Showing posts with label in the garden now. Show all posts
Showing posts with label in the garden now. Show all posts

In The Garden Now …. Bloodroot

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Double Flowered Bloodroot


Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

I'm sure it's spring when the first bloodroot flowers appear! Bloodroot gets its name from the dark red sap found in the stems and roots, which resembles blood. Native Americans used the sap to dye clothing and baskets and to color face paint. It has also been used in various medicinal concoctions to treat an assortment of ailments. Bloodroot is native to eastern North America.

In early spring fluffy white flowers appear and are later framed by unusual scalloped felt like leaves. Six inch tall flowers last for several weeks while grey green leaves are emerging and surrounding them. If the plant receives ample summer water leaves stay on the plant till the end of summer when the plant loses its leaves and goes dormant.

Bloodroot seem to be happiest in partially shaded gardens, although I have seen them growing successfully in the Pacific Northwest in a fair amount of sun. They prefer a moist, humus rich soil and do well when shaded by the leaves of taller shrubs and trees after blooming. 
  
This is one of those perennials you can add to your garden and not worry about it encroaching on neighboring plants immediately. Over many years a well behaved colony of this early blooming beauty is likely to take shape. So, go for it!

Note: All parts of the Bloodroot plant are poisonous if eaten and the sap can cause skin irritation, so plant away from children and pet play areas. Explain to your children when they can understand that the bloodroot plant is to look at not to eat.

If you would like more information about plant toxicity check out the Washington Poison Center website or call the office at 1-800-222-1222.

Botanical Name:  Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Plena’

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.



Read more...

In The Garden Now …. Western Skunk Cabbage

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Swamp Lantern

Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

Like the idea of going native? Do you have shade and moist soil in your garden? Well, then, consider planting Skunk Cabbage or Swamp Lantern as it is sometimes called, one of our earliest blooming wild flowers. This one is lighting up the forest in our Lake Forest Park neighborhood.

The intense yellow flowers emerge before the leaves, often in February or early March and even through the snow. Flowers are frequently seen well into April. The plant gets its Skunk Cabbage moniker because of the stinky odor it emits when either the leaves or flowers are bruised or crushed. The plant can grow to 5 feet high and 2 feet wide under ideal conditions. 

Take a close look at additional members of this native plant community living in harmony with the skunk cabbage in the photo above: Western Sword Fern, Lady Fern, Piggy Back Plant, and Horse Tail. All are growing contentedly within inches of each other in the damp shade. A moist shady place in the garden would provide the perfect site for Skunk Cabbage and its native cohorts. So consider going native next time you plant something in a moist area of your garden!

Botanical Name:  Lysichiton americanum

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.       



Read more...

In The Garden Now ... The Easter Rose

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Japanese Kerria - the Easter Rose

Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

You've no doubt heard of the “Easter Lily,” but have you heard of the “Easter Rose?” While Japanese Kerria is not the prickly bush bearing flowers we typically think of as a rose, it is a member of the Rosacae family of plants. Bright gold pom pom like flowers cover the plant in early spring. The one in my garden is coming into bloom just in time for this year’s Easter Holiday thus the Easter connection. 

Yellow flower buds stud the stems of the plant before the shiny textured leaves unfurl with the opening flowers. Kerria is a very easy to grow spring flowering shrub which offers the added bonus of lime green stems to liven up the winter garden when there are no flowers or leaves on the plant.   Plants typically grow 5-8 feet high and wide so they do need space.  

This is an old fashioned garden plant so you may see one growing around an older home in the area. Along with lilacs and flowering quince these shrubs are often the survivors in an older garden that hasn’t received optimum care over the years.  

Keep your eye peeled for a touch of gold in the landscape …. You may have the good fortune to see Japanese Kerria in full bloom!

(Botanical Name:  Kerria japonica ‘Pleniflora’) 

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.
      
    

    

Read more...

In The Garden Now….. Chinese Joy Forever Plant

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Variegated Spike Tail Shrub

Photo and text by Victoria Gilleland

What a great name …..“Chinese Joy Forever Plant’.  When I heard that name I knew I just had to make room for one!  It makes you smile just to walk by the plant growing in the garden. Not only does it have a very happy positive name, it also starts blooming in late winter while most shrubs and trees still sport bare branches. The unique chartreuse flowers are true standouts in the winter garden. 

