Tiger in the garden!

I have never been a huge fan of cannas.  They just seem to be an old fashioned plant that were too tender for our zone in Tennessee.  My mother-in-law purchased this one last year and I have fallen in love with this particular Canna.  This is Canna 'Bengal Tiger'.  The one thing that I truly love is the variegation on the leaves, they are crisp and almost perfect.  When the plant flowers the orange flowers just add to the facts of why this plant is great.  The color of the flowers against the foliage is fantastic combination.  If you're looking for a backdrop in some of those beds, try this 6'-8' Canna 'Bengal Tiger'.

Angelina

'Angelina' Sedum is one of those fantastic plants that will be known for many years.  It will be known due to it's fact to grow so successfully without any care whatsoever.  'Angelina' is a Sedum rupestre, making it one of the groundcover sedums.  The plant is one that is exciting during each season.  In the spring and summer, the plant is a bright yellow, making it a standout in the garden.  During the cooler months of fall and winter, the plant turns a beautiful bronze.  I have discovered that this plant is excellent as a weed barrier.  In the picture, the plant is around some irises, and it doing a fantastic job of keeping the weeds down around the iris!  If you're looking for something that will be a great groundcover that can spill over the bed, 'Angelina' Sedum is for you!  If you need some, feel free to contact me, because I have plenty!

Slender Silhouette

I love unique plants that could play a part in just about any landscape.  This plant is called 'Slender Silhouette' sweet gum - Liquidamber styraciflua.  Resembling a telephone pole, this plant grows straight up into a great focal point in the garden.  It is easily adaptable into many smaller gardens because of its lack of width, growing around 5 feet wide.  The original plant was found by Don Shadow of Shadow Nursery in Winchester, TN.  As the story goes, Don found the plant and was able to take a few cuttings of the plant back to his nursery to start grafting.  After a short time, Don returned to the original site of the tree and found that someone had cut the tree down to put in the lake for a fish habitat.  Luckily by this time, he had already started a few at his nursery to grow on and evaluate.

This picture was taken at Shadow Nursery and is one of the first trees Don grafted of this wonderful variety.  This variety has been around for quite a few years, but it is slowly making its way into the public eye.  If you're looking for something that doesn't require a lot of room in the garden, 'Slender Silhouette' may be the right pick.  

Peppers in the landscape!

Who would have thought that vegetables would be making their way into the landscape?  In the past few years, breeders are working on vegetables that also appeal in the landscape.  One of my absolute favorite ornamental peppers is 'Black Pearl'.  This pepper makes a bold dark statement in the landscape with its dark shiny foliage.  When the peppers mature on the plant they turn a bright red, adding to the landscape appeal of this plant.  Growing around 2-3' tall, this plant holds its on in the landscape.   

I have been asked many times, "Is this ornamental pepper edible?"  The answer is yes, but the fruit is extremely hot.  We have grown this every year in our school plant sale.  Each year we always plant a few in the landscape, because they are so tolerant of heat and neglect in the summertime.  By the fall, when the students return to school, the plants will be strutting their stuff!  As we pass the plants, students always ask about it.  When I tell them it's a hot pepper, most students get very excited and want to try it.  Most students are always eager to show off their masculinity to their friends by eating this pepper.  It's always a fun day when we have students try this HOT ornamental pepper!

Tried and true native!

Everyone knows hydrangeas, but do you grow oakleaf hydrangeas?  These plants are native to the southeast and grow fantastic throughout Tennessee.  Typically growing anywhere from 6-8 feet tall, there are dwarf varieties.  Oakleaf hydrangeas are a plant that has a different interest each season!  In the summer, they have beautiful clusters of white flowers.  Fall time brings about the bright red foliage that the leaves will turn.  Cinnamon colored bark will be shown throughout the wintertime, after the leaves drop.  Springtime is when the entire cycle starts again!  

This variety is called 'Snowflake'.  It was one of the first hose in hose double blooms on an oakleaf hydrangea.  A hose in hose double means the petals are layered upon each other.  This bloom is also extremely long, as noted in the picture!

Here's a variety called 'Vaughn's Lillie', and it is a very full cluster of blooms.  This variety will stay shorter only staying around 5' tall.  When this plant is younger, the blooms have a tendency to weigh the plants branches down.  I would suggest cutting off the first year or two of blooms to help the plant grow stronger!

Last, but not least, is 'Little Honey'.  This oakleaf hydrangea is the only form with golden foliage!  Some people absolutely love golden foliaged plants, and this nerd is one of them!  It still blooms white, but who cares, because the foliage is fantastic.  Requirements for sun/shade seem to be a little different for this variety.  If this plant receives too much sun it may burn a little, if it receives too much shade the foliage to turn a lime green.  

There are some fantastic oakleaf hydrangeas coming out each year!  Two that are gaining in popularity are 'Munchkin' and 'Ruby Slippers'.  'Munchkin' is said to remain around 2-3' tall, and 'Ruby Slippers' have a bloom that turns a bright pink after opening originally white.  These two varieties were bred at the Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, TN, and will be the ones to watch in the future!

First of its kind!

Everyone has probably seen the old purple coneflowers that grow along old homesites right?  Well did you know that the world of coneflowers have been turned upside down?  The very first orange echinacea or coneflower in cultivation was 'Orange Meadowbrite'.  It was a controlled cross of Echinacea paradoxa and Echinacea purpurea, which is a yellow one bred to a purple one.  This has been around for only a few years, but I truly think it's one of the best.  The colors are a bright orangey red that stand out good in the heat and drought of the summertime.  Coneflowers will always hold a special place in my heart, because if you can't grow coneflowers - you should find another hobby other than gardening!  :)

This is an actual picture of the plant right before it will burst into bloom at my mothers house.  It has been planted there for around 8 years now, and is still going strong!  The plant holds itself up well and my mother loves the variety of the seedlings that come from this beautiful orange flower.  Coneflowers are heavily in the breeding process by some of the world's top plant breeders.  Keep your eye out because there are some beautiful colors coming out that range from a bright red to a bright yellow and everything in between - including doubles!

Lastly here is another one planted at my mothers called 'Harvest Moon', if my memory serves me correct.

Awfully beautiful...

I consider this plant awfully beautiful!  Since I've mentioned some pretty fancy weeds in the past, I thought I would mention another one!  This is 'Summer Chocolate' Mimosa, the first purple leaved mimosa on the market.  Mimosas grow into a beautiful umbrella shaped tree that will last for years.  It still bears the lovely pink puffs of smoke flowers that look great against the purple foliage.  I know some people are scared to plant something like this in their yard, but just think about it.  Most of the other plants we have in our landscape are just as invasive i.e. redbud, silver maple, Bradford pear.  I consider an invasive plant to be one that displaces natural plants.  I've never considered this invasive because it usually grows along the tree line, not actually choking out native plant life.  

There is a new one that is supposed to be darker than 'Summer Chocolate' called 'Merlot Majik', but I can't say that for sure yet.  As soon as I can see if in person, I will let everyone know!