden House B & B
Complete transcript of the show.
Show #40/4201. While Our Gardens Are Asleep, The Growers Are Busy
At Garden Smart we're often asked about the perfect plant. The greatest
number of requests center around the search for a plant perfect for a
shady spot, something that will provide a great splash of color. In
this show we highlight a great line up of new and exciting shade
perennials as well as several that work well in sunny conditions.
John Walters CEO of Walters Gardens is our guest this week. Eric feels
that Walters Gardens is one of the most exciting, innovative greenhouse
operations he has seen.
John tells us a little about himself, his background and Walters
Gardens. Walters is a wholesale perennial grower. It was started about
1946 by his grandmother. She had lost her husband, was trying to eek
out a living and started growing some perennial plants. John's father
also worked in the business as has John since an early age. He has done
about every job around here over the many years. To John this is not
only a vocation but an avocation.
AT WALTERS GARDENS THEY GROW PERENNIAL PLANTS. Perennial plants come
back every year. In particular they specialize in hardy plants, plants
that grow in the upper mid west. John and his crew scour the entire
globe looking for new plants. They think there's a great market for
perennials and that these plants improve all the time. Eric notices a
lot of new technology throughout this facility. In particular one piece
of equipment is new to him. Eric is correct, John explains that it is a
new piece of equipment, just purchased last year. They were looking for
something that would help them be more productive and increase their
automation capacity. They came across the Ellie guard, which is made in
Denmark. The Ellie Guard does away with pots and plugs. It injects soil
in through a paper sleeve therefore eliminating containers, no more
pots. They think pots just get thrown into the environment, thus
they're being more environmentally friendly. John finds the plants grow
better because of the structure of the sleeve. Because it's paper air
is able to approach the plant from all sides, which encourages root
development.
John and Eric walk through the line that moves plants from raw
materials to a finished plant. From the Ellie machine the plug goes
down the line, is watered, then dibbled (the dibble puts a little hole
into the soil) so they transplant better, from there they go to the
ladies placing cuttings into the hole. These cuttings are actually
tissue culture cuttings but they work with other cuttings as well.
Since we've seen the planting process, Eric now wants to see some new
plants.
Often shade gardens pose lots of problems from a standpoint of finding
something exciting, something with a touch of color, something that
will brighten up those shady areas. Often times people just think
different shades of green are all that's available for spaces like
that. This show should dispel those myths.
Top
WHEN JOHN AND HIS GROUP LOOK FOR PLANTS TO BRIGHTEN A SHADY GARDEN,
they look for something that will perform and something that will
provide texture. One plant that does this is Lamium maculatum 'Orchid
Frost.' John believes they were one of the first to bring Lamium into
the U.S. back in the early 1980's from Windsor Bressingham. One plant
is called Orchid Frost, it is a variety that not only has a silvery
color but a flower that looks somewhat orchid pink. It holds up well
under heat and humid conditions. It's a great plant. Another, Ligularia
dentata 'Britt-Marie Crawford' is a plant that comes out of Scotland,
from the Crawford family. It has really nice, deep intense purple
leaves and stems. It's dynamic, especially planted with the Lamium
Orchid Frost. Eric notices the transition from the silver to purples.
Dicentra eximia 'Goldheart' has wonderful color and texture. It offsets
against the other plants. Imagine a dark day or evening and looking
into the shade and seeing this plant? It would just brighten everything
up.
Top
PULMONARIA IS A PLANT THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE but they're
recently breeding a lot of colors into the foliage. The blooms are also
great. Majeste has a bright silver foliage. It's a new innovation in
Pulmonaria with bright leaves, full silver leaves. Again imagine this
plant in a dark place, it would bring a real pop of color to the area.
Pulmonaria longifolia 'Roy Davidson' has a great flowering performance
early in the spring, when they flower, but then the foliage takes over
and it lasts the entire season. It too brings an extra splash of color
to the shade garden.