Spike Tail flower racemes look a lot like dangly earrings hanging from the branches. The flowers form rows of upside down waxy cuplets resembling short strings of pearls. The racemes are typically 4 inches long and appear on the bare branches before the variegated leaves emerge.  

Joy Forever Spike Tail has deep green leaves edged in creamy yellow. The variegated part of the leaf turns pinkish red in fall to blend with the deep red stems of the plant. The plant has an upright spreading habit and commonly reaches 7 feet tall and wide. Its open form makes it possible to grow an interesting variety of shrubs and perennials beneath the plant. This is an easy plant to grow and is seldom bothered by pests or disease.
  
This isn't a plant you'll see in most gardens so you might need to look around a bit to find one. It’s certainly worth the effort to get a glimpse of such a unique flowering shrub or if you have the space to add one to your woodland garden or shrub border.
  
Botanical Name:  Stachyurus  chinensis  ‘Chinese Joy Forever Plant ’

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.



Read more...

In The Garden Now ... Flowering Quince

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Flowering Quince

Japanese Flowering Quince
Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

Flowering Quince is the first flowering shrub I really took notice of as a new homeowner many years ago. Our next door neighbor had a large coral flowered shrub that produced tons of glorious blossoms in late winter. The fact that the flower color was so intense and that the shrub bloomed when so little else was out there really got my attention. My dear neighbor told me that she had planted it as a young bride what would have been some 65 years ago by now. The shrub is still there blooming exuberantly each winter into spring.

This is an easy to grow, nearly indestructible plant. But, it does need sun to flourish. There are many varieties available in different sizes and colors. Clusters of flowers are produced in shades of red, pink or white and plants range in size from 3 feet to over 8 feet in height. Flowers are followed by yellow fruit that can be harvested and is often added to jams and jellies. The shrub next door grows in a sloped open area near the street where it gets very little attention and only the water that mother nature delivers.

Flowering Quince are “armed” so beware when you are pruning or cutting some of those gorgeous budded or in flower branches for indoor display. They do make great cut flowers and budded branches will open indoors after cutting. Sometimes buds will open in a day or two or it might take a week or more to bring them into full bloom … but it’s worth the wait!

If you spot a Flowering Quince in the neighborhood, watch for Hummingbirds nearby. They are especially fond of the red flowered varieties. Here’s one for Anna’s Hummingbird …. one of our favorite year round birds!

