Garden Plants That Delight And Amaze

My computer tells me that there are now 949 hardy plants in my collection.

Yes, several are missing and presumed dead. But there are also several that I find every year that were never added to the database way back when. Add to that the fact that each year plants show up that have been missing in action. And this year, one dwarf Japanese maple was nibbled down to a few brown sticks, but now new shoots are gloriously emerging.

When I first started planting my new gardens I actually bought a few trees from mail-order nurseries. These were generally rooted sticks or trees of less than 3 feet in height. Of the dozen or so varieties I’ve planted I’ve written extensively about the magnolias, but I also have a few maples (Acer) that have been particularly interesting.

Among all these plants there are those that delight and amaze. I thought I’d describe some of my true favorites this week in the hope that one or more will inspire you to consider them for your landscape.

Acer griseum x nikoense “Shaved Chocolate” is a small maple that’s only 8 feet tall but has stunning bark and outrageous fall foliage colors. The bark is glossy and peels off in curved flakes like — you guessed it — shaved dark chocolate. This smallish tree is in the paper bark maple group, and while it will be difficult to find this particular variety, there are many others available. They have four-season appeal but are difficult to move so you either have to find one in a container or as a nursery “start.” You can find out more about this group here, https://bit.ly/3zDD9Bd, and ask at local nurseries that specialize in trees, especially maples.

The second maple stand-out is Acer shirasawanum “Jordan,” also known as the Full Moon Maple. The foliage on this tree is an attribute from the time it emerges in the spring until the leaves drop in the fall. The leaves emerge in the spring as bright yellow with rose-orange tinged edges. As the season progresses, some areas of foliage remain yellow as the trees slowly goes all yellow in late summer then to brilliant shades of orange and red into the fall. Slow growing, the tree is simply luminous, does best in full sun and needs a rich organic soil. Growing about 15 feet tall, it makes a stunning specimen all alone in smaller gardens or as a focal point in larger landscapes.

Echinacea “Hot Papaya” has outrageous color, but the flowers are very inconsistent in their “presentation.” On the same plant you can get the traditional Echinacea cone with the rays radiating from the cone and other flowers with short, missing or disrupted rays that can be short, missing or curled. It’s a very confusing plant but one that’s great for cutting and occasionally outstanding in the garden if you’re not after perfectly cloned plants. It flowers from June through September and maybe up to October.

I still consider this Echinacea a novelty, but you won’t find this color in too many other plants. It likes well-drained soil and needs to be protected from rabbits early in the season as they love the foliage. Try a few and see what you think. It’ll be perfectly happy in the cutting garden, and if you really like it, it can be easily moved in the spring.

There have been way too many hydrangea introductions over the past 15 years. In the beginning of this splurge, the breeders weren’t paying attention and doing their due diligence in hardiness trials as we found that many of the early intros were not hardy or only marginally hardy. They seem to have been responsive, tough, and the hardiness issue seems to be resolved through better breeding. But what are we to do with all these choices?

I have several favorite hydrangeas, and most seem to do well in filtered sunlight though you see many a gated Hamptons driveway where they’re used as entryway hedging or edging. These are the ones that seem to get most damaged and die back during more severe winters or from salt spray or saltwater.

There are now some dwarf varieties I’m trialing. Hydrangea “Little Quick Fire” (Proven Winners) is growing in a spot that gets some but not much sun, and it seems to thrive there. It flowers about a month earlier than other hydrangeas, emerging as white then slowly transforming to a pink-red toward the end of the summer. No disease or insect problems, and it does attract pollinators. The plant makes a good short summer hedge or edge with great color appeal as it transitions. I have two of these planted at the drip line of an old Arborvitae where it gets morning sun.

In another garden that gets much more sun there’s Hydrangea “Mini Mauvette,” also from Proven Winners. This one has only been in the garden for three years but is a standout in both hardiness (cold, hot and full sun) as well as color. Growing only to about 3 feet tall, it can be a rabbit and deer target. When it emerges in the spring, it should be protected until fully foliated. The flower heads are not large but are plentiful, and the color is outstanding. Also makes great cuts.