Top
THERE ARE SEVERAL VARIETIES OF BRUNNERA macrophylla 'Variegata'
Brunnera-Heartleaf. The first is Variegata, the other is Brunnera
macrophylla 'Hadspen Cream'. These have a proliferation of blue
flowers, Forget Me Not kind of flowers in the spring, followed by a
continuous performance of the variegated foliage. Eric mentions that he
knows Walters is on the cutting edge of Brunnera breeding and there are
2 great selections he wants to see. One is Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack
Frost' the second is Brunerra macrophylla 'Looking Glass'. Eric feels
these are a remarkable improvement for Brunnera. He wants to know how
were these developed or how were they found? John feels this is one of
the best new plants in the market during the last 10 years. It was
basically a chance discovery. They have a variety they call Brunnera
macrophylla 'Langtree'. It has a green leaf with a little bit of
fleckering, a little silver but not much. One day up popped a sport and
it was named 'Jack Frost' and it glows. The sport from Jack Frost is
called Brunnera macrophylla 'Looking Glass'. It too will add pop to the
shade garden.
Eric thinks that no garden should be without Coral Bells. For shade
areas they are outstanding. There is every color of the rainbow
represented and Eric thinks they have some great selections here. There
are probably a hundred different types one could choose, every color is
represented. How does Walters Gardens narrow it down and what are some
of the best selections?
Top
CORAL BELLS, BOTANICAL NAME HEUCHERAS, HAVE
COME ALIVE THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. John shows us 2 examples, Heuchera
'Frosted Violet' and Heuchera 'Silver Scrolls' have fantastic texture
and wonderful foliage. These come from Charles and Martha Oliver in
Pennsylvania, who've done a wonderful job. They have a nice splash of
silver between the deep purple veins and it's really stark. The flowers
start on the silver scrolls. Heucheras have not always been known for
their flowering performance, instead for their foliage. Now there's
work being done on both ends and we'll see some impressive results
coming down the road. Heuchera 'Magestic Angel' has green leaves with
darker veins against some nice silver patterning. It's outstanding.
Heuchera 'Obsidian' has a super dark leaf, thus stands out among
Heucheras. It is a great plant, probably the darkest Heuchera we know
today. It comes from the breeding work of Dan Hines and Terra Nova
Nurseries. They've done a marvelous job of coming up with a lot of
different colors and combinations. It's a great plant, has wonderful
texture and foliage and stands out in the garden. In the opposite
direction is a variety with yellowish, greenish foliage, Heuchera 'Lime
Rickey' and it is great as well. Eric imagines these 2 planted together
with the bright chartreuse and the dark purpley black leaves. They're
fantastic. John shows Eric another of Terra Nova's, this one Heuchera
'Peach Flambe'. It's an interesting color we've not seen before in a
Coral Bell. Heucheras are not just for the shade, they do well in full
sun as well. In fact, with a couple of developments recently, by using
a Heuchera villosa, which is an American Eastern native, Heucheras are
now tolerating more heat and humidity than ever before. Following are
several examples. Heuchera villosa 'Caramel' is one. Another is
Heuchera villosa 'Citronelle'. These are a couple of brand new
varieties that just came on the market the past few years. They are
fantastic in sun or shade, a very versatile perennial and it's hard to
beat the really intense splash of color.
Top
Another plant with an interesting pattern is Heucherella 'Stoplight'.
It has a chartreuse leaf with a splash of red right down the center of
the leaf. It's exciting. Heucherella is a cross between a Heuchera and
a Tiarella cordifolia. They are a couple of great plants, great
companion plants especially for the shadier garden. With the Tiarella
one sees a nice splash of color on the flowers. It's earlier, yet it
still has a nice display of flowers against the really nice foliage.
John thinks Tiarella is underused in the landscape. It's a great plant
that gives one that splash of color in early spring yet it performs all
season long. It's a great plant, yet low maintenance.
Top
ONE CAN'T HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT SHADE PLANTS WITHOUT LOOKING AT
HOSTAS. John has an exciting collection and a number of really new
Hostas. There are thousands of different Hostas that someone can pick
for the shade garden. Again the challenge is picking out varieties that
will work well. Our objective is to help the gardener understand the
different types of Hostas, the different colors and patterns available.
John and Eric walk through several. Hosta 'Sum and Substance' is a
really big leaf, gold plant, probably one of the best chartreuse
Hostas. It's a great performer with a beautiful lavender flower that
holds on via a huge stalk. Hosta 'Blue Angel' has a big blue powdery
leaf. There are lot of big blue leaf Hostas. Blues have a tendency of
looking their best early in the season, then as the sun intensifies
they start fading somewhat. Hosta 'Patriot' has a nice green center
with a white margin. Hosta 'Hanky Panky' has an interesting leaf with
about 4 different shades of gold, green and white. Hosta 'Lakeside
Shore Master' is also a nice Hosta. It too has blue in its foliage,
however it actually performs better after spring and as summer goes on
it gets better and better. Some Hostas fade a little, some keep getting
better. 'Patriot' has been around for awhile, is more medium sized and
has stood the test of time. It keeps on going and people keep buying
it. It's a great plant. With the breeding of Hostas, some red stemmed
Hostas are starting to emerge. One example is Hosta 'Katsurgawa Beni'.
It seems breeders have run out of color combinations and are moving on
to other arenas. One of those is red stems and red fennials. They have
a nice look with the red and green. The guys next look at some dwarf
Hostas. Oftentimes when thinking of Hostas we think of big, lush plants
and we don't think of other applications, such as something dainty. Yet
some of those are outstanding. For example Hosta of the year for 2008
is Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears' and it is fantastic. It is a good grower and
a good performer. There is a place for every plant, for every Hosta.
Big Hostas work well in the back where there is a lot of space, medium
Hostas work in the middle but in the front is a great place for the
smaller Hostas. One that's been around for awhile but is a great
standby as far as dwarf Hostas goes is Hosta 'Pandora's Box'. Eric has
seen it in clumps that are 5 or 10 years old and they don't get very
large. Their color, contrast and vibrant looks are great in a shade
garden. Hosta 'Silver Threads and Golden Needles' has an interesting
name and is a different kind of plant, very unique. Hosta 'Zing Zang'
has a unique leaf form, a little green speckling brush throat kind of
look to what otherwise would be a nice creamy white leaf. It's a new
plant for John so he will be anxious to see how it performs as it goes
along. Another exciting newcomer is Hosta 'Paradigm' which is Hosta
of the year for 2007. It's a nice Hosta, has been around for awhile but
being decorated once again. It's a great garden Hosta, is a relatively
young plant that turns into quite a specimen.
Top
WHEN TALKING ABOUT HOSTAS ONE MUST TALK ABOUT SLUGS. There is nothing
more disappointing than midway through the season to have slugs start
feasting on your hostas. To help avoid this John feels it's important
to look for hostas with thick leaves. The thicker the leaves, the more
slug resistant. And there are a number of varieties available. Not only
are thick leaves helpful in slug prevention but additionally leaves
that have more seer-suckering. The more seer-suckering the more slug
resistant but by all means look at the labels. On the labels one will
see information about the varieties that are more slug resistant. Also
if it is tetraploid, that will indicate that it is more slug resistant,
as well.
Top
ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING GROUPS OF SHADE PERENNIALS IN THE LAST 10
YEARS IS HELLEBORE OR LENTON ROSE. Here again there are a lot of new
and exciting Hellebores that have just come on the market. Eric notices
that we're in the coldest greenhouse we've been in all day, it's just
above freezing. John says that they normally take their finished plants
and put them in a cold house. They let them go dormant, let them sleep
over the winter so they're ready to pop in in the spring and start
actively growing. But, Hellebores love these conditions, this is when
they shine. John talks about 3 among many and there are a lot coming on
the market. One is called Helleborus argutifolius 'Pacific Frost' it
has a pointed leaf and has more marbling in the foliage. It blooms a
little later in the season and is a neat introduction. It has obviously
been selected for its foliage characteristics. The next is Helleborus
Ivory Prince 'Walhelivor' and it has nice green foliage with large
flowers that face outward rather than looking downward. Hellebores tend
to be a little shy with their flowers, they bury them down in the
foliage. This variety is definitely showier from a flower standpoint as
the flowers are outward facing. With the usual Helleborus one normally
must reach down and pick up the flower to see them. They can be
beautiful but it is often tough to do that, thus nice when they come
out and look at you. Another Helleborus is 'Blackthorn Strain' and was
selected for the deep purple leaves with bracks on the outside that
also have deep purple with a clean green. It is a variation from other
Hellebores and a nice selection.