(Botanical Name: Chaenomeles speciosa)

~~~~~
Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.



Read more...

In The Garden Now ... Fragrant Winter Daphne

Thursday, March 12, 2015



Winter Daphne
Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

At times like this I wish I could share more than a few words and a photo of this exquisitely scented flowering shrub ... Winter Daphne. A Daphne scented “perfume card” like those that used to arrive with our monthly magazines would make a great adjunct to my description. The scent is spicy and intense and will perfume a large area especially if located in an enclosed space with building walls or a fence to reflect the scent. Growing this plant near the entry makes perfect sense ... or scents in this case!

Daphne is native to China and has been described in the literature there for a thousand years. There are about 50 species, but Daphne odora is probably the one most often found in Northwest gardens.   

It grows to about 3 x 3 feet and mixes well with other evergreen and deciduous plants in the garden.
There are two main varieties …. Winter Daphne with solid green leaves and Daphne Aureo-Marginata which has the same leathery leaves rimmed in a creamy stripe. Both have long narrow evergreen leaves and flowers that start out as dark pink or purple buds opening to clusters of waxy creamy white flowers.  Once the first flowers open the scent comes on strong!

Daphne has earned a reputation for being difficult to grow …. and rightly so. It likes acidic, well drained soil, partial shade to sun, and a permanent place in the garden. If you move it, even from a large container to the “perfect spot” in your garden or from one location to another in your garden it will almost certainly die.

They won’t die immediately but gradually decline over many months. I have one very sad looking Winter Daphne shrub in my garden right now that had been growing happily in a large pot on my front porch for 6 or 7 years. It had gotten too large for the pot and the space. So, last fall, as carefully as could be, I removed it from the pot and placed it in a meticulously prepared planting bed a few feet away.

It did not like that move at all! The plant has lost all of its “evergreen leaves” and is struggling to push out its last (?) batch of fragrant flowers. I'm pretty sure this one is headed for the compost heap!

Besides dying if moved or disturbed in some way, they sometimes die for no apparent reason. Now, don't let all of this talk of ‘sudden death’ discourage you from planting one of these wonderful shrubs in your garden. The delectable fragrance you’ll enjoy for a while or maybe for years is well worth pursuing. So, go for it …. add a Winter Daphne to your garden now!

Note: All parts of the daphne plant are poisonous if eaten, so plant away from children and pet play areas. In addition, sap from the plant may irritate the skin and eyes so be careful when handling this plant.Explain to your children when they can understand that the daphne plant is to look at not to eat.
If you would like more information about plant toxicity check out the Washington Poison Center website or call the office at 1-800-222-1222.

(Botanical Name:  Daphne odora )

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.  



Read more...

In The Garden Now…Corsican Hellebore

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Helleborus argutifolius

Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

Here it is late winter and my favorite hellebore is in full bloom right outside the front door! I love the waxy chartreuse flower clusters that contrast so beautifully with the dramatic blue-green leathery leaves. I always forget how exotic this plant looks and how easy it is to grow. I wouldn't be without it in my garden!

Corsican Hellebore is native to the Mediterranean Islands of Corsica and Sardinia. It will grow in full sun to shade and is quite happy in a wide variety of soil types although it does like good drainage.  

This evergreen perennial will be two to three feet high and wide. If grown in shade the plant may stretch a bit and need to be staked. It is quite drought tolerant as well. If you leave a flower head or two to go to seed and have bare soil nearby you'll probably find the bonus of baby hellebore plants to share with friends and neighbors.

There are a number of Corsican hellebore varieties available that are more compact plants or have variegated foliage. I have grown many of these varieties in the past but have found that the basic Corsican Hellebore species is the survivor in my garden … that goes a long ways in my book!

Don't miss Corsican Hellebore in the garden now!

Note: All parts of the hellebore plant are poisonous if eaten, so plant away from children and pet play areas. Explain to your children when they can understand that the hellebore plant is to look at not to eat. 

If you would like more information about plant toxicity check out the Washington Poison Center website or call the office at 1-800-222-1222.

Botanical Name:  Helleborus argutifolius (H. corsicus)

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.      



Read more...

In The Garden Now….Purple Stem Sweet Box

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Sarcococca Purple Stem Sweet Box


Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

What a heavenly scent! Every winter I'm bowled over by the heady fragrance of Sweet Box. No sweeter scent can be found in the garden at any time of year. And it couldn't come at a better time. 

I’d describe the scent as a cross between that of honeysuckle and jasmine. Some say the scent reminds them of vanilla. However it's perceived it's definitely an intense olfactory experience ... one you'll look forward to each winter.

We’ve actually met many of our neighbors because they stopped to enjoy the smell of this fragrant plant. Plant it near your mail box and you’ll see it live up to one of its common names “Postman’s Friend.” Our postman, other delivery people and guests have commented on the lovely scent wafting through the garden. It grows well in containers as well so you could set a pot of sweet box next to your front door for the winter season then exchange it for later blooming plants after flowering ends.  

