Cool Plant: Wolong Ghost Silver Veined Wintercreeper

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Euonymus fortunei 'Wolong Ghost'
Silver Veined Wintercreeper

Prominent white veins stand out on the narrow, deep green leaves for an unusual appearance on this strong-growing groundcover. Fills in large or small spaces in sunny borders or shady woodland gardens. Evergren. Full to part sun. Grows 8-10 inches in height, 18-24 inches wide. Hardy to zone 5.

This plant and many others are available at Art's Nursery Ltd. Please call 604.882.1201 to confirm availability.

Cool Plant: Morgan Chinese Arborvitae

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Thuja orientalis 'Morgan'
Morgan Chinese Arborvitae

This woody chameleon, native to Australia, is known for its gorgeous changing year-round foliage colour. Its summer lime-green foliage turns deep purple in fall, followed by fantastic rich orange colour during the winter months. A favourite plant among dwarf conifer enthusiasts. Grows 2-4 inches a year to a maximum height of 3ft in 10 years. Needs full sun.

This plant is generally available at Art's Nursery.
Please call 604.882.1201 to confirm availability.

Your Garden in December

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Looks like we’re starting December off rather nicely on the Wet Coast, sunny and cool. After dipping my shopping toes into the danger filled waters of mall Christmas shopping I think I do the rest online, in my pjs and gorilla slippers…while listening to Dave Cooks the Turkey by Stuart McLean. There is not a ton to do in the garden at this time, but a whole lot of daydreaming.
Ok, ok, there are a few things you can still do for those keeners out there.

Here’s the list:

Garden Beds:
You can still plant shrubs and trees so long as the ground is not frozen or mucky and waterlogged. Don’t panic if you haven’t plunked those bulbs in yet, wait until the soil has dried out a bit and then toss them in. Weed if needed, mulch around plants with chopped up leaves or bark mulch (avoid using fruit tree or rose leaves). If you have acid lovers such as blueberries or lingonberries or rhodo’s you can drag fallen pine and fir branches to the garden beds and leave them until the needles fall off and then drag away the branches sans needles.

Plant for Winter Interest
Thisis a great time to look for plants that most spring-only gardeners would miss. The list is actually quite large, for example: camellias, mahonia, hellebores, wintergreen, holly and more

Pots:
Mother Nature has so handily provided many fallen boughs for me to fill my front planters with. Go for a walk and collect some boughs for swags or garlands. We also have some artfully arranged at the store too. Don’t forget to water those plants under cover outside. While not requiring water every day or even once a week, you’ll still need to water say once every two weeks. Feel the top of the soil and make sure it feels moist. When it dries out, add water.

House Plants:
With the cooler weather, most of us have our furnaces on blowing warm and dry air. Keep an eye on your houseplants, misting and providing pebble trays as needed.

Bulbs for Forcing
you can still start paper whites, Hyacinth and Amaryllis now for late winter blooms.

Lawns:
Those past few winter storms should have taken care of most of the rest of the leaves. Make sure to rake or blow large leaves off of the lawn or you’ll be making extra work for yourself next spring with overseeding all those bare patches.

Seeds:
The seed catalogues should be starting to come in around now and you can settle down with a nice peppermint hot chocolate and a pen and put your feet up and start your wish list. Now is a great time to plan for next year and just think… you don’t have to put up with a pesky garden to-do list until 2012!
Cheers,
Laurelle

November 2011 In Your Garden

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We get more rain this month than any other, so with that in mind here is the list!

Take your vitamin C and vitamin D.

Wash your hands often.

Get a good amount of sleep – studies have found that lack of sleep not only causes a decrease in cognitive function: In a study of six graders, those who got 1 hour less in sleep scored two grades lower at the cognitive level of a 4th grader (Bronson and Merryman, Nurture Shock); but even more intriguing, negative stimuli are stored in the brain by the amygdala while positive stimuli are taken care of by the hippocampus an area of the brain more profoundly affected by sleep deprivation .

So, now that you are healthy, smart and in possession of all of your fond memories you are ready for the West Coast Winter…and the rest of the list:

	Inspect your containers for cracks and ensure there is adequate drainage…you’ll need it.  Bring them up close to the house or under the deck.  Wrap all those that need wrapping with underlay, bubble wrap etc.  Or insulate with bags of leaves, or bales of hay etc.  for the more tender plants.  Be on the lookout for fallen evergreen boughs to spruce up your empty pots.
	If you are lucky enough to have red twig dogwood or a contorted filbert now is the moment you’ve been waiting for to decorate your pots!!  If you don’t have greens and twigs handy you can come in to visit us, we have bunches. If you don’t have a red twig dogwood or contorted filbert, now is a good time to get one.  You can still plant trees and hardy shrubs as long as the ground is not frozen.
	Rake up and bag apple leaves and rose leaves and those leaves that were affected badly by pest and disease.  The others you can compost and use as mulch in your garden.
	You can still divide up hardy perennials. Lift and store Dahlia’s, Cannas as well as other non hardy tubers.  Make sure to check and turn them often and mist as necessary.  Remember Cinnamon is a great fungicide; you can sprinkle your tubers with Cinnamon.
	You can plant your bulbs, garlic too, if you haven’t already and you can find a dry day. Remember it takes approximately 9 months to grow garlic and the fall is the best time to plant it.
Blow out irrigation systems before the hard freezes come. My hubby  did the trailer yesterday. Clean and put away your tools.  Drain the gas from your mower.  I think I’ll take the trampoline down too.  Lawn furniture is nicely tucked away.
	Weed if it’s dry.  Weeding when the ground is mucky will cause soil compaction.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Don’t be too tidy with your clean up.  Beneficial insects and pollinators overwinter in hollow stems and under leaves and branches.  Lucky for me.
Don’t forget those pebble trays with water to humidify those house plants.  A mister works well too. If you're not sure, come on in and well show you what you need to do.

Take care of yourselves this winter, tuck into a good book and stay warm! 

Cheers,  Laurelle

My Favourite Conifers - Part One

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I’ll admit it, even though I graft heritage Apple trees and adore herbs and veggies and grasses, conifers are my favorite groups of plants.  When all others have gone to sleep for the winter, the conifer stands steadfast and brightens the rainy winter months.  Each year I find some new excellent varieties to fall in love with and this year is no different.  They are the garden bones, they provide the structure for a good design and given the right spot and conditions they are the tough fullbacks of the garden.
The adage ‘The Right Plant in the Right Place’ is never truer than with conifers.
Conifers need drainage.  Putting a conifer into a soggy or heavy clay site is often one of the fastest ways to kill it.  Planting it too deeply, another efficient way to get rid of it.  If you moosh it in with a lot of other plants…you will get to enjoy its bare branches, as those that aren’t getting enough light and elbow room will lose their needles. They do not require much if any grooming or feeding.  Average slightly acidic soil with some evergreen food in early spring is a good idea.
Their needs are not many but are very specific, however if you put a conifer into a lovely well drained spot, plant at the correct height and give it sufficient sun for most (though not all) and elbow room, you will be rewarded with an extraordinary specimen of a plant that draws the eye at any season.
Texture, colour and structure in just about every size are the specialties of this plant, something winter gardens are often sadly lacking.
There are specimens for almost every type of garden from pint sized bonsais, to dwarf rockery style plants, to slender upright conifers for small space gardens, to artistic weepers for a sloped or streamside planting, to impressive sentinels for larger gardens or windbreaks.
Conifers are one of the most multipurpose groups of plants.
It is worth a wintertime wander through the UBC Botanical Gardens or VanDusen Gardens to inspire you.
After observing my garden slowly melt away from the voracious driveway eating perennial zoo to bare earth, twigs and wet leaves, I have a hankering for some form, texture and colour now, what to choose…

Here are my 5 fave dwarf or smaller conifers:

	Dwarf Balsam Fir Abies balsamea ‘Nana’ It is a luscious deep dark green low flat round evergreen with the most amazing electric lime new growth in the spring.  This lovely little fir grows to about 3 ½ feet by 3 ½ feet verrrrry slowly.  It prefers part sun to dappled shade.  The deep dark green contrasts rather nicely with a variegated Hellebore or a golden leaved hosta in the summer.
	Verdon Dwarf Hinoki False Cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Verdoni’ In spite of the huge moniker, this is a lovely variety for the small garden.  With fan like sprays of limes, darker greens and golds, this artistically growing Hinoki Falsecypress will brighten up a drab corner of the garden.  It is another extremely slow grower with eventual heights from 4-6feet high and a very slender 3’ wide.  It prefers sun to part shade and unlike a few Hinokis this gold foliage won’t burn in full sun.
	Dwarf Serbian Spruce Picea omorika ‘Nana’ A shrimpy version of one of my fave conifers for the small garden.  It has the stiffly upright branch growth of the original Picea omorika, and the lovely bi coloured effect of green with blue because you get to see the undersides of its needles which are striped.  This little guy can take full sun to part shade and slowly grows to about 4-6feet in height and 3-6 f feet in width.
	Silver Show Korean Fir Abies koreana ‘Silver Show’ I love the bi-coloured effect of the rich green topsides of the needles and the silvery undersides.  The needles are held upright along the branches so you get to see the silver undersides.  It always looks snowy.  This is a true collector type, often hard to find but worth the hunt.  It is a slow grower to 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide.  It prefers full to part sun.
	Carstens Winter Gold Pine Pinus mugo ‘Carstens Winter Gold’  I fell in love with this one on a miserable cold, misty rainy evening.  I could see it clear across the courtyard.  I had to see what was still looking so cheery buttercup yellow on such an evening.  This exceptional plant only grows about 2 inches a year into an eventual 4feet high by 2 feet wide. This little guy prefers full sun for best colour.

