Plants | Deborah Silver & Co.

At A Glance: Landscape Materials

A multi-story building downtown at 1001 Woodward had an entry plaza that I would call chilly and uninviting. Bedrock Realty, the new owner, has an idea to warm things up. Kelly Deines of Rossetti Architects asked if I could put together a landscape that would include 2 pair of our espaliered arbors. We were happy to oblige. The livestock tanks-courtesy of our local farm store. The steel arbors-courtesy of Buck and his group at Branch.

Espaliered pear arbor

Owen was one of a crew of 7 that helped plant those trees.

Artificial turf

Steel forms for the espaliers

cosmos and pennisetum under planting the espaliers

finished planting

artificial turf bands on the stock tanks

artificial turf secured with hot pink zip ties

trimming the turf square and true

urethane furniture specified and installed by Rossetti Architects

people in the space

The linden trees in a granite planter box were underplanted with creeping jenny. Espaliered trees, artificial turf, pink zip ties, galvanized metal livestock watering tanks, cosmos, little bunny pennisetum, molded urethane French style arm chairs and creeping jenny and a plaza typical of a vintage urban skyscraper-landscape materials that came together to create a place for people to congregate outdoors.

Posted on: September 15, 2013 17 Comments

Filed Under: container planting, Plants, Woody Plants, Garden Design Tagged With: espealiers, espaliered pears, espaliered arbors, 1001 Woodward, Bedrock Realty Company

Other Hydrangeas

There are lots of other hydrangea cultivars available besides Limelight and Little Lime. I would have no problem growing this electric blue Dutch hydrangea, but it is only available to me as a cut flower. My zone is noted for its unspeakably cold winters. Hydrangeas that would prosper in California or Virginia would sooner or later succumb to the cold. I routinely see landscapes that have what I call “florist’s hydrangeas”-presumably purchased from a greenhouse at Easter time-planted in ground. These hydrangeas rarely bloom again once planted in the ground here. The plants can survive the winters, but the flower buds are killed by the cold.

There has been a lot of interest and a lot of hybridizing of hydrangeas going on in recent years-especially in the area of hydrangeas other than white. It is no mystery why. People buy shrubs that have showy flowers, leaves or fruit. The sales of rhododendrons in my zone must be considerable. In the spring, I see newly planted shrubs in full bloom in plenty of yards. But few gardeners in my area have success with them. They like acid well drained soil, and regular moisture. They like sun, but protection from winter winds. A case in point? I have tried, on more occasions than I care to admit to, added to the established rhododendrons on the north side of my house without success. Where am I going with this? People are more likely to buy showy blooming shrubs that come with the promise that they are easy to grow. It is hard to argue with success. This pink hydrangea recently photographed in a client’s yard-I have no idea the name. I have to admit it looked great.

I have planted lots of Nikko blue hydrangeas. The places where they thrive and bloom heavily-just a handful. This property-I have not one clue why they do so well, year after year. Just down the street-big green shrubs with a few flowers here and there. Sparsely representing is not a good look for a summer blooming hydrangea.

A community on Lake Saint Clair, where I do a fair amount of work, those hydrangeas other than white are summer swell. This is one old Nikko blue hydrangea, blooming to beat the band. What it is about this environment that favors this hydrangea-I have no idea. I do have clients who faithfully acidify their hydrangeas in hopes of those prized blue blooms. Has this shrub had that level of care, or does it succeed on the strength of its location and the composition of the soil? I wonder.

The same neighborhood is all abloom with pink hydrangeas. This is a pair of shrubs. I have no idea of the cultivar. It cannot be a new variety, as these shrubs are old. On my side of town, the west side, I never see pink hydrangeas that perform like this. There are lots of new cultivars. All Summer Beauty, Endless Summer-and so on. I will admit I shy away from them. Any plant material I design into a landscape needs to have a reasonable chance of success. A client who has success may decide to move on to being a passionate gardener. Part of my my pleasure in my job is to see this happen. Sometimes I install a landscape, and I have to persuade a client to take ownership. When there are successes, they brush me off, and move on. I like this.

This discussion takes me back to the white hydrangeas. Hydrangea arborescens “Annabelle” is an old stand by. Plagued by giant flower heads, and weak stems, this cultivar weeps. It is not unusual to see them hang over to the ground. I rarely plant them anymore-I much prefer the Limelights. They are so easy, in every regard. But Annabelle planted on top of a wall is a really great look. Those flowers soften an elevated garden space.