A number of sarcococca varieties are available. All are relatively small evergreen shrubs, 3 x 3 feet more or less, with scented white flowers. Purple Stem Sweet Box is a bit showier because of a touch of pink on the flowers and the purplish color of new stems, but its most important contribution to the garden is its rich perfume. Flowers are followed by bluish black berries. In my garden this variety blooms a little later than other varieties so the sweet box flowering season is extended.  

Our climate is perfect for growing this plant. Much of the rest of the US offers climates that are too extreme .... too hot, too cold, too humid, too dry. We lucked out on this one!

While you're walking through the neighborhood this week you just might catch a whiff of sweet box. If you do, breathe deep and enjoy this sweet scent of winter.  

Botanical Name: Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna ‘Purple Stem’

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.


Read more...

In The Garden Now….. Wintergreen

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Wintergreen in the garden

Checkerberry or Teaberry
Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

Our rainiest days are brighter with Wintergreen in the garden! With its colorful red berries this low growing evergreen will brighten a shady spot in your woodland or rock garden through the cold dark days of winter. Green leathery leaves even take on a reddish tint when temperatures drop. Both foliage and berries produce an intense minty scent. Small waxy, fragrant white or pale pink flowers bloom in summer and are followed by scarlet fruit that stays on the plants into winter. This is a real year round performer.

This is a low growing ground cover type shrub reaching about 6 inches high by 24 inches wide.  It’s related to our native ‘Salal’ that grows in our forests and home gardens. Native Americans are said to have used wintergreen oil for pain in muscles and joints and colonists made a tea from the leaves of wintergreen during the American Revolutionary War when traditional tea was hard to come by.

Plants need moist acid soil with good organic content. They complement azaleas and rhododendrons and make a fine cover for shadier areas in the garden. In our northwest gardens it seems to grow better in open shade than in heavy shade. I’ve noticed that Wintergreen does not like to be crowded and can be easily swamped by other more vigorous plants, resulting in the sudden demise of this little beauty - so give it some space.  

Wintergreen makes a terrific, low ground cover for shady garden beds. Watch for those scarlet berries in northwest gardens this winter.  

(Botanical Name: Gaultheria procumbens )

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years. 



Read more...

In The Garden Now….. Arnold Promise Witch Hazel

Sunday, February 1, 2015

‘Arnold Promise’ Witch Hazel Shrub


Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

I’m always startled in mid-winter when my Witch Hazel bursts into bloom with fragrant yellow flowers. Those spidery flowers have a surreal quality. Could this exotic looking plant really be so easy to grow and produce such unique showy flowers when so little else is in bloom? No doubt about it!

There are other varieties of witch hazel available but ‘Arnold Promise’ is my favorite because of its brilliant lemon yellow flowers that light the winter landscape. The orange or red flowers of some witch hazel varieties don’t show up nearly so well against winter’s earthy browns and grays. On warmer winter days the spicy scent of the flowers is particularly heady. If you add one of these beauties to your garden be sure and plant it where it can be seen and the scent enjoyed by passersby during the winter bloom time.

Large oval coarsely pleated leaves cover the plant come spring. If you grow this plant in full sun you’ll reap the bonus of gorgeous yellow, orange and red fall foliage. In the shade leaves tend to produce less color although weather conditions affect color in the end. As winter begins witch hazel plants sometimes hold on to a few of their brown drooping leaves after the majority of leaves have dropped. It’s worth bundling up and going outside to remove these “hangers on” by hand so that the winter flowers can be seen and enjoyed completely.

You need to be patient as this slow growing vase shaped shrub becomes established. There will be few flowers at first but more flowers will appear on its branches each winter. Expect this flowering shrub to grow to 12 to 15 feet high and wide depending on light and location in the garden. In sun the plant will be more compact. In shade it will tend to be looser and more open in its growth pattern as it reaches for the sun. Though this plant is wide spreading, the branching pattern tends to be fairly open so it’s possible to grow an interesting variety of plants beneath them.

Witch Hazels are usually grafted to a root stalk. Watch for any growth originating below the bulge that is the graft at the base of the plant. Anything sprouting from below the graft is not the named variety you purchased and may actually become dominant on the plant and replace the desired plant with its growth. So cut out any sprouts you see!

Witch hazel provides a wonderful shot of color as well as unexpected fragrance in the winter garden. Watch for this terrific plant on your next stroll through the neighborhood or pick one out for your garden.

(Botanical Name: Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’)

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.   


Read more...

In The Garden Now .. Hardy Cyclamen

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Cyclamen coum ‘Silver Form’
Cyclamen ‘Silver Form’ 
Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

In fall when most perennials are going down for the winter, hardy cyclamen are sending up wiry stems with brightly colored nodding flowers to brighten the fall and winter garden. Cyclamen are on a different growth cycle than most perennials. Flowers come up in late fall or early winter, followed by leaves, and then dormancy with no flowers or leaves visible by spring. Come fall the growth cycle repeats. These perennials return reliably and are easy to grow in northwest gardens.

