What's Hot Now: Emerald 'n Gold Wintercreeper or Euonymus

What do all of these plants have in common?

Hmm, well, they are all the same kind of plant!  Emerald 'n Gold Wintercreeper is named Euonymus fortunei, appropriately.  It's a surprising plant that doesn't realize that most plants like tidy labels, such as "groundcover," "climber," or "shrub."  It's all of these things, as well as evergreen and as you can see, it takes on various colors in the winter, depending on how much sun and cold exposure it has.  Ideally, it would be grown in full sun, but mine is in mostly shade and in a protected pocket.  So my Euonymus takes on very little pink coloration normally.  In the photo, the ones in the middle apparently just came in from the nursery greenhouse, and so haven't been exposed to the cold, while the ones on either side have, and therefore, have taken on those great colors.

And while Euonymus normally functions as a ground cover or low growing, spreading shrub, it will climb, given proper support.  As an added bonus, wherever the stems touch the ground, it will root and spread.  In fact, I did some "experimental propagation" last summer and literally hacked a couple of runners off of my main Euonymus, planted them elsewhere in beds and voila!  I have little Emerald 'n Golds springing up along a once bare bed.

There are other kinds of Euonymus, some that function as ground covers and others that are truly shrubs.  But I selected this for "What's Hot" because of its sun flexibility, evergreen presence, and color variety.  Check the species and variety before picking up that Euonymus at the nursery.  Also keep in mind that the plants in the photo are young and small.  My Euonymus is at least five years old and is about 6' by 6', so keep that in mind when purchasing and planting.

Why This Works

This is a parking island in a commercial spot near my home.  Most commercial spots are boring, and this one isn't "Game of Thrones" exciting, but it does work because of its simplicity and the mix of plant materials.  All of the plants are durable, take abuse and pollution, and brutal pruning.  The Convexa Japanese Holly (what looks like a boxwood) has the stiff, shiny leaves, while the grass, which I believe is Pennisetum 'Hameln' has great movement and the lovely buff color in fall and winter.  The contrast of stiff evergreens, be it confers or broadleaf, and the sway of grasses is a nice combination.  The redtwig dogwood in the middle adds just a little color, but would crowd out the space if maintenance didn't keep it contained.  Together, the island works much better aesthetically than most commercial spaces.  The trunks of the trees, which are Flame Ash (Fraxinus oxycarpa 'Flame') are stunted because they're in a crowded island, but they still have lovely burgundy fall color.

What's Hot Now: Sweet Box

How could anyone resist a plant commonly called Sweet Box?  And now through early spring, Sarcococca will be the sweetest smell of all in the garden.  These evergreen shrubs with shiny green leaves aren’t large plants, but they carry a robust scent that pushes the clouds away.  And the tiny white flowers are so inconspicuous, many people wouldn’t even notice them, were it not for the smell.  Sarcococca thrives in part to full shade and come in three main species.  The species difference comes from the size and shape of the plants and the fruit color.  The species that I find most useful is Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis, commonly referred to as Himalayan Sweet Box, which only grows 1 ½-2’ tall, but can spread up to 8’.  It can function as a great ground cover in a bed and does a great job in weed suppression.  Sarcococca confusa and Sarcococca ruscifolia are more shrub-like and grow to be about 3-5’ tall and wide, though confusa has black fruit and ruscifolia and red.

My hookeriana is located in one of our “sunny” spots, which means that it gets about four hours of sunshine during the longest day of the year, and yet it thrives.  You’ll sometimes find sweet box in commercial spaces because it is rather tolerant of urban conditions, eg dry shade, pollution, uneven irrigation, abuse, etc.  A superhero of the winter garden, for certain.

Live Oak sketch

A sketch I made earlier today of a Live Oak, not a tree you'd find in PNW.

January What's Hot: Hellebores

This is the first of a regular monthly feature in which I highlight what plants I'm enjoying most.  This will help folks understand about the seasonality of landscape plants and hopefully others can realize that landscapes can be beautiful year round.

Helleborus niger 'Josef Lemper'

This is one of my winter favorites.  Commonly called the Christmas rose or hellebores, this durable perennial shines this time of year with tropical-like foliage and nodding blooms in shades of white, green, and muted purples and pinks.  I also adore the plant because it does quite well in my dappled and full shade backyard.  (It’s one of the four “H’s” I’m cooing over recently: hellebores, hostas, heucheras, and hydrangeas, though I have a love/hate relationship with the latter.)

A hellebore cultivar that I'm growing in my garden and has surprised me with its beauty is 'Shooting Star,' pictured below.  The dusty pink blooms are borne on an upright spike, rather like a raceme.  My ‘Shooting Star’ is tucked into my perennial garden, which is rather bare this time of year.  I was startled when I looked out the window and saw this stunner.

Helleborus GC 'Shooting Star'

Both hellebores pictured are immature examples, photographed yesterday at Al’s Garden Center in Sherwood.  But you can still see how exotic the foliage is and how lovely the flowers are.  They really bring a bit of sunshine to a garden during the dark season.