Why This Does Not Work: Unsafe Berberis

One of the most important principles in landscape design is right plant, right place.  This means that the designer (or whoever is selecting plants) chooses a plant that fits the light, soil, and size of the place it is intended.  But here is another consideration.  Don't put a plant with razor sharp thorns along a public stair railing.

This is one of my favorite plants: Berberis or commonly called barberry.  It's a great shrub, sometimes deciduous, sometimes evergreen.  I suspect this is Berberis darwinii, the evergreen cultivar.  It has tiny flowers that pop against the foliage in the spring and tiny red berries in the fall that persist into the winter.  Berberis has some of sharpest thorns in the plant world and at 1 1/2-2" long, could easily impale a person or animal.  This is a great shrub for a hedgerow, since the thorns enable it to function like a fence, but it creates a great refuge for birds to safely nest.

However, it isn't a good idea along a high school stairway, growing through the railing and trailing over the handrail.  Sometimes, things just scream out, "What were they thinking?"  Most likely, they weren't.

What's Hot Now: Camellias

The beautiful camellia is elegant and for me, quite southern.  Here in the PNW, there are primarily two kinds of ornamental Camellia japonica and C. sasanqua.  Sasanquas have smaller leaves; smaller blooms that arrive in fall, and when the bloom begins to deteriorate, the petals fall of individually.  (He loves me, he loves me not....)

A lovely example of a double.

C. japonicas are what I'm spotlighting.  These are broadleaf evergreens that do best in bright shade or morning sun and afternoon shade.  They don't like the burning all day sun, even though it's the state flower of Alabama.  Japonicas have larger leaves that are shiny on top and a lighter green beneath.  (These shiny leaves are a plus in shady areas, adding brightness with their sheen that isn't often considered in a design.)  Blooms are single (simple open flower) or double (ruffles of petals.)  Different cultivars have different bloom colors and types and growth habits.  I did several drive-by portraits in my neighborhood and the smallest I found was 10' tall.  Japonica blooms fall as a whole flower.  Supposedly, samurais did not like C. japonica because it seemed like a head falling from the plant.

I have three Yuletide camellias, which are C. sasanqua, but I placed them in full shade and I've had one bloom in three years.  Sasanquas are supposed to be more adaptable, liking full sun to full shade conditions, but perhaps my full shade is too full.  I'm moving my three to a brighter area this summer/fall, so either they will start producing or they'll be replaced, perhaps with a nice nandina.

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.

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.

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.