Silver Form Hardy Cyclamen has bright pink flowers on 3 to 4 inches red stems with silver foliage edged in green. This color combination stands out in the winter garden when they are in bloom. Cyclamen prefer dry shade during their summer dormancy and need little moisture throughout the rest of the year. They grow very nicely under our Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar trees.  

If you add cyclamen to your garden be sure you place them near a path you use frequently in winter or in a spot in the garden you can view readily from inside your home. Remember that they will be blooming in late fall and winter when you are less likely to be walking through the garden. 

Cyclamen bring intense color to the garden when we need it most … winter. Watch for this wonderful plant in neighborhood gardens or plant some in a shady corner of your garden.

(Botanical Name:  Cyclamen coum ‘Silver Form’)

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.       


Read more...

In The Garden Now ... Kiftsgate Rose Hips

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Clusters of white flowers in June

Kiftsgate Rambling Rose
Text and photos by Victoria Gilleland

Kiftsgate Rambling Rose is a very large climbing rose that puts on a spectacular flower display for several weeks around the summer solstice in June. It produces large sprays of honey scented white single flowers that perfume the entire garden on warm days. By summer’s end clusters of bright red berries have replaced the white flowers. Rose hips develop from pollinated flowers. Roses such as Kiftsgate that have flowers with a single row of petals are easier for bees and other pollinating insects to pollinate than those with many petals and are therefore more likely to produce rose hips. Kiftsgate produces tons of bright red hips!
 
This vigorous climber grows 20 to 30 foot canes in a single season. In our garden well armored canes with wicked thorns have rocketed over a 10 foot high arbor with ease and then across the roofs of house and carport. My husband and son have been known to attack our Kiftsgate with a machete which I see as an unnecessary assault on a beautiful rose. On the other hand, given some leeway, Kiftsgate has the potential for engulfing  the entire garden … hasn’t happened yet and we’ve had Kiftsgate in our garden for 20 years.

In Fall red berries replace the flowers

We’ve had great success growing Kiftsgate up the tall evergreen trees on the street side of our garden. Visitors have been amazed by the ”blooming” Douglas Fir trees they come across as they walk down the garden path. In June clusters of white flowers festoon the boughs of the trees. By fall red berries have replaced the flowers. It’s quite a sight!

Rambling Kiftsgate grows happily in full sun to shade. It may flower more heavily in full sun, but produces very nicely in the shady garden. Our plant has been disease free ... no blackspot or other rose diseases and is maintenance free except for the obvious … pruning. Pruning can be kept to a minimum by growing this climbing giant in an appropriate place. We do not fertilize Kiftsgate other than with the decomposing leaves nature provides.

Kiftsgate Rambling Rose could be a fabulous addition to your garden if you have the right place to let it climb …. Otherwise beware!

Botanical Name:  Rosa filipes Kiftsgate

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.         


Read more...

In The Garden Now ... The Christmas Rose

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Helleborus niger Christmas Rose

Christmas Rose
Text and photos by Victoria Gilleland

The Christmas Rose is blooming just in time for the holiday! This plant is not a member of the rose family, but part of the hellebore clan. Hellebores are perennial plants that thrive in shady northwest gardens. They have either white or cream colored saucer shaped flowers held elegantly on stems up to one foot high. Over time blooms turn a mottled pink. Mature clumps may produce two dozen flowers or more in a season.

There are many other hellebore varieties available that come in an array of flower colors including cream, white, pink, burgundy and purple. Sizes range from a few inches to two feet tall and wide. These plants bring color to the garden in winter and early spring with their attractive flowers and handsome evergreen foliage.

Add a bright spot to your winter garden with your own easy to grow Christmas Rose!

Note: All parts of the hellebore plant are poisonous if eaten, so plant away from children and pet play areas. Explain to your children when they can understand that the hellebore plant is to look at not to eat.

Many holiday plants such as mistletoe, holly and poinsettia can cause gastro intestinal upset if ingested. If you would like more information about plant toxicity check out the Washington Poison Center website or call the office at 1-800-222-1222.

Botanical Name: Helleborus niger

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years. 


Read more...

In The Garden Now… Gentsch White Hemlock

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Gentsch White Dwarf Hemlock 
Gentsch White Dwarf Hemlock 
Text and photo
by Victoria Gilleland

If you love the garden in winter when snow dusts the boughs of evergreen trees and shrubs with white you’re going to love this shrub.

Gentsch White Hemlock has what appears to be a delicate dusting of snow on its branches year round. No actual snow or freezing temperatures required!

A stunning dwarf member of the Hemlock family Gentsch White Hemlock would be a wonderful addition to most any part shade to shady garden. 

Because this plant tends to grow branches all the way to the ground it can be used as a feature shrub by itself in the garden.

The white tipped new growth sets this shrub apart from most everything else in the garden and really does look like snow covered branches or maybe branches dusted with powdered sugar which seems a little more understandable in summer.

The evergreen white foliage adds a unique light texture to the landscape. If grown in full sun the fresh whitish foliage takes on an unappealing burnt toast look……like it’s on its way out! 

This is a dwarf conifer but remember its close relatives are 50 to 80 foot tall forest trees! You can expect the plant to reach 8 feet or more high and wide if not sheared. 

If sheared in spring a new crop of branches covered with fresh creamy needles will soon appear and the plant will grow in a roundish shape to 4 - 5 feet high and wide by the time winter arrives.

