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GARDENER'S
READING ROOM
The Art of Gardening
Trees
& Shrubs
Flashy
Plants for 2004
 Let
me start with two wonderful Japanese Maples. Acer
palmatum 'First Ghost' is an impressive
selection for a lightly shaded area-its foliage is an
astonishing white.
Its dwarf (only 8" tall) cousin, A.
p. 'Sensu', would be a great pairing for
a Halloween garden - Sensu's
summer show of light orange overtones turns to a surprising
deep orange in the fall.
Another
tree we've all been waiting for is the most impressive
ever Silk Tree, Albizia 'Summer
Chocolate'. Its dark, dark red foliage topped
by pink to red flowers is sure to be a focal point in any
landscape.
The
ever-popular Smoke Bush has a new addition to the family 'tree'.
Cotinus 'Golden Spirit's'
spectacular foliage emerges lime green, maturing to brilliant
gold. You'll be rewarded with a mix of coral, orange,
and red in the fall. A further plus is that the plant matures
at a manageable 8", as opposed to the 15" height
of most of its cousins.
 Two
new Hydrangeas will grace Sky Nursery this year. The
new mophead
'Endless
Summer' flowers on new wood. This means that
it may be pruned heavily every year. It also means that it
will still bloom if frozen back in the winter-and in milder-winter
areas, it will often bloom twice. By changing the soil pH,
you can enjoy 'Endless Summer'
with either pink or blue flowers. The oakleaf hydrangea 'Little
Honey',
in contrast, offers white blooms. This dwarf sun-lover has
intensely yellow leaves, turning to burgundy in the fall.
Sky
will be carrying many exciting cannas this year, but one deserves
special mention. 'Tropicanna
Gold' rewards you with vivid orange-yellow
flowers displaying a dark orange splashed throat. The large
exotic leaves are dramatically striped in green and gold.
Some
of you enjoyed the new, short, evergreen clematis we found
last year,
Clematis cartmanii 'Joe'.
This year 'Joe'
is joined by several of his cousins. 'Avalanche'
grows to 15"; its pure white flowers are especially effective
trailing down banks. 'Early
Sensation' offers 3" white flowers with
yellow centers. Its 7"-8" height makes it ideal
for gardeners with space restraints. Two new cartmaniis offer
an almost shrub-like-form-'Snow
Valley' has cup-shaped white flowers and dark
foliage, 'White Abundance'
flat flowers and bronzy foliage.
 Sky
continues to expand our line of exotic edibles. This year
we are introducing a hardy olive discovered fruiting in McMinnville,
OR. Plant this attractive tree on a south or west side of
a building and reap the harvest! The Chilean Guava Ugni
molinae is an attractive small shrub covered
with fragrant flowers in spring. Sweet red berries with a
sprightly guava-like flavor follow. Chinese Wolfberry, an
attractive shrub also known as Matrimony Vine, displays purplish
blue flowers followed by orange-red berries. These nutritious
sweet berries are great in cereal.
2004
is will prove to be a great year for plant introductions.
There are many more than I can mention; come to Sky's
free seminars on Edible Ornamentals (March 6th) and Plants
to Watch for in 2004 (March 27th) for more information. Please
stop in as spring progresses so we may share the wealth with
you!
By Bill Bloomfield, C.P.H.
Skylights Spring 2004 Vol. 18, No. 2
Other
articles on the art of gardening
Other
articles on trees and shrubs
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