Bulbs for Angels

camellias (cont.)

Gardening — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:52:56 +0000

Camellias are one of the old standards of the gardening world. They have a year round quality lending them to be used in accent and entry garden plantings. The early C. sasanqua has been in bloom for some time and many cvs. have finished blooming for this year. However, there are many more to come. Several new species and hybrids are now available, and there are very interesting unusual cvs. which are obtainable if you persist. Fragrant hybrids are now available to many. You have to snap them up quick since once a good gardener sees them, they buy them, so late comers miss out, even on seeing the plant! There are small to larger flowered sorts and singles and doubles in whites, and pinks, a few reds. The new trend is for small flowers in mass display and they tend also to have small fine textured leaves. High Fragrance is a showy one, suitable for espalliers, but fine as a garden subject. Medium blush – pink double flowers are fragrant. Minato no Akebono and Koto no Kaori are fine small profues flowered pink singles. Fragrance is spicy. Cinnamon Cindy is a favorite with small double white flowers. There are others!
Camellia species that are newer are outstanding in some instances. C. fraterna, C. nokoensis, C. foresstii, C. lutchuensis, C. synaptica, C. transonokoensis, C. salicifolia, C. tsaii are all fine, exceedingly outstanding garden subjects and quite often different from the average gardener’s idea/expectations of what a traditional camellia looks like.
Some unusal forms are the black flowered group: “Kuro Tsubaki, Night Rider, Black Magic, Black Opal, Black Prince. Picoteed forms include “Tama no Ura, Tama Peacock, Kakure Iso, Margaret Davis, Jean Clear.
Unusual foliage forms: Kingyo Tsubaki (goldfish tail leaf), White Mermaid(Shiro Rancho Kingyo ba Tsubaki), Nokogiri ba (sawtooth leaf), Kin sekai(variegated yellow medial blotch, Taiyo(wide yellow margin, Reigyoku (broad white-yellow margin of leaf)
All camellias like well drained soil, prefer partial shade and humus in soil, regular to ample watering (at least in early years to establish the plant.
more info on the website blog
www.hanascape.com
or visit the nursery (Garden Delights Nursery) to see the plants in person

winter blooming plants continued

Gardening — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:32:07 +0000

Additional winter flowering plants are the large manzanita group(arctostaphylos spp.), flowering currants(Ribes spp.), Prunus mume, winter daphne(Daphne ordora and cvs.) among others.
There are also many plants with attractive colorful and showy bark characters. Shrub dogwoods(Cornus spp.), paperbark and stripe/snakebark maples, shrub willows(Salix spp.)
Manzanitas are a large group of native plants which fill many garden planting needs. There are carpeting ground covers, higher ground covers, low spreading shrub forms all the way up to larger shrubs and small trees. Flowers are in late winter to spring and are small and urn shaped in whites and pinks. They are displayed in small to large clusters. Many of these are drought tolerant. Most have showy bark that can be peeling or smooth in reds, to purples.
The flowering currants (Ribes spp.) are also showy. These are also natives and come from various areas from coastal to inland. R. sanguineum glutinosum is a commonly used landscape plant. This shrub has rounded maple like leaves and hanging tassel like clusters of blooms. Individual flowers are small and tubelike in these pendulous clusters, coming in white, mainly pinks, and reds. Edible purple fruit follows if pollinated. These shrubs grow in sun or shade.
R. malvaceum is the inland representative with stiffer upright branching and smaller clusters of redder flowers and is exceedingly heat and drought tolerant. R. speciosum is a jewel with its hanging crimson red lantern shaped flowers with graceful red stamens protruding below the petals. This one is wickedly spiny so is good for barrier plantings.
Prunus mume is almost never seen except by those familiar with several Far Eastern cultures. This is the flowering plum/apricot (Ume’) Twiggy growth to small tree size and clean spicy fragrance are hallmarks of this plant. There are upright and weeping forms and a rare contorted form. Single and double flowers in whites, pinks, reds cover the bare branches, even if it snows. This plant needs a warm summer, fall to ripen the wood and good drainage. It can live to over 400 yrs!
Winter daphne is a long time favorite. It is challenging to grow, but so loved for its perfume that people are always willing to try it again, even after several failed attempts. Leathery glossy leaves clothe the bush, and winter produces deliciously fragrant small pink or white blooms which are not very visually noticeable, but very arresting to passers by because of the strong scent. Very good drainage is needed for this, perhaps rhododendron culture is the most successful for it, but watch excessive summer water, as that can kill it.
Bark colors are quite showy on the shrub species of dogwoods and willows. Cornus alba and C. sericea(C. stolonifera) have many varieties with red or yellow brilliant winter colored bark. The newer selections have variegated leaves. These are showy for wet areas in the landscape. The same for the shrub willows. Yellow, orange and red bark colors.
The striped bark species and selections of the large maple group(Acer) are outstanding and almost unknown. Medium sized trees flaunt stems with often green base colors veined with stunning white stripes. There are also yellow and purple and red base colors with conspicuous striping. A. capillipes, A. davidii, A. grosseri, A. rufinerve, A. rubescens, A. tegmentosum are among the showy species. ‘White Tigress’ and Winter Gold’ are some of the outstanding showy varieties.
The paperbark species are also nice. Cinnamon brown peely bark like some birches and often trifoliate leaflets are characteristic of these. A. griseum, A. ‘Cinnamon Flake’, are the main paperbarks. A. triflorum is unique with its stiffly curling bark, something like curled chocolate in texture, but in honey tan colored bark and trifoliate leaflets.
For more info and details, check the website www.hanascape.com or visit the nursery to see more