Going back a few plants, next to the “Little Quick Fire” is a perennial that’s surprised me. This one is Amsonia tabermonta, or the eastern bluestar. Not the newer, shorter introduction, this one is the original species that has fallen out of favor, but I think it has great merit. Even though this is a perennial, flowering in late May, it can be used as a seasonal short hedge or edge. It has star-like blue flowers and after the flowering is done the foliage remains, creating a dense but only 3-foot-tall solid block of feathery green. I’d always grown it for the flowers, but in this new location under the Arborvitae and next to the hydrangea it hides the mulch in the bed and chokes out all the weeds. Plant this only once, though, as it has a rock solid crown that’s difficult to divide or move.

You can buy dozens of types of perennial Hibiscus, and they’re available in several species. The most basic and originals are in the species H. moschutos like the older Disco Belle and Southern Belle types. The newer varieties have much more interesting foliage, some leaves nearly black and many of the flower colors on many new varieties are brilliant and striking. My current favorite is from the Cordials group and named “Brandy Punch,” and it’s a traffic and pedestrian stopper. It’s been in the garden for nearly two decades and was developed by Blooms Nursery in England.

My specimen is about 4 feet in diameter and about 5 feet tall. This is the one that has the Hibiscus sawfly issue in July, and for a few weeks it also attracts Japanese beetles. Ah, but the flowers are so deliciously stunning that it’s all worth it. A pleaser also to the butterflies, hummingbirds and a host of other pollinators, this plant seems to be an all around hit with color that is incredibly vibrant late in the day and into dusk.

I did learn, however, that Hibiscus may not live forever. I’ve had one variety, “Peppermint Schnapps,” in a part of my long border that had reliably flowered for seven years. It always broke dormancy late and always showed up late, often not until late May or early June. This year I waited and waited. It never came up. It may have been last summer’s excessive rain or that along with a colder than usual winter. In the end though, it’s gone.

Ligularias are way underused in our gardens. They are late to flower (July and August) with attractive, dark green to darker foliage and flowers in two forms, the spikes like L. x “The Rocket,” which is an early-flowering type and a bottle-brush type flower or the daisy-type flowers on plants like Brit-Marie Crawford and Desdimona. They are best planted in groups, even mixing the varieties, but be careful as the foliage gets a bit dense, crowding out the light to plants below.

And sure enough, the Ligularia section of the shade garden surprised us with Diphylleia cymose, or Umbrella Leaf. The plant has only two leaves, but they are huge and it throws up a couple of stems with interesting but unremarkable clusters of white flowers. What follows, though, are flower stems that turn a vivid red followed by a multitude of fruits that look like somewhat oblong blueberries. What a pleasant surprise, and the plant fits perfectly among the Ligurias as a lower focal point. It’s a southeastern wildflower, but it seems to be very hardy and a real garden treat for the (moist) shade.

I have a small collection of Phlox paniculata that are the remains of trials of 15 varieties. These are the traditional tall garden phlox that are great for cuts but some also work well in the garden. Many are prone to mildew and two-spotted spider mites so we tend to want those mildew resistant varieties. The newer, shorter varieties that claim mildew resistance just don’t do it for me. My search continues for a tall, red paniculata with mildew resistance but so far no luck. What I have had great success with is Phlox p. “Glamour Girl,” another Proven Winners introduction.

The color is referred to as a “hot coral pink” with a small dark eye. The flower color is a bit changeable, depending on the light. I’ve kept this in my trial garden for several years, and one is planted in my border near my species Echinacea. Flowering in late July and into August, the color is truly interesting and even in the worst of summers it seems to be mildew resistant. Lightly scented, it’s great for cuts, and when in flower, there are always a few stems in the kitchen vase.

If you’ve had problems with phlox and mildew but still like the flowers and a mild but wonderful scent, take a look at Phlox maculata. It’s a native wildflower in New York, can grow 4 feet tall and does well in partly shaded damp spots. No disease issues and no insect problems. Just plant it in the right spot and enjoy. It does spread but very, very slowly, and in a decade my 1-foot diameter clump is now a 2-foot clump.

Looking for an interesting hardy lily (Lilium)? This oriental hybrid, Salmon Star, grows to 3 feet tall and has salmon spots and mid-rib streaks that make this a standout with a mild but very pleasant scent. There’s a perennial Impatiens (very hardy with protection against browsers) that we’re trialing called I. omeiana, or the Silver Pinkster. We’ve only had it for two years and no flowers yet, but the foliage, with red tinged ribs, is interesting. It makes a nice woodland plant. Flowers are yellow. Stay tuned and of course, keep growing.