Nurseries, Gardeners, Plants & Other Cool Stuff
by Rommy Lopat

ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED: 1998 Summer

GREAT PLANTS IN MY GARDEN

Here's my run-down on some of the plants I invited into the garden in 1997-98.

The Garden in Spring

Yellow is my favorite color in early spring. In fact, spring starts with the yellow of the Weeping Willow at the far east end of our property, visible from our bedroom windows. I'm daffy over daffodils, of course, and am working on long ribbons of yellow ones along the roadway, mixed in with trees like Corneliancherry Dogwood [Cornus mas] and Wafer Ash [Ptelea trifoliata] that have yellow spring blooms. I bought the Wafer Ash from the Oikos Tree Crops catalog [POB 19425, Kalamazoo, MI 49019 (616) 624-6233] and since it's only about 4" tall right now, it'll be awhile before we'll be able to smell the orange-scented yellow (greenish-white?) blossoms produced by this native-to-IL member of the citrus family [Rutaceae]. Eventually, the tree will grow 10-20 feet high and wide, and it grows just fine in heavy shade. Of course, I am enamored of any plant of which plantsman and author Mike Dirr is "fond" despite its "warty protuberances" and its nickname, the "Stinking Ash". (Apparently not everyone likes the smell of oranges.)

Our formal garden (a big circle with four quadrants and a birdbath in the middle) was planned around the color pink. In spring, it's always fun to see what plants have self-seeded themselves and where they've popped up. Purple-faced violas are everywhere (I particularly like ÔBowles Black' Viola next to the hot hot pink of Lychnis viscaria plena), but it was the copious bright rose and purple flowers of the reseeded Virginia Stock [Malcomia maritima] that was a happy early May surprise. Every year I combine the Virginia Stock seeds with those of Night Scented Stock [Matthiola bicornis] to get frothy patches of incredibly fragrant, tiny pink-white-purple flowers around the garden. This year my Night Scented Stock seeds came from a packet I bought in a Polish grocery store on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. How could I resist? We shall see if the Poles grow a more fragrant variety (since I'm Polish you can guess my answer...).

I've probably written this before, but every year I congratulate myself on having chosen [simply by guessing from catalogs] such a good combination of pink, white, and purple tulips. For the right colors in the right bloom sequence, I heartily recommend: ÔChristmas Dream', ÔPeerless Pink', ÔMarilyn', ÔChina Pink', ÔCum Laude', and ÔDuke of Wellington' Tulips. And you MUST find room somewhere for Tulip ÔPrincess Irene'. She's the color of a great sunset and not to be missed!

Since the pink garden was ordered to remain pink at all times, it was rather a surprise to see it turn purple, white, and green after the tulips finished, but my eyes were glad for the respite. The Pasque Flowers [Pulsatilla], Violas, Allium [A. aflatunense ÔPurple Sensation'], purple Columbines (Aquilegia), Aubretia (one of Claude Monet's favorites), white Iris, periwinkle blue Iris, Veronica ÔWaterperry Blue', and even the whitish Dame's Rocket [Hesperis] that blew in somehow look wonderful against all the new green foliage from other plants. But the weather is so hot already [May 18!] that the Peonies, Roses, and Dianthus are already blooming without giving the Iris their turn.

Summer in the Garden

Calamintha grandiflora is just as nice as predicted in these pages by landscape designer Candy Cleveland [Hinsdale, IL]. It has continually produced pink blooms throughout the summer, but it's its mound of bright green foliage I particularly like. I recommend pairing it with purple Violas, Dianthus gratianapolus ÔSpotty', curly Parsley, purple Heliotrope ÔFragrant Delight' (only buy fragrant Heliotropes, pul-eeze!), Origanum ÔKent Beauty' (purchased at Craig Bergmann's Country Garden and soon to be repurchased since I killed it over the winter) and backing the group with Iris foliage. It would have looked even prettier had the pink Geranium lancastriense bloomed better (guess it's time for dividing).

A close second to Violets in my book of favorites are Dianthus. They're just great. The hot pink of a large mass of Dianthus looks delightful with Geranium bohemicum. This is an annual boasting lots and lots of small lavender blooms with a thin purple vein. Great foliage and a polite re-seeder. I should have given each plant 12" spacing, for it's quite vigorous. Anyway, keep a lookout for as many fragrant varieties of Dianthus as possible, and then create the well-drained soil they like. Having the fragrance nearby when you walk around the yard is worth every effort (shortcut: add ÔProfile' calcined clay or even gravel to the soil).

The Color Apricot

We have a small triangle of a garden just at the entrance to our driveway, and this garden is given to the color apricot, along with periwinkle blue. I'm still hunting for more additions (suggestions, anyone?), but to date the garden includes: Austin Roses ÔBelle Story', ÔTamora', ÔLeander', and ÔBuff Beauty'. The roses are interplanted with Nepeta ÔSix Hills Giant'. If you are looking for a "catnip blue" flower which grows vigorously even in part shade, secure some Nepeta ÔBlue Wonder'. It is strongly upright (30"), and very vigorous (great for hiding tulip foliage). After one year, my three plants have created a circle about 5' around--they crowded out a rose bush (lovely thing: ÔGolden Wings'. (By the way, I think that ÔBlue Wonder' is the same as Nepeta ÔSouvenir D'Andre Chandon'. Am I wrong?)

Also included in this bed is the annual Osteospermum ÔSalmon Queen' [seeds from Thompson & Morgan] which is a knockout apriocot color. Plant the ÔSalmon Queen' very closely together to get a full effect of its shiny blossoms, since it's only about 10" tall (actually, it's one where the main stem flops and the stems then grow upright off of it). This is a really cool plant--perfect with apricot-melon Daylilies. Apricot Foxgloves are planted in this garden as well, but the soil is pretty heavy and they're struggling. In the very front of the roses, I now have Lady's Mantle [Alchemilla mollis], since I tried the adorable Verbena ÔPeaches n' Cream' [Thompson & Morgan], but needed 3-4 more boatloads in order to have it show.

Fragrant Flowers

At 8:30 on a late summer night, the vanilla scent of Nicotiana alata ÔFragrant Cloud' is unbelievable, but you must stand very still to understand how heady the smell can be. The Nicotiana has re-seeded like crazy, but this didn't stop me from ordering several more strains to see which one is most fragrant (N. suaveolens ÔAustralian Tobacco'? N. sylvestris ÔOnly the Lonely'?). Lord knows where I'll find room to plant them, but maybe I do need another garden down near the barn...

Not too many plants ever disappoint, but Agastache ÔFragrant Beauty' is not a beauty nor is its fragrance very pleasant. Pretty dull, but not to the Hawk Moth cavorting around it. They'll both just have to move. On the other hand, run out and buy Agastache barbatus ÔTutti Frutti' so that you'll have fragrance and pink color.

For The Pollinators

Speaking of the bees, butterflies, and "hummers", both they and I are totally ga-ga over Devil's Bugloss ÔBlue Bedder' [Echium sp.] and Verbascum chiaxii album. The Verbascum (Mullein) I grew easily from seed myself, although I note that I lost about half of my plants over the winter. The blue-flowered Echium gives out at the end of summer and did not re-seed, alas, so that too I have started from purchased seed. By the way, I read someplace that butterflies are particularly attracted by the pink and yellow varieties of Butterfly Bush [Buddleia]--I'll let you know whether they prefer ÔPink Delight' to ÔBlack Knight'.

Purple & Blue in the Garden

You may recall my saying that I visited Craig Bergmann's Country Garden in spring, 1997 and came home with Salvia ÔPurple Majesty': a tender perennial sporting a shocking violet flower (dang, the Bergmann staff didn't know the botanical name and I haven't seen anything like it in a book). It's grew to gigantic proportion and was full of gorgeous blooms come September. Absolutely stunning!

While it's too tender to survive a winter outside, Angelonia ÔBlue Pacific' is very cool: about 2', with white flowers dappled with purple. Check it out: two or three plants in a group would be a show-stopper. [By the way, this plant was sent as a freebie when I ordered some plants from Logee's Greenhouse in CT. I love that!!) Do not miss adding the purple of Veronica ÔWaterperry Blue' and Campanula rotundifolia ÔOlympica' [Scotch Bluebells] to your garden.