an easy care. long lived, tough bloomer

Gardening — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:52:35 +0000

Lobellia laxiflora is a star among any landscape situations, but you almost never see it. What a shame it is not in everybody’s garden, and even used in parks, plazas, etc. Drought tolerance is quite a bonus with this plant as it comes from the southwest, not like so many of the bog area water thirsy other species of lobellia. This is a long lived perennial and graceful too. Slender stems arise from narrow foliage forming clumps. The stems top with open clusters of orange yellow and red tube flowers. Much visited by hummingbirds due to the nectare within. This plant will love growing in full hot sun (water it in the early years to get it well established) then you can just about forget it as it will take care of itself. Frosts may kill it back to the ground, but it will come back next spring. (Do use wire baskets for gopher protection however, just in case, and you may also want to use a small tent of wire to protect it from rabbits if you have those visitors.) What you get for this effort is an almost continuous blooming plant, loaded with flowers from spring to frost(all winter in mild areas!) and hummingbirds will visit it FREQUENTLY. This type of lower plant fits into many garden situations. Containers are another wonderful use and just back of an edging in any sunny planting will make it stand out. (if you use some of the colorful foliage low plants, you will have a colorful display almost all year. (use heucheras, hakonechloas, dwarf hostas, smaller salvias, small/short succulents, etc.) A particulalry nice combination is Aloe ‘Johnsons Hybrid’ which is a small fine textured succulent and another almost nonstop bloomer, with the same cultural needs. sun, almost no water when established – but you can water more if you wish and that will yield more blossoms as well. This will give you bright orange nodding trumpets topping short upright clusters.
Another succulent type plant to use is Calendrinia spectabilis with magenta purple cups atop stems to 2ft +
wonderful and easy care, plant them, water them, and forget them. Nice at ends of driveways for easy care color., where color will attact attention and add to the curb appeal of any house!

some favorite drought tolerant plants

Gardening — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:38:17 +0000

Salvias are a large group. They can be ground hugging mats to towering shrubs. Many have showy flowers, most are deer resistant, and many also have fragrant/pungent leaves, stems, flowers. They grow in sun to partial shade. Some like water, others are extremely drought resistant.
Here are two favorites this time. Salvia sonomensis and S. ‘Hot Lips’. These are for a sunnier position, but will tolerate a degree of shade(no dense heavy shade of they become leggy). I particularly like our native S. sonomensis which carpets the chaparrel scrub in the hills. It is extremely drought tolerant when established. and tolerant of heat and sun. (You have to start it in partial shade and it will spread out and grow into the hot sun without any fuss.) There are several forms in the nursery trade. They are taller forms than the typical type seen in the wild. (I particularly like the wild species.) I find it much more attractive, it is lower growing, thus looks neater in any landscape (think of it as a shag rug height) and its’ blooms are also shorter, slender and more graceful than what I have thus seen in the nursery trade. I will begin to introduce this form so that eveyone can have this easy care native. You can use it instead of lawn or many other ground covers. You have to pay attention to drainage and overwatering(don’t do that!) and if drainage is poor, by all means start it on a mound/higher soil area to get it going.
S. ‘Hot Lips’ is quite showy with its red and white flowers. These colors are variable depending on seasonal temperatures. Sometimes they are just reddish! But the plant is compact and forms a small mounded form perhaps 1-2 ft tall and up to 3 ft wide. Full hot sun (with some water) to partial shade will suit it well. It associates nicely with almost any other planting. Small fine textured leaves and mounded growth (like many perennials) allows this to be planted and associate nicely with almost everything. The colorful flowers are a nice change from the warm brick reds and hot pinks found in so many similar forms/hybrids of the related S. greggii and S. microphylla, etc.
Both associate with dry landscaping and also a more watered landscape garden situation. Their colors (forgot to mentions S. sonomensis is purple) are welcome in any garden, or even in containers!