Due to space limitations I want my shrub to stay around four feet. Each spring I shear my plant to about 1 ½ feet high and wide. It quickly grows back into an attractive snow sprinkled evergreen shrub that everyone asks about. It’s a real knockout in the garden!

(Botanical Name: Tsuga canadensis ‘Gentsch White’)

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.


Read more...

In The Garden Now… Evergreen Huckleberry

Sunday, December 14, 2014


Evergreen Huckleberry Shrub
Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

Talk about an easy to grow beautiful shrub for your garden... this is it! Evergreen Huckleberry is native to the Pacific Northwest. It grows beautifully in full shade to full sun, has lustrous evergreen leathery leaves, and produces clusters of whitish pink bell shaped flowers in spring that turn to small tasty blackish fruits in late summer and fall. Those berries that aren’t eaten in the garden by wildlife or hungry family members make their way into mini muffins at our house. 

When an ancient big leaf maple tree split and fell, the rotting stump that was left behind became home to a new huckleberry plant. We broke down the heart of the stump so we could slip in a small plant to be nursed by the rotting wood. The young huckleberry thrives on its maple host or ’nurse log’ and regularly produces a fine crop of berries. 

In the sun evergreen huckleberry stays smaller at around 3 to 5 feet. In its native forests under ideal growing conditions such as those on the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas it may reach 15 feet high. The plants are very forgiving when it comes to pruning.

I prune our senior huckleberry plant back when it has been a little too ambitious with its growth. We maintain it at about 4 or 5 feet high and wide. Snipped branches that have begun to intrude on neighboring plants or a garden path are often added to flower arrangements where they hold up admirably.  

Gorgeous foliage, lovely spring flowers, and delicious berries … What a multi-talented garden plant!

Botanical Name:  Vaccinium ovatum

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.  


Read more...

In The Garden Now…..Paper Bark Maple

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Leaves of the Paper Bark Maple

In The Garden Now…..Paper Bark Maple
Paper Bark Maple Tree
Text and photos by Victoria Gilleland

When it comes to color, gardeners like to extend the fall color season for their shrubs and trees for as long as possible. One way to do that is to include plants that gain their fall color at different times during the season. While other maple trees are going through their autumn color cycle in earlier fall, the Paper Bark Maple is holding back to put on its scarlet show later than the rest.   

In addition this tree has a wonderful cinnamon colored exfoliating bark that stands out in the garden year round but especially during the late fall and winter before new green leaves emerge in spring. A tree with such beautiful fall color and showy bark should be situated so that it can be easily viewed from garden paths or from inside the house.

Cinnamon colored exfoliating bark

While it can be difficult to find maples that color up well in shadier gardens, Paper Bark Maple flourishes in part shade and effortlessly adds red to the autumn garden. In my Lake Forest Park garden bright green leaves start to turn red on lower branches first and over several weeks march up the tree as if the color is being wicked through the tree to the top. It’s an interesting phenomenon. These bright red autumn leaves are held on the tree for some time. We usually see their fiery color from the Thanksgiving table as well as much later in the season.

Paper Bark Maple is a slow growing tree that typically reaches a height of 25 feet by 15-20 feet wide. It’s worth watching for a glimpse of this unique tree in the neighborhood or if you have a garden that needs a showy tree with year round interest, think about planting this one. You won’t be disappointed! 

(Botanical Name:  Acer griseum)

Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.




Read more...

In The Garden Now ….. Franchet’s Cotoneaster

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Cotoneaster franchetii

In The Garden Now…..Franchet’s Cotoneaster
Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

I’ll have to admit that when I first saw the name of this shrub family printed I thought for sure that it would be pronounced “Cotton Easter”…. Boy was I ever wrong! The correct pronunciation is: {kuh tone ee asster}.Who would have thought?

Franchet’s Cotoneaster is an easy to grow flowering and berrying shrub. Small white and pink flowers open in late spring or early summer and are adored by bees. Intensely orange berries cover the plant from late summer into fall and beyond. Birds see the brightly colored berries as a main course on their fall and winter dinner table. Berries not eaten by our feathered friends festoon the plant well into winter. The soft greyish semi-evergreen leaves compliment the bright orange berries making them pop in the landscape.

This shrub is a fast growing 6 by 6 foot fountain shaped plant which can be pruned heavily in winter or early spring to keep it compact. It grows well in poor soils with minimal water, flowers  and produces berries in part shade or sun.

Plant cotoneaster away from pet and children's play areas. Explain to your children when they can understand that cotoneaster flowers, leaves and berries are to look at not eat. Like many common plants such as begonia, carnation, chrysanthemum, daisy, iris, juniper and tulip, eating parts of these plants or parts of a cotoneaster plant could make children and pets sick. A larger person could become ill as well, but they would have to ingest a large quantity of the plant to make them sick. If you would like more information about plant toxicity check out the Washington Poison Center website.

NOTE: It’s the dose that makes the poison. For some plants one bite can be harmful, for other plants it may require eating the entire plant.
Watch for an orange glow in neighborhood gardens now.  It just might be Franchet’s Cotoneaster!   
(Botanical Name:  Cotoneaster franchetii)
~~~~~
Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.