A lot of the shade plants we've looked at have big, round leaves,
Hostas for example. Heucheras have a more spade shaped leaf but
ornamental grasses bring a whole new texture to the shade garden.
People normally don't think of ornamental grasses for shade. Instead
they think that ornamental grasses are full sun plants but that's not
always the case.
THE CAREX FAMILY IS VERY GOOD FOR SHADE OR PART SHADE.
Many think of ornamental grasses as a big clump of Pampas grass but
there are so many different variations and some we'll look at are
excellent for shade. Carex elata 'Bowles golden' grows to about 1 to 2
feet tall and is wonderful for the shade. It has yellow foliage that
sticks out when looking at a shady environment and does well in that
situation. It has a great splash of golden color and adds a different
type of texture in the shade garden. Another Carex is Carex morrowii
'Ice Dance'. It is a little different type, has a more green leaf with
a little bit of white variegation on the edge that adds a different
contrast to yellow foliage and it does well in shady environments.
Carex hachijoensis 'Evergold' stays relatively short. It is also
evergreen, no matter what time of year it is it's performing. It
brightens up a dark area or a semi-shaded area. A unique type of grass
is Sisyrinchium 'Blue Eyed Grass'. Sisyrinchium lucerne has starry blue
flowers in the springtime, that is why it's called Blue Eyed Grass.
Top
WE'VE LOOKED AT SO MANY NEW AND EXCITING PERENNIALS BUT MANY ARE
PROBABLY ASKING - how do we put this all together? We next look at some
combinations and some different ideas as to how to use these plants
together. Heucheras or Coral Bells are great to address different color
schemes because there is so much variety and so much interest in these
plants. They also provide an opportunity to see how the different hues
and densities of the colors work together. In one combination we view
there is both sparkling burgundy and caramel, both are warm colors
which means they tend more to the yellow side as opposed to the blue
side and it's a harmonious combination. They're good earth tone colors
and compliment each other quite well. By juxtaposition we notice an
area with jade gloss which is a cool bluish tone on Heucheras next to
the caramel. It's not as good a combination. They don't clash but don't
compliment each either either. As we put plants together we should
think of keeping all warm tones together and keeping all cool tones
together. That's a good rule of thumb for starting off. At the same
time as one moves plants around try different color combinations, take
a light hearted approach. With so many different varieties available,
why have just one or two varieties. Play a little bit more and
experiment a little with colors.
We look at another totally different type of combination. Here we have
a caramel and sparkling burgundy which are colors that would be very
close to each other on the color wheel. More of the reddish and orange
hues that are kind of warmer tones and they work well together. Another
group has a deep purple and a bright chartreuse color that would be
opposites on the color wheel but they look good together. These plants
are Heuchera 'Lime Rickey' and Heuchera 'Frosted Violet' and the
contrast is amazing. They just grab you, a nice color combination. The
chartreuse really helps one see more of the violet, it draws the eye
into the planting and brightens everything. It's a great way to put two
contrasting colors together. Another great combination of shade
perennials is Heuchera "Frosted Violet' and Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack
Frost' and they make a dynamic duo. The heart shaped leaf, the light
color versus the dark foliage. It has a little different leaf color and
there is some silver banding but it's a little different type of
silver. They work well together and the contrast is harmonious. A nice
pair. We often don't think of shade perennials in containers, more
commonly when thinking about container combinations sun perennials come
to mind. But shade perennials work well together in a container,
especially some with an incredible amount of color. One example is
Heucherella 'Stoplight' planted in a beautiful blue container. It, too,
is stunning. It's not only the foliage but the burgundy spreading into
the veins. A great look.
We've seen a lot of amazing plants in this show. A lot of exciting new
perennials. Eric thanks John for this tour. His operation is amazing,
his plant knowledge outstanding. Thanks John for all the plant
information.
Top
LINKS:
Boyden House B & B
