The State of the Nursery 2015

22 days until March!

March 1st is always a turning point around here. We are so close!  Winter is not over yet, but it has certainly been kind this year. We have gotten so many things done to prepare for spring, it is amazing!

Many of these tasks were left over from last winter.  It was just too cold and we were under too much snow last year to finish some of the organizational chores we’d been working on. We’re excited to be ahead this early!

After a couple years of not growing anything in Greenhouse 4, we will be returning it to horticultural greatness!  I think we will be growing Stewartia, Japanese Maples, Hostas, Coral Bells, Astilbe, Bleeding  Hearts, Chinese Dogwoods, and all that other “part sun/part shade/shade” group of plants. The poly (roof) on that house is old and will be replaced after things warm up. It’s the original poly we put on back in November of 2002 when we built Greenhouses 4 and 5. It’s supposed to be replaced every 4 years, so I guess we got our money’s worth out of it!

We will be growing lots of new plants this year.  Check out the giant Astilbes like ’Mighty Pip’,‘Color Flash’ , and ‘Mighty Red Quin’! These are awesome flowers to plant with your Hosta collection. They bloom before Hostas and can be deadheaded to extend bloom times!  The new Astilbe varieties have so much more vigor and are easier to grow than the older varieties. The dark bronze foliage of Astilbe ‘Chocolate Shogun’ is a feature I have not seen before. We will also have some new dwarf varieties of Astilbe, like ‘Little Vision In Pink’. This one would be great to complement your Coral Bells.

If you do not have any Coral Bells, or need more, then we can help you out.  We have several new varieties we will be growing. We have ‘Mahogany’, which is seldom seen; if you are familiar with ‘Caramel’, ‘Mahogany’ is two shades darker and a little smaller. We will have ‘Obsidian’ again, another nursery favorite.  Some other great choices include ‘Georgia Plum’, ‘Fire Chief‘, ‘Forever Purple’, ‘Fire Alarm’, ‘Cherry Cola’, ‘Vienna’, ‘Black Taffeta’, ‘Bella Notte’, ‘Zipper’, and there are many others…..

If you need that special plant that no one else is likely to have, consider Filipendula vulgaris ‘Kahome’. The pink flowers on this plant will embellish any shade garden.

Our tree inventory is outstanding right now!  We have lots of varieties of Maples, Crab Apples, Service

Berry, and Oaks.  If you would like something unusual, try the new Purple Leaf Catalpa, Hardy Rubber Tree or a Ginkgo.

There are some new flowering shrubs that are promising. Three are the Weigela ‘Sonic Bloom’ series in  Pink, Red and Pearl. These plants start blooming in spring and do not quit until fall. I think these will be great companion plants for the many varieties of Hydrangea paniculata we grow. I cannot wait to put them in some of my new design work.

Whether you have a new house or old garden, or just love plants, feel free to contact Shawn at 260-414-6213 to discuss your project.  Let us know how we can earn your business!