fall bloomers

Gardening — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:03:21 +0000

Some great plants to try in your garden for fall color are the fall blooming anemones (Anemone hybrida), Rabdosia longituba, flowering gingers, abutilons, chrysanthemums, camellias. Don’t forget foliage colors as well since they remain colorful for the full growing season!
There are also fruits/berries with color for the garden in reds, yellows, oranges, whites, pinks, purple-black, and even blue depending on the species you select.
The fall blooming anemones are easy care perennials and will increase in clump size over the years. Cut ornamental foliage forms clumps and then produces ascending graceful flowering stems above the leaves. Softly hairy and attractively cut leaves form a nice mounding effect and then you get flowers in late summer and fall. When these finish, you have round ball shaped seed heads which expand to white cottony drifts when the wind eventually blows them to disperse the seeds. This all dies down in winter, so maintenance is easy, just cut off foliage and that is all you need to do.
Rabdosia longituba is an elegant ‘blue’ flowered perennial of the mint/salvia family. Ascending stems in clumps rise to perhaps 4-5 ft and then graceful luminescent tube flowers almost lit like neon lights top the tall flower clusters. It is a wonderful plant for fall and in the rare blue color range! Sun to shade and regular water is all that is needed.
Flowering gingers make lush tropical accents for the garden. They are difficult to find but are well worth the search as they provide foliage interest all season long and many are topped in late summer, fall and winter with flowers, many of them richly scented … (think plumeria or gardenia). They come in whites, pinks, red, oranges, and yellows. Size of plants vary from dwarfs to full sized specimens almost corn like and tall 6-8 ft+. There are also variegated and bronze colored foliage forms. These make easy care specimens for containers as well and you can move them when in flower or hide them when dormant in winter.
Chrysanthemums are old fashioned easy care favorites. They need rich soil to produce lush abundant growth from which the blooms will come in profusion later. I prefer the more interesting floral types like the pom poms, spiders, quills, and football/incurved types. Colors are whites, yellows, bronzes, almost reds, pinks, purples, and bicolors. Pom poms and spiders, quills are not common at all anymore but very choice plants for the garden, cutting and containers.
Abutilons are floral factories, still producing their bells continuously in yellows, oranges, red, pinks, and whites. Hummers love them and they are very easy care. If planted in the garden, they can bloom 12 months out of the year.
We should still be having roses in our gardens as well, they can bloom into frost and if you choose species, their fruits/hips/heps will give long season color useful in the garden and also the vase.
colorful foliage is an option which should be considered in every garden from the largest to the single container. Foliage lasts for all the growing season and looks good for a much longer period than ephemeral flowers. It is a nice addition to any planting. There are numerous choices from small plants to large trees. Just see what attracts your attention and remember the color chart to find what pleases you most in combination(s).

“How to” determine drainage

Gardening — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:19:18 +0000

in the series of questions, a lot of discussion is mentioned about drainage. Here is a simple way to find out how to see what kind of drainage you have.
*Drainage is important to plant growth and success in the garden.
First dig a hole perhaps a foot deep and wide. Then fill it with water and see how long it takes to drain. If it disappears in a half hour or less, you have good drainage. if the water is still there the next day, you likely have poor drainage. Sandy soils tend to be well drained, and clay or adobe tend to be slower draining.
Season of the year is also a factor. If you do this test in winter when rains have saturated the soil, moisture will seep into the soil at a much slower rate. An additional factor about winter rainy season is that a water table(the underground level of subterranean moisture levels) can come up and drown plants. This is common around bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, streams. It can also depend on the substrata of the rock layers well below the soil surface. Simply put, the water level comes up very high beneathe the ground surface and this condition will drown plant roots which need oxygen to live. Some plants are very sensitive to this condition and will die outright(cherries, peaches/nectarines, apricots, rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and their relatives(Ericacea family in general)
If you have poorly draining soil, don’t give up hope. You can plant, just plant everything on a high mound or berm so roots will have a place to grow above the typical soil grade. Many plants can grow like this and do quite well in an otherwise poorly draining site.
Or you can just plant riparian type species and bog species, of which there are many choices. Willows, poplars, cottonwoods, birches, elderberries(Sambucus species, cvs.)
Japanese iris, other water loving iris, etc. there are many choices!

