Exposure Fail

Usually bold flowers do even better when you give them more sun. Not so for Astilbe. When I first experimented with Astilbe, I moved an Astilbe japonica ‘Montgomery’ into the sun on the south side of our home. It wilted and didn’t even make it to fall. So when the plant information card said it’s a shade to part-shade plant, they really meant it. It’s too bad too. The masses of tiny flowers brought the splash of red I wanted.

Fail Whale

So, I thought to myself, perhaps Astilbe could handle the deepest shade in a covered sunken patio. I got the largest Astilbe I could find, Astilbe Hybrid ‘Bridal Veil’, the one with the best chance of reaching any available reflections of indirect light. It was also the only one big enough to properly fill the large planter that was available. But it was not to be. Bridal Veil looked sad by the fall and didn’t come back the next year.

Too Pale

I also filled four window box-sized planters with Astilbe Eden’s Odysseus on the north side of our home. The plant performed very well. Unlike other plants I’ve tried in the same un-insulated planters, Astilbe Eden’s Odysseus came back strong that next spring. The mostly indirect light is just right for Astilbe. Unfortunately, the color wasn’t successful. The extremely light pink to lavender flowers weren’t vibrant enough to stand out against beige siding. I’ve since transplanted Eden’s Odysseus about five times, including to inhospitable locations. Even so, two of eight original plants still come back every year.

In the Zone

I went online to find a deeper color. I ordered enough Purple Lance (pictured in the center above) to fill the four original window box-sized containers plus four more. Although it wasn’t as dark or as purple as advertised, the deeper pink to lavender Purple Lance flowers are more striking against the beige siding and wood fence. They come back every year. Since 2007, I’ve lost only about three out of 16 plants in corners that probably get the least amount of indirect light. That’s a 97% per year retention rate.

Color Clone

To fill in the few spots where we’ve lost Purple Lance and to add a container, I found Purpurkerze. If I didn’t know where each was planted, I wouldn’t be able to tell Purple Lance and Purpurkerze apart. Even in full bloom they could pass for each other. There is at least one difference. Purpurkerze is thriving in the slightly darker corners where Purple Lance did not. Since about 2009, about four out of five Purpurkerze plants have survived. That’s a 95% per year retention rate.

Retention Shown

Our Astilbes were so successful, we stopped buying annuals for the other un-insulated planters. Instead we filled four more window box-sized planters with Astilbe Deutschland. Since 2010, all 12 plants continue to thrive on the north side of the house. As long as there isn’t too much wind and they get the right amount of light, Astilbe there.

Description

The upper body, or thorax, is greenish yellow with dark goldenrod yellow legs, back, and tail-like abdomen. The wings are almost entirely transparent except for thin dark veins and filled-in stigmas. Each stigma, a rectangular panel on the front edge of each wing near the tip, is greenish yellow with a dark goldenrod yellow spot in the middle. The head is the same greenish yellow with a mauve cap and a dark goldenrod yellow spot in front. Look closer and what a face! It looks as if it has painted lips and a dark pupil staring right at you.

Preferred Plants

The Meadowhawk perched on top of a Hazelnut trellis branch that holds our Climbing Hydrangea. Eventually it turned its head and pumped its wings. We knew it would be fine.

Flowers

I’ve only seen it bloom once. And even then, I missed the moments when the inflorescence was in full bloom. An inflorescence is a cluster of flowers on small stems called pedicels emanating from the same main stem called a peduncle. From what I could see, each diminutive flower had three white petals with a few light-green veins around a super light-green center. After the petals fall, the remaining inflorescence dries into a reddish brown or maroon color.

Foliage

Climbing Hydrangea leaves are bright green. Although I bought the plants for their height, this color turned out to be the plants’ best asset. Each heart-shaped leaf has serrated edges and a point at the end. The leaves are much lighter and smaller than other varieties of Hydrangea. The color makes this plant great for use in the foreground when adding depth to the garden.