Then there's blue: the whole plant of Eryngium ÔBlaukappe' has a metallic blue cast that shimmers: very cool! A great favorite is tiny Gentian septemfida--as blue as blue can be! I also love Cupid's Dart [Catanache caerulea] which makes a dry, snapping noise when its stems are rustled, but lost one of two to the winter.

Hosta & Other Cool Foliage Plants

Hosta ÔJune' is very, very nice: I predict great things for this plant. It's a gold-centered, blue margined "sport" of ÔHalcyon'. Another knock-out cool Hosta is the 6" tall ÔPandora's Box': this one I've seen retail for $70 despite its teen-iney size! I'm not in that league, but, yeah baby, go for it if you can. What else: oh, I saw a European Beech [Fagus sylvatica] pruned into a cone shape at Gardner Nursery (Richmond, IL). To die for! And I intend to get a whole passle o' blue Dwarf Conifers for the new blue & yellow garden, but, gee, I wanted some Larches [Larix] too. Susan Eyre, of Rich's Foxwillow Pines Nursery (Woodstock, IL) has written a very funny piece called, "Addicted Conifer Syndrome" that is printed in their catalog. Expand it to all plants and you've just described "moi". My dream? One-stop shopping for cool annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees. Anyone want to invest?

TWG subscriber Sheryn Herian has expanded her very successfull landscape design business to include a line of homemade soaps, custom candles, and body and bath oils (see advertisement this page). She is using her Swiss great-great grandmother's recipe for a hard goats-milk soap, and I want to endorse her products. They're great! The soaps smell wonderful and they lather! [They also didn't leave white crud (elite advertising term) in my bathtub.] Her soaps are made of Echinacea, Witch hazel, Sweet woodruff, and Larkspur. Each is wrapped in handmade botanical paper. [Another over-achieving woman!]

Other than a plant or a subscription to TWG, the next best gift for your best pals are these botanicals (I don't have room to plug her scrubs, too. Gorgeous bottles!) Trust me, buy these! Retailers take note: buy a case --your customers will love them!

If you're looking for native plants, get the catalogs of Enders Greenhouse (Rockford) and Prairie Ridge Nurser (Mt. Horeb, WI). Anne Meyer and Joyce Powers, the owners of these businesses, have been studying native plants forever. They are two people who will steer you right!

Time-Savers

Let me save you the $7.95 it cost to buy the Dec/Jan 98 issue of Gardens Illustrated, the veddy veddy English horticulture magazine (which is one of my veddy veddy favorites, even at $45!/year!) Anyway, it had an article about Dutch nurseryman, Piet Oudolf, who recently wrote a new book entitled, Gardening with Grasses. Oudolf is a master of the Ônew European garden'--naturalistic plantings, big forms, and rough textures--the style institutionalized in America as Ôthe new American garden' by landscape gardeners Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden. In short, the grass border.

But I digress. In Gardens Illustrated, Oudolf offers a collection of plants for sale, none of which I've heard of or found for sale in U.S. catalogs, but I'm sure we will soon. Here are the six he planted together and their accompanying descriptions: Veronicastrum virginicum ÔLavendelturm', an imposing plant with spectacular lavender-blue spires, growing to 2m; Thalictrum lucidum, one of the more unusual thalictrums, with creamy plumes and dark leaves, growing to 2m; Phlox paniculata ÔRosa Pastell', with abundant salmon-pink, scented flowers on elegant stems; Stipa turkestanica, a clump-forming, elegant grass; Astrantia major ÔClaret', similar to ÔRuby Wedding', has outstanding deep red flowers that bloom over a long period; and Achillea ÔHella Glashoff', an essential component of the herbaceous border, with pale yellow flowers and a unique Ôhortizontal' accent." Cool, eh?

Another prediction? Perennial Cyclamen is going to hit big--and it should! These lovely flowers are just perfect for planting under trees or naturalizing out in the open. And great foliage!

Midwest Living Magazine [April 98] features a lot of little gardening "blurbs". Jayson Garden, a garden "stuff" shop located at 1915 N. Clybourn in Chicago (773) 342-7336; Smith & Hawken--no description needed, just go there and gawk at marketing savvy par excellence--1780 N. Marcey, Chicago (312) 266-1988; Terra Jane Country Inn in Cedar Rapids, IA, whose 8-acres include gardens and prairie grasses (712) 322-4200; TWG friend Scott Kunst, owner of Old House Gardens heirloom bulb catalog (313) 995-1486; and Lake Creek Garden Features, which is selling a nice-looking 4' tall (cedar) Victorian lattice stand and gazing ball (712) 464-8924.