These and other gorgeous conifers are usually available at Art's Nursery. Please call 604.882.1201 to confirm availability if you are looking for a specific size or variety. Stay tuned for parts two and three of my favourite conifers series - coming soon!

Art's 6th Annual Christmas Open House & Evening of Lights

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You're invited to Art's 6th Annual Christmas Open House & Evening of Lights, Thursday, Nov 17th, 2011 between 5 and 9pm. This relaxing, low-key event is a great way to kick-start the festive season. See beautiful themed christmas displays, enjoy light snacks and warm beverages, take in the sights and sounds of the season, and of course indulge yourself with thousands of christmas ornaments and unique gifts. We' hope to see you there! Call 604.882.1201 if you have any questions or need more information.

Fall and Winter Planters

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First - Select your container, this will be a fairly personal choice and can reflect your style or compliment you choice of outdoor décor. 

Larger is better, always select the largest possible container you can afford both budget and space wise.  Make sure the size fits in with the scale of your landscape, a tiny courtyard garden can be easily overwhelmed by a planter that is too large. 

Be aware of the material your planter is made of, you want to ensure that it is frost proof; most stone, wood, concrete, plastic and metal planters will be ok but double check with your local retailer and especially when selecting terra cotta and glazed pots, you want to make sure they are designed for outdoor use and will not crack or break apart.

Second – Gather your plant selection, be creative and use plants that complement each other or add contrasting elements for visual interest. 

Fall and winter planters should include plants that are hardy and can withstand the winter months without becoming too ratty looking.  Avoid using perennials (unless they are evergreen) as they will die down and leave an empty space in your creation.  If you wish to use perennial or seasonal plants leave them in their pots so you can easily switch them out without disturbing the rest of the planting. 

Put as many plants as you can into your container, this will give it a lush fullness.  Try and keep the overall shape pyramidal as this is a pleasing and balanced design, give the planter as much height as you can and layer down from there with various combinations of plants including trailing or cascading plants that can spill over and soften the edges of the planter. 

This mini landscape is a living outdoor arrangement that is only limited by your creativity.

Third – Always use a good well-drained soil mix.  It should be porous enough to drain well (especially during our wet winter months) yet still be able to retain some moisture so that the plants do not dry out too quickly. 

To help keep plants healthy and lush incorporate a good quality slow release fertilizer into the soil mix before planting.  Check with your local garden center for available soil mixes and fertilizers.

 

Fourth – Accessorize, like a floral arrangement you can incorporate some final touches to your container that will add that extra punch. Use seasonal cuts or ornaments, branches and stems with dried seed heads, berries and fruit. These “temporary” additions can be changed out as needed. Finally, including some lighting (LEDs) is a great way of adding life and extending your viewing pleasure into the evenings and through the dark days of winter.  

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Some Great Container Plants:

• Heuchera, Heucherella and Tiarella
• Phormium (tender)
• Cyclamen (hardy selections)
• Dwarf conifers
• Carex (evergreen forms)
• Euphorbia
• Mukdenia (great fall colour, deciduous)
• Skimmia
• Dwarf Rhododendrons and Azaleas
• Beesia
• Ophiopogon (Black Mondo Grass)
• Bergenia
• Ferns (evergreen forms)
• Broadleaf evergreens (so many to select from)
• Ilex (deciduous forms have attractive berries)
• Callicarpa (deciduous, purple berries)
• Yucca
• Cornus (deciduous, coloured stems)
• Gaultheria

These plants and many others are available at Art's Nursery. Please call 604.882.1201 ahead of time to confirm availability if you are looking for a specific item or variety.

 Lyle Courtice, A.H.
 Lyle is a certified Horticultural Technician (Niagara College), Landscape Designer, Nurseryman and the proprietor of HarkAway Botanicals. He is a guest blogger for Art's Nursery and his plants are available through us.
 
Since 1980 Lyle has worked in both the retail and wholesale sectors of the horticultural trade; he operates his own wholesale nursery, which focuses on an eclectic mix of rare and choice plant material from Asia, Europe and North America.
 
Lyle has appeared on The Canadian Gardener and is a contributing author to A Grower’s Choice (Raincoast books 2001).  His horticultural expertise makes him sought after as a consultant, lecturer, photographer, instructor and writer.  An industry veteran, Lyle is esteemed within the horticultural community for his passionate and often humorous enthusiasm for plants.