fruit trees and bulbs

Gardening — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 02:21:27 +0000

As summer progresses, the rich array of fruit tree varieties presents the orchardist with the delectable bounty of Nature in the form of rich ripeness of many kinds of fruits.
Apricots, apriums, plums, nectarines, peaches, pluots, plumcots, apples are all available in early – midseason varieites and taste so much better when you pick a tree ripened fruit rather than a store bought unripe one. In the home orchard, it is important to keep the trees well watered until the crop is harvested. Fruits have a very high content of water in them and letting them grow dryer than regularly watered, will compromise size of fruits, as well as quality. One important thing is to keep all fallen and damaged fruit picked up and disposed of so that it does not provide a haven for insects of disease.
Now is also a great time to begin thinking about ordering bulbs/ plants for the coming dormant season. With the current state of the economy, some growers offer attractive promotions to provide much savings if you order early. An advantage of early ordering is that you have the first priority and advantage of the best newer varieties which may be in short supply and your order will likely get filled if you order early.

doublefile viburnums

Gardening — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:18:51 +0000

One of the finest ornamentals for the garden/landscape are the various forms of Viburnum plicatum tomentosum, and V. p. plicatum (the snowball forms). These shrubs of amazing beauty grace some of the finest landscapes, yet the average home owner, gardening enthusiast, can enjoy them as well. These shrubs are four season performers. Spring is flowers in either lacecap or snowball clusters of whites and pinks, summer offers red berries if the flowers are pollinated, autumn shows leaf color of burgundy and rosy purples as well as the reds, yellows, and oranges, and winter offers horizontal structure with peeling whitish gray bark. The growth habit is highly architectural, showing all the blooms to advantage. The stratified layering of branches is attractive in itself and when smothered in bloom, is truly spectacular! These are almost zero maintenance subjects. You just have to think ahead and plant with the mature dimension of the plant in mind, remembering that these shrubs grow widely(a very important part of their charm). thgey are called doublefile because the blossoms appear in two ranks (like soldiers in two columns) all along the horizontal branches.

They like to be well watered and will grow in sun to quite a bit of shade. Good drainage is essential, but these are easy care, tough shrubs. The size of the mature plant will vary according to variety. Some very large specimens can grow to perhaps 15 ft tall and wide, but this is uncommon. (Imagine a layer cake where you see all the layers of frosting in between, and you have a pretty good idea of the effect of this plant in bloom!).

Oval pleated leaves cover the plant and form a nice backround foil to the blooms and berries.

Of the many varieties available, here are some recommended choices. I will divide them into bloom cluster type so it is easier to find what you might wish to try. (lace cap – large sterile flowers on the edge of the cluster, with fertile small flowers in the middle. The clusters are flattish so you see them all and they give a lacy appearance on the plant.) Snowball clusters have all sterile flowers and form a rounded cluster, similar to snowball shape.

Lacecap cvs:

Fuji is a smaller/lower growing form with wonderful long tabulated branching. Slightly lower to perhaps 6-8 ft.

Igloo is lower growing with a rounded shrub appearance.

Lanarth is larger growing with exceptional beauty. Lacecap white flowers give a grand display.

Mariesii is similar with perhaps a more horizonatal habit of growth.

Fujisanensis/Summer Snowflake is smaller cluster flowered, but it repeats bloom several times during the year. Smaller sized plant, can be kept to 4-5 ft tall with minimal top trimming.

Pink Beauty is pinkish / off white and small clustered. The foliage has bronzy tones, and is a smaller plant.

Molly Shroeder is pinkish as well, perhaps a bit stronger grower.

Shasta is superb with very large sterile flowers and a profuse display on a larger plant to perhaps 10 ft.

