NEW GARDEN PROJECT for Memorial Day 2025
So...hello there. It's been a long time. Reporting today about a new Garden Project, which was accomplished in spite of being still plagued by nasal congestion and coughing from Influenza A. By pacing myself, being very careful with back (L1-L2 herniated disc) and wearing a back brace, not attempting any "heavy lift" activities, taking breaks, etc. I had a truly enjoyable doable day with birds, gentle breezes and gentle sunshine, and plants all around to keep me company. Truly, I "Worshipped God in the Garden" Sunday.
So the NEW garden area is along South fence. I cleaned out huge masses of native pink violets and pruned back the Midwinter's Fire shrub dogwood, dug out big roots it had sent up the flower bed I was planting. And excavated out a new edge to the lawn where it had been shaded out. Removed a massive pile of moss to be used as mulch. Weeded violets and other tough weeds out of the lawn adjoining the planting bed. Then dug holes well down into a rocky clay layer and native yellowish soil with more rocks. There were already a lot of amendments on top.
BTW - the black pots in the photos contain Black Mondo Grass, for which a new home has not yet been selected. And, the light green pots contain evergreen Gladwyn Iris which I planted, and will be divided and potted up to give away.
PLANTED:
1. Feature tree - native Black Hawthorn rescued from the deer. Crataegus douglasii had been planted for wildlife value in the "natural area" behind the house. Alas the deer ate it down every year. It has been growing in a pot for 2 years while I figured out where to plant it. It is the little tree in the middle of the last photo. This tree will grow about 25-30' high and 10-12' wide, so is located to provide privacy between my back deck and my neighbors back porch steps. It will take a few years. The photos below are from Oregon State University Plant Database: Crataegus douglasii | Landscape Plants | Oregon State University
2. 'Whitney's Late Orange' rhododendron on left side of Hawthorn. As they both grow there will be plenty of room for the rhody. And from my own experience this rhody dislikes any direct sun. The flowers will quickly scorch and "go over". This is an amazing plant that I found and planted in my Bothell garden back @2008. The large ruffly-orange/coral flowers are incredible and tightly packed ball-shaped trusses. The upright vase-shaped bush is densely-foliaged at grew nearly 5' tall in 10 years in Bothell. And...I love that it blooms at Memorial Day into early June. The breeder is Bill Whitney, late of Brinnon, Washington, who released this variety in 1973. These are all my own photos.
Bill Whitney also released an April-blooming 'Whitney's Orange', which creates some confusion. Harold Greer of the former Greer Gardens Nursery in Eugene, OR, shares this: "If you like 'Whitney's Orange', you'll love this ('Whitney's Late Orange')! It's a deeper orange and it flowers later in the spring. It is a more upright growing plant with good shape. The solid orange flowers appear in a full truss to delight you after most rhododendrons are through flowering. Use this to extend the flowering season! The leaves are sharp pointed and a neat mistletoe green. (probably contains dichroanthum and a late flowering member of the Subsection Fortunea)"
The American Rhododendron Society reports: Hybrid Rhododendron Plant Description for Whitney's Orange
Predominant Flower Color: Orange, Pink
Flower/Truss Description: Flower widely funnel-campanulate, wavy lobes, 3" across, yellowish-pink with a vivid reddish-orange blotch and spots and edged in red. Ball-shaped truss has about 15 flowers. Another form is deeper orange and unmarked.
Fragrant: No
Bloom Time: Midseason
Foliage Description / Plant Habit: Leaves narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, 5" long, convex, dull, medium green, retained 2 years. New growth is yellowish-green. Broad, open growing plant with decumbent, willowy branches. Needs pruning to keep more compact.
Height: 4 feet in 10 years.
Cold Hardiness Temp: 0°F ( -18°C)
Parentage (Seed Parent x Pollen Parent): dichroanthum x Diana
Elepidote (E) or Lepidote (L): E
Hybridized or Selected by: Whitney
Registration Reference: ARS 764
3. Relocated one 'Jantar' Arborvitae up between the next 2 blue pots, but the proposed location for the 2nd one wouldn't work. So left it. (see write-up about the Jantars that follows)
4. 'Amber Moon' gold-leafed Astilbe (presumably Astilbe chinensis due to color and appearance of the photos of the flower spikes that I found on line) on left side of that 1st blue pot that is full of orange mint- which BTW smells so good. This plant is new to me. The Astilbe will have tall spikes of bright pink flowers in mid summer. My partner Ron got red, white, and pink Astilbe x arendsii at the NW Flower and Garden Show in 2022. They are all doing Great and all are in the south fence garden in various locations.
1st photo is mine. 2nd photo was found on the web when I queried Microsoft Copilot. Alas, I cannot identify the source of the photo which is the best of those that popped up under "images".
According to Walter's Gardens: Astilbe 'Amber Moon' PP26028 | Walters Gardens, Inc.
'Amber Moon' is a patented variety of hybrid Astilbe, also known as False Spirea.
This Astilbe is useful for brightening up the shade garden as well as providing beautiful long-stemmed flowers for fresh and dried bouquets.
The foliage emerges bright chartreuse yellow in spring with a tinge of red pigment in the newest leaves. It provides a bright spot of color and lacy texture to the shade garden in spring and then greens up a bit by late summer.
Very tall, strong, blush red stems carry rose pink flower panicles in midsummer.
‘Amber Moon’ displays good heat tolerance and a robust habit like Chinese Astilbe, though we cannot say for sure that it is pure A. chinensis. It is best grown in partial to full shade because of its light colored foliage.
4. 'Fairy Hair' Goatsbeard - Aruncus hybrid. This is a very fine textured plant with spikes of small white flowers. That is to the right of the blue pot. This plant is also new to me, and I LOVE the fine texture and wispy flower spikes. The 1st photo below is mine, and the 2nd is from Walters Gardens which also shows the finely-dissected foliage at the base. 'Fairy Hair' also appears in the 1st photo of 'Whitney's Late Orange' rhody write-up above.
Many thanks to Walter's Gardens for their write up: Aruncus 'Fairy Hair' PP30242 | Walters Gardens, Inc.
This new Goatsbeard is an appropriate size for tucking into places in your shade garden. 'Fairy Hair' produces sprays of creamy, triangular flower plumes that age to a darker color. Its foliage adds a whimsical touch to the garden with its needle-like, medium green leaves. Although the foliage is incredibly dissected, it produces a thick, substantial clump for a solid presence. Goatsbeard is similar in appearance to Astilbe in the garden, but it is more drought tolerant.
Though Aruncus tends to be a slow-grower the first couple of seasons, once it is established it puts on a fabulous show year after year. Make sure it has plenty of room to grow when you first plant it; transplanting this species is a very difficult task. This species is native to North America.
5. 'Citrus Shock' - a golden variegated Heucherella - an interesting hybrid between native Foam Flower and Coral Bells. Love the spikes of pinky white flowers and the foliage that is gold-with-burgundy-markings. Also new to me. This is a robust specimen! These are all my own photos:
6. Moved in a couple native Sword ferns (Polystichum munitum) and Alpine strawberries under the left side of the dogwood, and to right of the remaining Jantar Arborvitae. This is the area I cleaned out. Oh...and in doing so dug up two rooted shoots of the dogwood that I can grow and share.
7. Moved in clumps of golden 'Angelina' Sedum rupestre as a ground cover in keeping with the gold theme. Photo below is from NC State University. You can see my newly-transplanted clumps in the photo immediately above.
SOUTH FENCE GARDEN:
So, this south fence garden has been a work in progress largely left undone until 2023 and 2024. When we installed the landscaping in summer/fall 2018, at the new house in Kingston, I wasn't sure what to do with this 2 ft wide strip that sits atop a stormwater line 5 ft down. So, temporarily, I set a pot there containing a 'Midwinter's Fire' Cornus sanguinea shrub dogwood I brought from Bothell. It has grown into a large leafy bush with golden yellow stems all winter. This is the plant in my garden in winter - February 2025. Yes...it's still "in" the big blue pot that traveled over from Bothell. Alas, it long ago worked its way out of those confines and decided "phooey on the gardener who can't decide where to put me - this is where I want to live! " And it put down roots - very strong ones I might add - and stayed right where it was.