Read more...

In the Garden now: Beauty Berry Shrub

Monday, November 17, 2014

Beauty Berry shrub
In The Garden Now …. Beauty Berry Shrub
Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

These purple metallic berries look for all the world like someone spray painted them. But this is just another example of Mother Nature’s skillful use of color in the fall landscape. Look around and you’ll see this wonderful berried shrub in neighborhood gardens.

The purple berries, which typically last well into winter, follow small pink summer flowers. In fall the green leaves of summer often take on a purplish cast as well.

Beauty Berry is an easy to grow vase shaped deciduous shrub that grows to about 6 feet high and wide. It grows happily in full sun to part shade. The plant will stay more compact and you’ll have more berries in the sun.

Think about adding a dash of purple to your fall garden with a stunning Beauty Berry Bush.

Botanical Name: Callicarpa bodinieri ‘Profusion’
~~~~
Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years.


Read more...

In the Garden Now ... Blue Bean Shrub

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Blue Bean Shrub

Blue Bean Shrub
Text and photo by Victoria Gilleland

Looking for an unusual shrub for your woodland garden?
Consider this showstopper. Clusters of colorful beans decorate the plant from later summer into fall. 

The common names ‘Blue Bean,‘ ‘Blue Sausage Fruit’ and ‘Blue Man’s Fingers’ shrub all describe the fruit of this large shrub well.

Yellow green flowers are followed by blue four inch long bean like fruit. Our Blue Bean Shrub has been surprising visitors to our Lake Forest Park fall garden with its bright blue fruit for years. 

(Botanical Name: Decaisnea fargesi)

~~~~
Victoria Gilleland is the owner of Cottage Garden Designs, a Garden Design company specializing in Redesign of Residential Gardens, Garden Consultation and Coaching. She has been designing gardens in the northwest for over 20 years. She lives in Lake Forest Park.


Read more...
ShorelineAreaNews.com
Facebook: Shoreline Area News
Twitter: @ShorelineArea
Daily Email edition (don't forget to respond to the Follow.it email)

  © Blogger template The Professional Template II by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP