I was struck by this engaging front entry that I saw while walking in the neighborhood recently. I was impressed by the cohesiveness of the color story they employed. Even in the dead of winter, on a cloudy and otherwise dreary day, this scene has snap. They've repeatedly used a coppery red; in the accent paint and containers flanking the front entry and then draw it out further with foliage and stems in a similar shade. Bravo!
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In the example below, the orange blooms of the witch hazel (Hamamelis x 'Jelena') are much more visible when backed by the evergreen shrub (Pittosporum tobira 'Tall and Tough') than when backed by the open sky, where the blooms would have a tendency to disappear.
Another group of shrubs that would benefit from this treatment is the winter hazel (Corylopsis), Corylopsis pauciflora, pictured on the left.
Actually any delicately-blooming, deciduous shrub could likely use the extra help. Other examples that come to mind include dawn viburnum (Viburnum bodnantense 'Pink Dawn'), Stachyurus praecox, and Edgeworthia chrysantha.
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A couple of super-simple winter containers that I did recently for a client are shown in the photos below. Both are dominated by structural evergreen plants of varying foliage colors and textures accented by reliable winter bloomers.
This star of this container is the ubiquitous Yuletide camellia (Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide'). Though common, it still pleases me to no end to see it blooming its heart out all winter. I especially like it in combination with the Yucca filamentosa 'Golden Sword' which shines like a beacon; brightening this ensemble on dreary winter days. Also included is a purple-leaved Heuchera 'Frosted Violet', Helleborus x ballardiae 'HGC Pink Frost' which will bloom later in spring, and blue fescue with its evergreen blue tuft contributing textural contrast.
This container is in a sheltered but very shady, bordering on dark, spot at a covered front entry. The bright variegation of the Carex morrowii 'Evergold' acts like a footlight for the boldly textured Schefflera taiwaniana 'Yuan Shan.' The bright, shiny faces of the Helleborus niger 'HGC Jacob' blooms add further sparkle.
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I had a really great time on our excusion to Northwest Garden Nusery yesterday. It was my first time attending this annual hellebore love-fest hosted by Marietta and Ernie O'Bryne at Northwest Garden Nursery, which is located on the outskirts of Eugene, Oregon. My travel-mates, who were veterans of the event, made sure we were on the road plenty early from Portland in order to get there well ahead of the scheduled opening time. Even so, it would be an understatement to say that we weren't the first to arrive, not by a long shot. Shoulder to shoulder in a greenhouse packed with plants, a small crowd was already on site, milling around ogling the myriad of pretty hellebores and jockeying for positions next to their favorites so that when the official word came down that the sale was open, they could snap up their first picks. This crowd of hellebore enthusiasts was festive and good-natured, conducting itself in a very sportsmanlike fashion, in keeping with the spirit of the event.
Seemingly within minutes, the crowd's focus shifted from the frenzy of selecting plants to the forming an orderly queue for processing thier purchases.
This lovely single is one of the many outstanding hydrids available.
One of the many hellebore hybrids growing in the gardens surrounding the nursery.
The nursery's Hellebore Open Garden Days continues through 5 pm today (Sun, Feb. 20th) and will be repeated next weekend, February 26 and 27th, 10 am - 5 pm.
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It's been several years since I've made it down to Marietta and Ernie O'Bryne's Northwest Garden Nursery. The photos below are from a trip to the garden in 2005. It will be fun to see the inevitable changes and developments.
Generally open only by appointment, the nursery also hosts annual Hellebore Open Days, the first of which is this Saturday the 19th. You can find all of their 2011 dates here. I'm heading down this Saturday with friends to see if I can score a few choice additions for my gardens. They're "it" in terms of hellebore breeding with the masterful hybridizing they've accomplished with this beautiful, garden-worthy perennial. I'm sure I won't have a problem finding a treasure or two to tote home.
One of their lovely double flowering hybrids
But there's more to see in the garden than hellebores! The overall garden is gorgeous. And it's tops in terms of wonderful wintertime structure too -- as evidenced in this photo that was taken mid-February in 2005.
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And because it was hard to choose which image to post ... here's another. This cherry tree silhouette in the morning mist was taken on that same morning at the Elk Rock Garden at the Bishop's Close in Portland, Oregon.
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This photo was taken several years ago on a misty morning, not unlike the morning we're having today, at the Elk Rock Garden at the Bishop's Close in Portland, Oregon. If you live in, or are planning a visit to the Portland area this private garden is open to the public daily year-round and is a delight to visit any time of the year though I especially enjoy the garden in winter.
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They're reporting this is most snow we've seen in Portland in December since 1968. Yup, seems 'bout right.
Needless to say, we're not really using the front door right now. There's easily over a foot at the front door.
Spots of color, like this snow-covered ornament, really stand out.
The lovely bark on my crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia x 'Zuni' on the right in this picture) really stands out in the snow.
Don't see this everyday; a cross country skier cruising along NE 47th.
It's really piling up in the back garden. Cozy though. Sit for a spell?
Prominent in the photo to the left is a yew (Taxus x 'Sentinalis) that is normally very strongly upright that was splaying under the weight of this snow. I went out this morning and shook the snow off this and some of my other evergreens this morning (well, as best as I could at least). If we get ice after this snow I worry that it will break under the strain.
The kitchen garden is to the right.
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I have a tendency to experiment quite a bit in my garden, pushing the boundaries of hardiness and/or growing a plant just so I can get a better sense of how it will behave in my garden. Because I often push the hardiness boundary, I often make some special efforts in terms of protecting some of my favorites.
I garden a lot in containers so that allows me to move those
plants to cover relatively easily. For instance earlier this week I took quite a few plants to my greenhouse at the nursery.
Even though it is
unheated, I hope that it will offer some protection and limit the
foliar damage that some of my evergreen plants would sustain if left to their
own defenses outside. I’ve got a small utility room (no garage) attached to my
studio and I’ve got that jammed full of plants as well. As I was prepping for the cold, I
kept finding plants that I thought would benefit from some extra protection and
at the last minute I even stuffed plants into the back of my pickup truck under
the canopy. Yet in spite of these efforts, I will likely suffer some losses
this year.
For instance, one plant that I’m particularly curious (OK, I guess I mean anxious) about at this moment is my Euphorbia stygiana. This striking evergreen euphorbia has lent an exotic, almost tropical flair to my garden for about 3 years. In this short time it has grown to mammoth proportions; an anchor in my garden and easily one of my most asked about plants. It‘s way too large and awkward to cover with a frost cloth or sheet. To be honest, this fall I even had my eye on it as a candidate for some pretty major pruning this spring because it was getting a bit big for the space. I hope I’ll still have reason to do that this spring. Or perhaps Mother Nature will have done my pruning for me. I can imagine it being killed to the ground or at least taking a fair amount of damage, but I'm betting it would come back from the root. Only one thing for sure … it’ll take some time before the fate of my Euphorbia stygiana is clear. As Kym Pokorny advised earlier today …we’ll need to be patient for now.
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In addition to my previous post, the Oregonian’s Kym
Pokorny has written a helpful post on preparing your garden for this cold snap as well. She makes an
excellent point; focus on your favorites and do what you can, but keep it
manageable. I’d add, be strategic in choosing what to defend … expensive and/or
difficult to replace? Protect that first.
And remember some of the plants that I mentioned in my previous post (phormium,
in particular) will likely come through the cold snap just fine; they’ll just
suffer less cosmetic damage if they’re given a little extra protection.
Good luck. Oh, and if it happens to snow in addition to all this coldness, don't forget to enjoy it!
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