Vine

The Climbing Hydrangea vine, shown on the right, sprouts roots wherever it comes in contact with other objects. In this case, the roots are clinging to a vertical trellis branch. Established vines are brown and woody while new growth is green and flexible.

Spring

Up and down dormant vines, new bright green leaves emerge. Between vines are recesses where foliage can’t quite reach.

Summer

Foliage fills in more of the recesses. New vines continue to protrude at various heights. Leaves retain their bright green color.

Fall

Leaves turn a buttery yellow on the orange side. A darker goldenrod yellow horseshoe shape appears concentrically on each leaf. Then the leaves fall off the plant starting with the extremities and moving inward.

Growth

I purchased this plant for its height when it was 3 feet tall. The Climbing Hydrangea has since grown 2 1/2 feet in five years to be about 5 1/2 feet tall. If I had a taller trellis and stopped cutting it back, it is likely to grow even more. The plant information card indicates a mature size of 20 feet.

Form

While there are many plants that make great topiaries and espaliers, I like the more natural rolling forms possible with Climbing Hydrangea. By giving the plants a three-dimensional trellis and simply leading protruding branches back to the trellis, the plants do the rest. Serene yet complex forms take shape.

Feeling

The bright green color of Climbing Hydrangea fills a much-needed role. Among the darker and duller summer leaves throughout the garden, this vine retains its bright hue, a shade usually associated with spring. It makes the whole garden feel fresh throughout the growing season.

Combinations

Climbing Hydrangea provides a great backdrop for green, white, and red-leafed plants. Many colors of the annual Coleus, for example, provide a great contrast. My personal favorite is allowing Clematis to grow intertwined with Climbing Hydrangea. Clematis provides the abundance of flowers while the Hydrangea provides the fullness of foliage. You may want a backdrop for the Hydrangea. For this we use Boston Ivy. Avoid planting Climbing Hydrangea with grey-green-leaved plants such as Silver Mound and plants with greenish-yellow fall foliage such as Narrow Leaved Blue Star.

Care

All six Climbing Hydrangea plants split between two insulated planters survived three Chicago winters. Then, after the fourth winter, one died. It may have been due to a false start to spring. Most of the work for this plant is up-front, in making sure it has a proper trellis. After a suggestion from my cousin Lisa, I chose to make my own trellis of Hazelnut branches. To maintain the plant, I lead stray branches back to the trellis and cut off branches that stray too far.

Description

Its head and upper body, or thorax, are olive green. The base of its tail-like abdomen is turquoise blue and the rest is covered in a couple of shades of purple: grape and indigo. A pattern of concentric blue, white, and black circles in the center of the head looks like a nazar, an amulet thought by some in Turkey and nearby countries to protect against evil eye. As with many dragonflies, the wings are almost entirely transparent between thin dark veins.

Preferred Plants

The Green Darner remained still, vertically perched on a Willow branch. Perhaps it’s watching over our garden.

Blown Up

A few years ago, a neighbor set off some fireworks in celebration of the 4th of July. One of the fireworks landed in the Yew, cutting off top branches and creating a vertical hole down the middle of the right-most plant. Apparently fireworks and Yews don’t mix.

Rise Up

It turns out that Yews are resilient. Since the damaged side was shorter than the rest, the entire hedge was trimmed down to about a foot and a half off the ground. After about four years, it was back to the height it was prior to the incident. Still, there is a bit of a hole that remains.

Follow-up

Last month we saw another neighbor with a cast or foot-brace. “What happened?” He tripped on the sidewalk in front of his house, stumbled forward and fell into our Yew. “Had it not been for that bush, I would have hurt more than my foot.” It’s a good thing Yew came back.

Description

The body is bright green. Dark brown or black chevrons point up the tail-like abdomen. The end of the tail-like abdomen is also dark with really light, perhaps white, appendages at the tip. Dark and light spots are also present on the head. The wings are transparent between thin dark veins except for four stigmas. The stigmas, small rectangular panels on the front edge of each wing near the tip, have goldenrod yellow centers. Jewel-like green dots in dark rings attach the wings to the body. The overall coloring indicates that this is a female or young male. Adult males have a different color scheme.

