Posts Tagged ‘Deer Proof Plants’

Earliest blooming Hellebore!

I never thought I’d live to see the day that we were able to grow a true PINK flowered Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger), but famed English hybridizer David Tristram has finally accomplished his goal!

After many years of careful hand-crossing Helleborus niger with Helleborus x hybridus, David was finally successful in creating a true inter-specific cross.

It was originally thought that these two different species would never cross with each other, however Mr. Tristram has proved this theory wrong.

Vast flower colors of Helleborus x hybridus

As you can see from the picture on the right, Helleborus x hybridus comes in a wide variety of flower colors, shapes, and sizes. Whereas the Christmas Rose, Helleborus niger is a pristine, clear white in color.

Walberton’s Rosemary Hellebore is a superb hybrid between these two that now gives gardeners the “Best of Both Worlds”! We get the rich pink flower color from the xhybridus parent and the 3 month earlier bloom time from the niger parent.

Deer proof shade plant Walberton's Rosemary Hellebore

We’ve just finished Halloween here in western Michigan and our plants of Walberton’s Rosemary are coming into full bloom! WOW! I’ve never seen another Hellebore bloom this early in the year.

As you can see from the picture on the left, the hybridization process has also produced a plant with superb vigor! Christmas roses can be a bit tricky to grow in the home garden, but when Mr. Tristram crossed it with the vigorous x hybridus, he greatly improved its garden vigor.

Tremendous flower power of Walberton's Rosemary Hellebore

As you can see from the image on the right, this new hybrid has tremendous flower power! I shot this picture at Skagit Gardens before this plant had been released several years ago. I was simply amazed at the huge number of blooms on these 2 gallon specimen containers!

Congratulations to Mr David Tristram for all his years of dedicated hard work! His new Walberton’s Rosemary Hellebore brings another new realm of great garden possibilities to our favorite and Colorful Deer Proof Shade Hellebores!

The leaves of Hakonechloa fall nicely in one direction along this shaded pathway

My friend Jayne is gardener in Minnesota  (Zone 4) who has been in LOVE with Hakonechloa and growing it as a shade ground cover for  as long as I can remember. There are few grasses that are both deer proof & elegant yet impart an exotic, almost bamboo look that provides up to 9 months of interest!  The two varieties that we are both pretty fond of are Aureola & All Gold which do a bang up job livening up any shade garden. There is a new variety called Fubuki which I’m anxious to try this year.

Adding blue pottery creates maximum contrast & energy in this small space

Line a Shaded Pathway.  Use Hakone grass along a shaded pathway where  their leaves fall in one direction.  The above picture shows a pleasing shade perennial combination with dark foliage  Actaea or Cimicifuga.

Create Contrast! The narrow foliage of Hakonechloa with the bold, rounded foliage of Hosta makes this combination interesting!

Add blue! Put some quick finishing touches to your garden design by adding blue pottery placed next to your plants.

Create Contrast! The narrow foliage combines elegantly with the bold, rounded foliage of Hostas.

Raise it! This gardener raised this container - to better appreciate the arching leaves!

Raise It! Elevate your containers on the shaded patio or garden where you can appreciate the cascading foliage.

Shaded Entryway.  Place Hakonechloa pots along a shaded patio entryway. This softens the entryway in addition to being more welcoming to guests.

Hakonechloa is a wonderful shade plant to add to the garden. I hope you  enjoyed a few garden design ideas. I’m anxious to hear about yours!

Garden Tip:  Hakonechloa will have a brighter appearance if it receives some morning or filtered sun.

We’ve got more valuable garden tips on how to have success growing Hakonechloa coming next!

The cascading foliage looks elegant & softens this patio entryway

Spring Trio of Color

As 2010 winds to a close, we look forward to spring and hope it is right around the corner! My, how time flies when we’re having fun!

You can easily brighten a shady corner of your garden with this trio of colorful shade perennials. You’ve got the brilliant strawberry-peach foliage of Heuchera Georgia Peach combining with the silvery-veined foliage of Brunnera Jack Frost. We used Heuchera Frosted Violet to pull everything together. Early spring brings the added bonus of bright sky-blue flowers sitting atop Brunnera Jack Frost.

The beauty of this colorful Shade Garden Collection is that it remains stunning for over 8 months in the shade garden or patio planter.

Heuchera Georgia Peach in Summer

This image shows Heuchera Georgia Peach in all its summer-time glory. Of all the new Heucheras hitting the market & confusing gardeners, I strongly feel that Georgia Peach has risen to the top & is a phenominally strong grower in the garden.

Her leaves are a stunning strawberry coloration ALL season long, giving over 6 MONTHS of continual color.

Brunnera Jack Frost with Summer foliage

Here’s a picture of Brunnera Jack Frost with its bright summer foliage of silver and green-veined leaves. The foliage remains brilliant all spring, summer, & fall!

Even the deer won’t touch this rugged shade plant!

Helleborus Grape Galaxy

It’s getting to be one of my favorite times of the year as all of my Stock Plant Hellebores begin to come into bloom! These ultra-easy and extremely hardy Shade Plants make superb, long-lived perennials in the garden. Their foliage is semi-evergreen in the North and totally evergreen in the South.

Plus, they are 100% DEER PROOF! I’ve grown Hellebores for over 15 years and have had deer prance thru my garden chewing everything in site, BUT they have never touched a single Hellebore. This might be because their leaves are slightly toxic.

My Hellebores are all in greenhouses in Western Michigan and are beginning their flower show much earlier than plants outdoors. In most parts of the country, they’ll begin their flower show in late winter and continue for over 8 weeks.

Hellebores, with their dark green foliage, make superb companions to shade-loving plants like Heucheras, Hostas, Hardy Ferns, & Hydrangeas.

If you’ve never grown Hellebores, now is the perfect time to start! We’ve got over 13 colorful selections for you to choose from on our website at www.GreatGardenPlants.com !

Happy New Year to All!

Easy Care Blue Combo of Stokesia & Caryopteris

There is nothing like the fresh summer blooms of Stokesia.  Stokes Aster is a easy care perennial. Chris & I are particularly fond of the variety Peachie’s Pick because of their large almost daisy-like blooms which flower well in heat & humidity.  Stokiesia Peachie’s Pick is easily grown in full sun

Blue Mist Shrub - Caryopteris makes a long lasting cut flower

Stokes Aster is paired here with drought proof  & long blooming  Caryopteris Grand Bleu.

Both are EASY CARE garden plants that thrive with good drainage and make a terrific cut flower.  They both add a punch of color often needed in the mid-late sun perennial garden.