The Right-Size Flower Garden. Kerry Ann Mendez
called Easter rose because the flowers typically bloom around Easter time.
OREGON GRAPE HOLLY
Mahonia aquifolium
Zones 5 – 9 (4 where protected) ♦ Part Shade
3' – 6' tall, 2' – 5' wide
Spring flowers: yellow
Attributes: Drought tolerant, deer resistant, birds enjoy berries, fragrant flowers, evergreen, barrier border Beauty and the beast. Lush, grape-like, yellow flowers dangle from stems covered with extremely prickly leaves. Edible, blue-black berries appear later in summer. To maximize flowering, plant more than one shrub together. Oregon grape holly’s foliage is easily damaged by blustery winter winds, so place them in a protected area. Spraying leaves in early winter with an anti-dessicant like Wilt-Pruf will also help preserve their glossy green patina.
FIVE-FINGERED ARALIA, FIVELEAF ARALIA
Eleutherococcus sieboldianus ‘Variegatus’
(old name Acanthopanax sieboldianus ‘Variegatus’)
Zones 4 – 8 ♦ Part Shade to Shade
6' – 8' tall, 6' – 8' wide
Spring flowers: greenish-white
Attributes: Drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, tolerates heavy shade and poor soil, great barrier hedge
Here is another shrub that gets no respect. But times they are a-changin’. Aralia sparkles in shade! Attractive creamy white and green leaves quickly fill in shady gaps. Like other members in the Aralia family, the stems are covered with thorns, making it a great privacy hedge as well. Like holly, there are male and female Aralia, but females are primarily sold at garden centers. If matchmaking occurs, then yummy blue-black berries are the result. Aralia is intoxicating when planted with coral bell ‘Stormy Seas’ (purple leaves), Heucherella ‘Buttered Rum’ (gold, burgundy and orange leaves), and Japanese forest grass ‘Aureola’ (sweeping yellow and green blades). Just make sure to protect your ears when the roaring applause comes! (Pictured above: Eleutherococcus sieboldianus ‘Variegatus’.)
SMOOTH HYDRANGEA
Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Grandiflora’
Zones 3 – 9
Part Shade (can also handle sun to part sun)
3' – 5' tall, 3' – 5'+ wide
Summer flowers: white
Attributes: Drought tolerant, rabbit resistant, reliable bloomer, cut and dried flower, native to eastern U.S.
‘Annabelle’ and ‘Grandiflora’ are real troopers. Unlike many hydrangeas, they make dry shade seem like a walk in the park. Both have glowing white, ball-shaped flowers in early summer, with some repeat bloom. Blooms age to limey-white. ‘Grandiflora’ is a bit more compact than ‘Annabelle’. Smooth hydrangea set their flower buds on new spring wood, so any pruning required is done in late winter.
JAPANESE ANDROMEDA, LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY SHRUB
Pieris japonica
Zones 5 – 8 ♦ Part Shade to Shade
4' – 8' tall, 3' – 6' wide
Spring flowers: white, pink
Attributes: Drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, evergreen, foliage, enjoyed by bees
All Japanese andromeda have lily-of-the-valley-like flowers that decorate evergreen foliage. Most have white flowers; ‘Valley Rose’ and ‘Valley Valentine’ have rich pink “jewelry.” Some cultivars, like ‘Mountain Fire’ and ‘Forest Flame’, display shocking, reddish-pink new leaves after flowering, others not so much, or not at all. There are also variegated selections like ‘Variegata’ and ‘Flaming Silver’. Green and white leaves glow with reddish new growth. I grew ‘Flaming Silver’ under a pine tree in Upstate New York with tremendous results. Japanese andromeda are in the same family as Rhododendron, azalea and mountain laurel. All are shallow-rooted shrubs and should be watered deeply in the fall to help encourage lush spring flowers. Japanese andromeda have a strong aversion to cold winter winds (so do I). (Pictured above: ‘Flaming Silver’.)
Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus)
Additional flowering shrubs for dry shade: St. John’s wort (Hypericum calycinum), sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) (pictured above) and fragrant sweetbox (Sarcococca ruscifolia).
This lovely front landscape and hardscaping was done by Faddegon’s Nursery, where I used to work, in Latham, NY. Notice how the sweeping walkways soften the straight lines of the house and entrance arbor. Similar colors are repeated throughout the landscape, including the hanging baskets, to unify the look.
Foundation plantings. Many foundation plantings, especially those in the front of the house, are screaming for a touch-up or complete overhaul: shrubs have outgrown their space or are outdated, or there is little or no greenery during winter months, leaving foundations embarrassingly exposed and the garden lacking year-round structure, color and texture. Skinny may be fashionable in the apparel industry but not when it comes to foundation beds. Gordon Hayward, a well-known garden designer and author from Vermont, advocates that the minimum width of this type of bed should be the height of the front wall of the house (not including the roof). Basically, envision the wall flopped forward onto the lawn and that is where the edge of the foundation garden should be. If that causes you to gulp, then go with at least half that depth and you’ll be on the right track. And while you’re reconsidering the foundation planting, why not take a peek at the walkway going to the front door. If it’s a severe straight line, parallel to the house, with a sharp right angle just before the entrance, then perhaps this unimaginative, “walk the plank” approach could use a little tweaking. Just saying.
And we all have one thing in common when it comes to our landscape – we are getting older and bending down isn’t getting any easier. Is it an illusion, or does the ground look farther way than it used to? Can’t be true. My doctor says I’ve shrunk an inch in the past two years and he’s not talking about my waist. No wonder many of us are building raised garden beds. If we can’t get to them, they’ll come to us. Raised bed or container gardening also solves the difficulty of digging in rocky or clay-packed soil.
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