Plant Profile: Bush Honeysuckle - Diervilla lonicera

This shrub has to be the most overlooked specimen in garden centres.

I have no idea why.

During the summer, this plant has such a fully balanced form of deep, shiny green foliage that sometimes can become confused with dogwood varieties.

Attractive attributes:

• drought tolerant
• full sun to shade ranges in exposure
• not susceptible to bugs or disease
• easy to prune
• fabulous red fall colouring of foliage and seed heads
• hardy (zone 3)
• native (Ontario/Eastern USA)
• seeds are food source for birds
• bees and butterflies like their late blooming flowers

Not many shrubs have seed heads so rich in colour with contrasting blooms side by side.

This is just the beginning of the real autumn show. Leaves turn deep burgundy before their autumn shed. Brilliant red seeds provide winter interest.

Flowering from late July to October.  Give the shrub a harsh, rounded prune in early spring and it will provide more new growth for better flowering like above.

It's worth asking your local garden centre to order you one.

Photo of the Month - January 2014

In so much as this winter has been tough, I am in awe of how plants retain their winter interest despite the rough weather. These PG Hydrangeas still have their dried flowers in tact. There is provision every where, if one pays attention. Birds in the spring will remove some of these florets for nest building. So please, when you have hydrangeas in your garden, don't be tempted to remove the flowers. Let them dry and become winter interest and a source of materials for birds.

The Dead of Winter - Part Two

Part two: More plants that offer interest in the dead of winter...continuation of Part One.

Corylus avellana 'Contorta' - Corkscrew Hazel 
 My photo does not do this Hazel justice. The zig-zag and twisted stems are just so visually interesting, you can't help but gaze at it's growth habit. Once mature, the shrub will bear catkins and give more visual interests in winter.

Hydrangea anomala petioliaris - Climbing Hydrangea
Like its shrub counterparts, this vine holds its flower heads over winter, and they stand away from the walls it adheres to. The snow sits and adds real texture to your wall or fence.

Euonymus fortunei 'coloratus' - Wintercreeper Euonymus
This is one of my favourite ground covers. I picked it for its fall colouration that lasts throughout the winter. Unlike english ivy and pachysandra, this ground cover brings colour to the ground in the dead of winter. 

Anemone x hybrida - Snow Drop Anemone
When maturing overwinter, these seed heads open and release their fluff. This fluff catches your eye, and also provides bedding for birds nests in the spring. Quite lovely seeing this in the garden. Great paired with Rudbeckia seed heads.

Cornus sericea - Red Osier Dogwood
Every garden should have this as a background plant. Pruning and thinning of branches gives a great resource to empty winter containers. The bright red stems just add great accents to the container and to the landscape.

Yucca filamentosa - Adams Needle Yucca
A tropical feel poking through snow. I love yuccas. They need to be thinned out every few years, but there's nothing more beautiful, then to see green, healthy and rigid stems still remaining when everything like it goes brown and dormant. 

More to come...

The Dead of Winter - Part One

Dead? Not so much. 

Winter interest in the garden is key to keep it "alive" during the bleakness of dormancy. Fruit, seed-pods, evergreen foliage, texture and movement is what helps to keep the garden interesting during the cold days of winter.

This is the time of year to take a long look, to ponder what can fill some holes and offer some ideas for your garden.

Here is part one of some of my favourite choices to help keep winter interest alive.

Cornus serica "Flaviramea" - Yellow Twig Dogwood  
I tend to enjoy seeing this in gardens more than the average red twig dogwoods. Grouped side by side would make a huge impact. Their yellow/green stems just say 'I'm alive', when all else is brown.

Lavendula augustifolia - Mundstead Lavender
I love silver foliage in all seasons. The silver covering of lavender is commonly mistaken for ground cover junipers. It drapes rockery really well and helps attract snow - making softer edges. You can still cut sprigs of lavender and use for pot-puree even in winter.  Bonus!

Callicarpa dichotoma - Purple Beautyberry Bush 
You don't see these coloured berries every day. What a delightful bush to plant next to an evergreen. The purple/pink berries against a back drop of green just says - "look my direction!"

Rudbeckia Goldstrum

Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm' -Black Eyed Susan
 Nearly every garden has them. Why not! They are such a versatile perennial. One of my pet peeves however, is many whack them down to the ground in late fall. I see no sense in doing that, when against snow, they offer such texture and dark contrasts with their seed heads. Not only that, but they provide a wonderful food source for various birds. I've witnessed Chickadees, Warblers, Juncos, and Finch feed off them in my backyard! 

Berberis thunbergii - Barberry
Given the height and its grouping, I gather this Barberry is "Ruby Carousel". Used often now for contrast colour in summer months and great red leaf fall demonstration - yet most folks don't realize the great red berries on Barberries. When they are healthy and happy, they produce and retain red berries throughout the winter.

Sedum x "Autumn Joy" - Stone Crop
Like the Hydrangea below, the umbrella, mushroom flower head holds just enough snow to make this perennial a keeper for winter interest. The seed heads and rigid stems stand a lot of wind and make the garden still seem to bloom in the middle of winter.

Ilex meserveae - Blue Holly  
Holly has some troubles growing in Ontario, but as our zones seem to become warmer, I find more and more areas where holly thrive. Plant a male and female holly together and not only do you get rich dark green foliage (most evergreens turn bronze in winter), but you'll get a great display of red berries too.

Calamagrostis Karl Forester - Karl Forester Feather Reed Grass
I love this grass for its vertical growth habit. Karl Forester grass remains rigid and upright in the most exposed areas. I took this picture down by  Lake Ontario, a stones throw away from the water. Winds and traffic have whipped this grass about, and yet it remains standing tall. Grasses add such great texture and provide visual interest when other vertical elements just stand there.

Hydrangea paniculata  - Conical Flowering Hydrangea
Not sure which variety of Hydrangea paniculata, but its dried flower heads make a great display, even in winter. Don't cut them back in the fall, let the snow and the birds make use of their dried flowers. Beats looking at sticks all winter.

More to come in part two!