Preferred Plants

The Eastern Pondhawk visited both the Yellow Fumitory and Boston Ivy. Initially, I thought the dragonfly was simply on the edge of the planter. But if you look closer, you can see that the insect is grabbing hold of a Yellow Fumitory leaf.

Flowers

Most years I haven’t noticed any flowers, so I recently paid more attention. Flowers are small and short-lived, but numerous. They seem to line-up along the underside of branches on the top of the plant. The flowers are an orange bulb-shape with a lighter colored spray at the end.

Foliage

Needles cover stiff branches heading in every direction, overlapping each other to reach the outer edges of the plant. The closer to the edge, the more numerous the needles lining the branch. In general, needles are a darker pine green color. New growth, however, is soft and bright lime-green in stark contrast with the rest of the plant.

Spring

As the winter ends and spring begins, new growth indicated by lime-green stems and needles sprouts all around the outer edges of the plant. Concealed flowers seem to produce a high pollen count.

Summer

The new growth from spring has already darkened to match the rest of the plant. The soft and bright lime-green new growth of summer is isolated to the end of stems.

Fall

Growth seems to slow to a snail’s pace in fall. The shrub takes on a grayer tone. Leaves falling from neighboring trees rest on top and are caught throughout the plant.

Growth

When we moved in, the yew was damaged on one side. To even it out, someone cut it way down, to about 1.5 feet tall. It then took 5 more years to reach the top of a 3-foot fence. It took 9 years if you don’t count the stray branches that were trimmed to match the overall height of the plant.

Form

Trim your yew to be any shape you desire. You can find plenty of examples of Yew topiary on the internet. Yews are more commonly planted in a row and trimmed as a rectangular hedge. New growth reaches beyond these boundaries, often at 45 degree angles. If you don’t want to maintain a manicured look, you can let the branches jut out freely in every direction.

Feeling

The Yew is a workhorse. It’s bulky, tough, rough, and slow-going. If you have the space, a yew provides a density of foliage that’s hard to match. Our Yew has held up well, especially considering its proximity to a city sidewalk where it sometimes takes a bit of a beating. It can recover from some trauma with scars. The slow growth does not enable the plant to fill in damaged areas very quickly. On the other hand, slow growth serves to keep the plant under control.

Combinations

When planting Buttercup alongside a Yew, the Yew offers the Buttercup support; and the Buttercup brings color to the Yew. Pair a Yew with Ivy as long as you have space for the Ivy to expand in another direction. It is tedious to pull ivy vines out of the yew. And use a Yew as a backdrop for flowering plants such as Crimson Scabiosa. Avoid pairing Yews with plants that clash with the brighter green of its new growth.

Care

To keep them well-manicured, Yews need to be trimmed on a regular basis, perhaps several times a year. I have heard it’s best to trim Yews on cloudy days so the sun doesn’t hurt newly trimmed edges. The whole shrub should be cleaned out occasionally as trimmings, fallen leaves, and litter tend to get caught and accumulate among branches. The Yew has lasted through many winters and droughts. Keep this plant out-of-reach of unsupervised children and hungry pets as most parts are toxic if ingested. Cats and other creatures sometimes enjoy hiding under this dense foliage.

Description

The fur around much of its body is marbled tan, orange, gray, and black. Black fur outlines the tip of it’s ears and wraps around the legs where its legs meet its body. White fur outlines it’s face and covers the bottom of its tail, hence the Cottontail name.

Preferred Plants

Our parkway is covered in clover. The Cottontail made itself at home. It looked a bit skinny so I’m guessing it needed a snack if not a few meals.

Foliage

Vertical stems end in arrow-shaped leaves that angle upward. The red stems blend into red veins of otherwise true-green leaves. A couple of smaller leaves under the main growth are yellow with more prominent red centers. The red color may be an example of aposematism, a built-in warning sign that a plant or animal is toxic.