The rest of the strip, which has lots of rock in it from backfilling over the Stormwater line, was left to grow up into volunteer ferns, Alpine strawberries and native pink violets. In mid 2023, my Garden Assistant Abel dug up all the ferns and planted them at Raymond's condo, and I put down many bags of topsoil and compost. Then after finding 5 very small, 8" tall Jantar Arborvitae bushes, and having empty large light blue pots, I devised an "Italian garden scheme." So to create a real feature garden and provide both structure and continuity across from the well-planted garden beds along the south side of the House, I planted the small golden Jantar Arborvitae bushes fairly regularly along the south fence. This was to eventually give a sort of Italian feel to that side yard to match the large ones that screen off the yard waste bin at the upper end of the south house-side garden. See photo. Also added very large light blue pots between the Jantar bushes to give more "Italian" feel. Would not have picked light blue but it's what I had purchased CHEAP to plant roses in. When the roses were planted in the ground in Fall 2023 they were surplus. Ironically I've become fond of the light blue accents against the golden foliage. The overall goal was to provide some structure to the narrow south garden and visual continuity with the Jantar Arborvitaes.
First photo is looking downhill due West through side gate/arbor. The South Fence garden is on the left, and the South-side House garden is on the right. The side of one of the "mature" Jantar arborvitaes is on the right just inside the arbor frame. And on the left, taken last night, the first 3 of the 5 baby Jantars are visible, between blue pots. One day they will be tall and striking and really create a statement.
2nd photo is looking uphill - due East - showcasing the South-side House garden with the mature Jantar arborvitaes at the top of slope, hiding the propane tank and yard-waste bin.
Put that all together in late 2023. The jantar Arborvitae have doubled in height and tripled in "filling out". Initially the blue pots were for 3 different types of mint. And one is still filled with luscious orange mint.
'JANTAR' ARBORVITAE: I first stumbled across this beautiful golden upright densely-bushy conifer for our home in Bothell. Purchased two circa 2014, planted them in large blue pots on either side of the arbor on our back fence. Moved them to the house in Kingston in 2018, and planted them in the ground to screen the propane tank and yard-waste bin. And, they have been VERY happy. Grew from 30" to 7' in 6 growing seasons, staying very compact, very narrow, and very golden. I may have found the original ones at nursery, but actually I think it was at Home Depot. Sort of a "one off". Then...looked for them but never saw them again until 2023, as small quart-sized plants, at Olmsted's Nursery in Poulsbo, in with a batch of small-sized dwarf conifers for planting in Fall container displays. Eureka. I immediately snatched up 6, though I wasn't sure where they would be planted. That's when I came up with the "Italianate" garden concept and planted them in the South fence garden strip.
Iseli Nursery, from Oregon, reports as follows: Thuja occidentalis ‘Jantar’ PP22296 -
Thuja occidentalis ‘Jantar’ PP22296 is an exciting new brilliant yellow beacon from Poland that Iseli Nursery is proud to offer as part of our plant line. The eye popping yellow on this version of Emerald Arborvitae becomes a warmer amber tone during winter, hence the name “Jantar”, Polish for amber. With the same narrow upright habit as its popular green parent this selection will add dramatic color to the landscape as a focal plant or privacy screen. Selected by Jakub Jablonski of Poland and introduced to the U.S. by Breederplants.
Garden Size: 15’H x 3’W; Intermediate: 6-12″/year; Narrow Upright; Zone 4; Yellow/golden color year-round; Conifer; Full Sun
Photo below is from Gartens Nursery in Minnesota.
So, while I made good progress on the South Fence garden in 2023, and early 2024, all that came to a halt. I hurt my back April 17, 2024, and the weeds took over. Last Fall (2024), my neighbor helped me dig up some of the weeds, plant a large-growing Chandler Blueberry to the left of the trellis/gate, and then fill the other 2 pots with small-growing blueberries, and between the pots, I planted several shade loving plants a friend had given me.
Just found out that Jantar means 'Amber' in Poland where this variety of Arborvitae first popped up.
Lots of different types of plants in my garden have Amber in their name including 2 rose bushes. Ron says I did this today as a Memorial Day honor to the memory of Amber the Tibetan Spaniel. And my best buddy for 16 years.🧡 She passed on in July 2021, probably nearing 18 years old.
Sorry if this rambled too much!
Cheers Steve
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