St. Keverne is a larger vorm with rounded umbrella like clusters of bloom.

Watanabe/nanum semperflorens is a smaller plant and also repeats blooms during the growing season.

Snowball cvs:

Grandiflorum is larger clustered and white.

Mary Milton/Roseace/Kern’s Pink is pinkish in a warm winter climate and offers bronzy foliage. Sometimes the blossom clusters give white and pink individually mixed blooms in the cluster.

Newport is a dwarf (perhaps 6 ft)with a rounded shrub habit and nice blooming.

Popcorn is very much more heat tolerant than many cvs. and is a profuse bloomer to 10-12 ft.

Triumph is slightly taller than Newport with a bit more of an open shrub habit.

There are more from which to choose, some are very difficult to locate.

Lilacs, Buddleias

Gardening — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:50:53 +0000

Lilacs are old fashioned favorites, tested by time and warmly remembered for their legendary fragrance. The most common type is Syringa vulgaris and its’ varieties number in the hundreds. Color range is broad, from white to pinks, to reddish purples, blues to lavender and purples. All the above in light and darker tones. The individual flowers can be single or double. There are two distinct cvs., immediately recognizable by their flowers. ‘Primrose’ is yellow and ‘Sensation’ is dark purple with a fine edging of white on each individual bloom. These are easy care plants and they can live a very long time. A sunny site is recommended and neutral to slightly alkaline soils are preferred, but they will also grow in slightly acid soils. They appreciate a sunny site to promote the heaviest flowering. Culture is easy, simply water when needed, plant in well drained soil, and trim off faded blooms. Additionally, you can thin excess stems if they appear too crowded or you want to rejuvenate a tired older plant. (cut out the very old stems over a period of years and the plant will renew itself with new, young branching from the base.) Regular watering is appreciated as well and they are reasonably drought tolerant also when very well established.

Besides the common lilac and its’ numerous cvs., there are other species/types which give the enthusiast much choice. There are small leafed and flowered species and hybrids. There are cut leaf forms, and a variegated form. And there are tree sized species which have very shiny polished bronze bark similar to cherry trees.

The small leafed forms and species are very garden worthy. They have a finer texture and blossom earlier than the common lilac. Syringa laciniata is the cutleaf lilac, with lavender purple clusters at the ends of branches. On a vigorous branch, numerous clusters form and give the impression of a blossom up to 8-10″ in length. S. chinensis is a hybrid from France (not of Chinese origin) and offers deep purple flowers in small clusters. The habit is bushy to perhaps 8 ft+ . S. persica is similar. The hybrids in this group are nice garden accents for the landscape. Easy care, and fragrant in bloom. Purples, lavenders, whites, pinks are available. S. meyeri, S. patula, S. patula ‘Miss Kim’, S. ‘Karen’ all offer nice blooms and there are more from which to choose.

There is a pendulous/weeping growing form called ‘Her’s Weeping’ with purple small clusters on a weeping plant. Quite different than other lilacs.

An unusual species is the nodding cluster species S. reflexa with drooping clusters of pink flowers. S. swegiflexa is a hybrid of this and offers various tones of reddish pinks on larger shrubs with a spicy fragrance. Growth is up to perhaps 12ft in time.

S. reticulata and S. pekinensis are tree form species and selections. White to creamy white blooms on a tree to 20+ ft with polished chestnut brown bark, similar to a cherry bark. Fragrant, though they are, the scent is not very pleasing to me….similar to privet.

S. villosa is similar in dimension to S. vulgaris but the blossoms tend to be narrower, giving the effect on the plant more of a candelabra effect. Many color cvs. are available if searched out.

When planting, allow for mature dimension of the plant and there will be no need to prune back if planted too close to anything else.