Greens

Toxic? This was another surprise from something sold in the vegetable section. According to the plant information card, it has a lemony taste. I enjoy one or two leaves in an occasional sandwich and salad. I eat less of it and less frequently now that I know more about it.

Spring

Snow melts from the top of still green leaves. A few more yellow leaves than normal are hidden under the top layer of leaves.

Summer

The high summer sun catches the upward-angled leaves more readily. This extra light makes the leaves seem a bit lighter in color.

Fall

The plant continues to look pretty much the same as it has all year long. While the other edible-leaf plants and herbs around it have died, Sorrel thrives into winter.

Form

Each stem stands upright, packed into a compact crowd of arrowheads. The arrowhead leaves face all different directions. The plant spreads as new stems pop out of the ground around the edge of the crowd and then finally make it to the height of neighboring leaves. Mine is currently 6 inches tall. The plant information card suggests it has solid-green leaves and can get up to 30 inches. At this point, I haven’t seen one solid-green leaf and 30 inches hardly seems possible.

Feeling

Sorrel has the beauty and danger of a femme fatale character. The well-manicured plant with perfect posture wears a flattering shade of green. Complementary red veins warn of danger. Underneath, stems shine like dark red-lacquered soles of stiletto heels.

Combinations

Pair Sorrel with compact herbs such as Basil and greens such as Lettuce. Sorrel also makes a nice border plant for the taller and ganglier Arugula and Cilantro. Next time I’ll try pairing Sorrel with other perennials, still keeping the overall crop quantities small. Avoid pairing Sorrel with plants that have very similar leaves as it’s good to be able to easily identify the Sorrel.

Care

In an insulated planter, Sorrel remained green the few times I checked throughout the winter.  Keep in mind that this past winter was mild by Chicago standards so we’ll see how it handles a harsh one in the future. Transplanting Sorrel twice hasn’t fazed the plant once. Other than water and harvesting an occasional leaf, the plant manages well on its own. Others cut Sorrel back each year.

White Collar

Many white flowers aren’t white in the center. The diminutive flowers of Snow Crystals Alyssum and Golden Moss Aurea (Sagina subulata) groundcovers have white petals surrounding green centers. Strawberries such as Earliglow and Quinalt (Fragaria x ananassa) and Daisies such as Tasso® White  Daisies (Bellis perennis) have white petals surrounding prominent yellow centers.

Da Bells

Some white flowers have bell-like shapes. Blueberries such as Blueberry Jersey (Vaccinium corymbosum) have flowers more specifically shaped like miniature tipped jars. Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) and Heuchera such as Heuchera Obsidian (Obsidian Alum Root) have petals that curl out at their tips. And so do the tips of otherwise heart-shaped Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’) flowers.

Inflorescent White

A quick glance of a city plot sometimes has me mistaking white flowers for litter on the ground. That won’t happen with a tall inflorescence, a cluster of flowers emanating from the same stem. Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris) and not pictured Heritage Raspberry and Henry’s Garnet (Itea Japonica) inflorescences can appear at any number of heights. White-flowering varieties of Astilbe like Bridal Veil and Deutschland (Astilbe x arendsii), Aruncus, and Red Snakeroot (Cimicifuga racemosa ‘Atropurpurea’) have bottle-brush shaped white flower clusters that can reach decent heights.

The White Paper

Most white flowers I have, I’ve gotten by accident. Often when I get a plant for another purpose, the flowers turn out to be white. Nowhere is this more consistent than with fruit-bearing plants like Blueberries, Raspberries, and Strawberries mentioned above and herbs like Basil and Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum). The variety of Basil pictured is Boxwood Basil.  Clover and Arugula (Eruca vescaria), also edible, have white flowers as well.

The White Star Line

Ultimately, no other natural color stands out more at dawn or night than white. Each Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) and Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis paniculata) flower has four long white petals creating a star design. And when it comes to annuals, white Impatiens and Araganthum Snowball, a plant name I haven’t been able to verify, provide more substantial white.

What white flowers and leaves are you using in your garden?