In addition, Midwest Living featured an excellent mail-order tree and shrub nursery called Arborvillage Farm Nursery (catalog $1, (816) 264-3911. Owners Lanny and Sue Rawdon grow about 1,000 varieties of trees and shrubs. Great plants, easy prices. They were recommended to me by one of my advertisers but hey, maybe someday a nursery here will offer really cool shrubs too.

How about this? Nick Christians, a researcher at Iowa State University claims that corn-gluten meal will organically control crabgrass, if spread at the time the Forsythias bloom. It's sold under several trade names including "Wow!", so check it out.

One of the most interesting nurseries you'll ever visit in the Midwest is Wavecrest, located on 25 acres in Fennville, Michigan. Robert Tomayer and his daughter, Carol, grow about 1,400 varieties of plants, many very unique. (Tomayer originated the Weeping Larch tree if that gets you interested...). For a catalog, send $1 to 2509 Lakeshore Dr., Fennville, MI 49408 (616) 543-4175.

If bugs make you nuts, call (314) 966-2287 and get the catalog of "The Bug Store" [St. Louis, MO]. The catalog is little, but mighty: I never knew there were so many bugs to eat so many bugs. Very handy reference! I particularly enjoyed their idea of sending gift boxes of bugs! For all occasions--jingle bugs, love bugs, box o'bugs, Easter Buggy, Bug Your Mother. Some of the gift boxes even include predators! [Also see www.bugstore.com]

Here's a rundown on the magazine pile's rack's topics:

Arum Italicum: American Nurseryman 1/15/98;
Broccoli: Organic Gardening 2/98;
Bulbs for Containers: Horticulture 3/98;
Bulbs for Summer: Horticulture 6/98;
Columbines: Country Gardens 3/98;
Corydalis: American Cottage Gardener 1/98; Cutting Garden Flowers: Martha Stewart Living 3/98;
Dahlias: Garden Design 5/98;
Dooryard Garden Design by TWG subscriber/landscape designer Barbara Berend: Organic Gardening 1/98;
Elderberry [Sambucus]: Fine Gardening 1/98;
Environmental History: Preservation 1/98;
Epimedium: American Nurseryman 3/1/98;
The American Gardener, 3/98; Espalier: Kitchen Garden 3/98;
Fragrant Shrubs: American Cottage Gardener 4/98;
Fritillaria: Martha Stewart Living 3/98;
Garden Design (Puget Sound) by TWG subscriber Deborah Needleman: House & Garden 1/98;
Garden Photos, Nice: Simply Perfect Perennials/Better Homes & Gardens 1998;
Country Gardens 3/98;
Geraniums: American Cottage Gardener 1/98; 4/98;
Gladioli: Martha Stewart Living 3/98;
Hardy Water Iris (by TWG advertiser Greg Speichert: Crystal Palace Perennials): Fine Gardening 5/98;
Hummingbirds: The Nature Conservancy 3/98;
Hyacinths: American Cottage Gardener 1/98;
Hydrangeas: Organic Gardening 2/98;
Landscape Lighting: Chicagoland Gardening 5/98;
Landscape Architecture 5/98;
Lavender: Organic Gardening 4/98;
Magnolias: Gardens Illustrated 1/98;
Horticulture 6/98;
Morning Glories: Organic Gardening 3/98;
Mulleins: American Cottage Gardener 1/98; 4/98;
Orange, The Color: Horticulture 3/98; Penstemons: Fine Gardening 5/98;
Pink, The Color: American Nurseryman 5/1/98;
Poppies: The Herb Companion 2/98;
Roses, Pruning: Garden Design 2/98;
Strawberries: Organic Gardening 4/98;
Sweet Peppers: Organic Gardening 3/98;
Tree Pruning: American Nurseryman 1/15/98;
Trillium: Martha Stewart Living 3/98;
Trough Recipe: Country Gardens 3/98;
Viburnums: Chicagoland Gardening 5/98;
Zinnias: American Cottage Gardener 4/98

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