An alternative to lilacs are the summer blooming Buddleias, (butterfly bush, summer lilac). Here you will find gracefully arching plants that bloom a long time (most of them) and fountainous growth. They are of easy care and can be pruned back severely if they get too leggy or large. A wide color range from blues to purples(some very dark), reddish purple to pinks, and whites. There are two variegated cvs. and several new dwarf selections. Some species have yellow, golden flowers (B. globosa). I particularly enjoy B. lindleyana with its hanging lavender purple flower clusters all summer to frost. Hummingbirds, bees, butterflies love these plants. B. asiatica is winter blooming and white, scented of freesias. They are of easy culture, liking regular watering, reasonably rich soil, and a sunny position. If they grow too large, leggy, just cut them back down. If done in winter, they will bloom again later in summer! For those that want a longer bloom display, these are hard to beat.

spring blossoms

Gardening — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:03:47 +0000

The spring seasson has brought us many wonderful blooms, yet we are now graced with some of the most spectacular plants for the landscape. Flwoering cherries have been blooming for some time now. At this time we have the midseason varieties such as the very double deep pink ‘Kanzan’ cherry blossom (Prunus serrulata ‘Kanzan’), Shogetsu (Prunus serrulata ‘Shogetsu’) is another just appearing now with double pink buds, opening to white/blush flowers with petals held almost in a flat shape which resembles ballerina tutus. While Kanzan can grow to almost 40 ft tall with an inverted wine glass shaped canopy, Shogetsu is much smaller, growint to perhaps 15 ft with a flat topped canopy and branches weighted down by the profuse bloom clusters.

Wisterias are in full glory, or soon will be. The usual first ones to flower are the Chinese wisteria(W. sinensis, W. chinensis) and the silky wisteria (W. venusta), then comes the longest cluster forms of the Japanese wisteria (W. floribunda). The color range is generally mauve purple, but there are variations in this according to variety. There are white and pink varieties available if you look. These are large growing vines which twine around supports and need a strong structure to climb on and support the weight of the vine and those twining trunks. These plants have hanging clusters of bloom. Individual flowers are pea shaped and produced in great profusion on hanging clusters…in some cases to over 6 ft (Japanese wisteria).

Chinese wisteria cvs: (W. sinensis)
Amethyst has rosy violet blossom clusters typically shorter in length to perhaps 8-10″

Blue Sapphire is more blue.

Cooke’s Purple is profuse and purple blue

Prolific is just that, very profuse in bloom.

Mekura Fuji / Kofuji is a dwarf wisteria, grown mainly for the diminutive aspect of the leaves and branches. It only rarely flowers

Silky wisteria: (W. venusta, W. brachybotrys)

Alba is the generally available form with white flowers in short broad clusters

Violacea is the purple form, rare to locate.

Japanese wisteria has the longest cluster length of them all, from 18″ – 6 ft.. (W. floribunda):

Honbeni (rosea) has the deepest pink color with a definite lavendar tinge

Kuchibeni is pale pinkish white. with darker keep petal tips

Lawrence has densely packed racemes/clusters in a deeper blue color

Longissima has very long clusters of purple flowers to perhaps 3 ft

Longissima Alba is similar with 18″ – 2 1/2 ft long clusters in white

Snow Showers and Shiro Noda are very similar or identical

Macrobotrys / Kyushaku / 44″ clusters is perhaps the longest of them all growing to perhaps 5-6 ft long flower clusters and blossoms in mauve purple.

Royal Purple (Hitoe Koku ryu) is the darkest purple single flowered form.

Violacea Plena(Yae Koku ryu) is the only generally available double wisteria in deep purple and the individual flowers are densely double on lcusters to perhaps 12″

White with blue eye is unique among white forms. Flowers are individually larger and the rachis (flower cluster stem) and calyx are neon blue, hence the ‘blue eye’ part of the descriptive name

Hybrid wisterias from the above species:
Caroline is a nice short cluster blue flowered form

Lavender Lace is darker purple, (but not the darkest form) and has bronzy new leaves

Japanese Tea Garden form is considered superior to this if you can locate it. (It is not named currently, but may have had a name in the remote past)

Tree peonies are also blooming, or soon to blossom. (the early types have finished) Here you will find flowers among the most lovely in all the world of Nature. singles, doubles, very heavy doubles with a foil of attractively cut foliage on a woody shrub(not the herbaceous peonies, these are shrubs, not perennials). Brilliant and pastel colors in whites, pinks, reds, purples, maroon blacks, yellows, ambers await the fancier of these superior garden subjects.

Midseason and late magnolias are also blooming. M. ‘Daybreak’ being unique among these garden aristocrats with pink, purplish pink large blossoms on a fastigiate-narrowly broad cone shaped canopy.

Michelia species are also blooming, with M. yunnanensis among the most showy right now. M. crassipes is also very impressive, or will soon be.

Erik’s Gardening Tips

Garden Delights Nursery

7000 Petaluma Hill Rd

Penngrove 707 665 9112