The white hydrangeas- Limelight, Little Lime, hydrangea paniculata, Annabelle-and the strikingly foliaged oak leaf hydrangea- they prosper in my zone. Pictured above, a framed herbaria from a gardener, and her artist husband in Italy. Rob bought a series of framed hydrangea herbaria from them. It is a good thing to have a big love for the garden. The design, the planting, the care, the years-magical. I only grow Limelight hydrangeas. It is enough for me-how willing they are to grow and bloom profusely in my garden. This framed herbaria captures what I could not write in words about hydrangeas in summer. Beautiful.

Posted on: August 17, 2013 9 Comments

Filed Under: Plants, Garden Design Tagged With: Hydrangea Annabelle, white hydrangeas, oak leaf hydrangeas, Nikko blue hydrangeas, hydrangea hybrids, hydrangea All Summer Beauty

Limelight Hydrangea

The photograph above has been repinned from my pinterest page, 10 times more than any other image I have ever posted. I understand the sentiment behind that. This cultivar of hydrangea paniculata, Limelight, bred by a Dutch breeder whose name is little known, and marketed solely by the patent holder, Spring Meadow Farms, is is gem of a summer blooming shrub. This ever willing and easy to grow shrub begins blooming at the end of July in my zone, and represents well into the fall.

Hydrangea is another word for summer in the garden. They grow fast, and bloom profusely. Small plants gain size and stature just a short time after planting. Given how fast they grow, if you buy Limelights in pots, be prepared to water those root balls frequently after you plant, until they get established. I water mine via drip irrigation; hydrangeas appreciate regular moisture. Once they are established, this is about all the care they require. They deliver so much, and ask for so little.

I get emails almost every day about them. Will the Limelights grow in Atlanta, or Montreal, or upstate New York, or Houston, Arkansas, or Canada? Will they thrive in shade? I have no knowledge of the performance of this shrub outside of my own zone. Should you have an interest in growing this shrub, contact your local nursery. See what they say. In my zone, this hydrangea is happy in full sun with adequate water, and it will bloom, although not as well, in part sun.

A Limelight hydrangea is just about the most easy going and tolerant shrub it has ever been my pleasure to plant. The big coarse leaves provide lots of texture. They can endure the coldest winter. They do not require any staking. Flower heads that are cut will dry and be beautiful in a vase indoors-almost indefinitely. Once they begin to bloom, every garden featuring them gets gorgeous.

I have planted plenty of Limelight hydrangeas over the course of the past 9 years. They are easy to grow. They are happy in no end of environments. I would want for all of my clients to experience the pleasure they provide in late summer. How do I maintain them? I prune in late March, or early April. If I have a mind to keep them short, I prune them in late March or early April-when the buds swell.

I do feed them once a year with a balanced fertilizer, although I suspect they would be fine without in good compost enriched soil. They are happy in containers, as long as they are able to spend the winter in the ground. Tree form/topiary Limelights can be maintained in this fashion for a number of years.

I usually prune them in the same manner as a shag haircut. I prune the top branches short. I leave the lower branches long. If you need the Limelights under 5 feet tall at maturity, trim to 30 inches tall in early spring. Trim again in early June. the second trimming is crucial to produce a shorter display. Plan for a late July bloom. If you like your Limelights really tall, trim off the previous years flower heads. Leave them tall. Plan to eventually under plant them with another shrub that will disguise those long bare legs. Deciduous shrubs ask for a serious yearly dressing down-should you want foliage to the ground. If you need your hydrangeas to be tall, go easy on the pruning phase-and deal with the bare legs. The other option is to plant hydrangea “Little Lime”. The flowers and habit are the same as Limelight, but it matures at 4 to 5 feet.

The Limelight hydrangea is a garden friend without so many demands. Prune, or do not prune so much. They are happy with whatever water you can provide. If they need water, the leaves will droop in a dramatic way-you can’t miss it. It is just about the most gardener friendly shrub it has ever been my pleasure to meet. This has not been the best gardening season for me. I have plenty of plants not doing so well with the cold and the relentless rain. But my hydrangeas are breathtaking-as usual.

I truly appreciate the work that has been done by the breeder and the distributor to make this shrub available to me. It is easy to grow, beautiful in leaf, and spectacular in bloom. I planted lots of them in my garden, and today I am really happy I did. The Limelight hydrangeas are illuminating my late summer garden. Consider planting some Lime lights. You won’t be sorry. I promise you will be charmed. What says summer better than the hydrangeas in bloom?

Posted on: August 16, 2013 36 Comments

Filed Under: Summer, Plants Tagged With: Spring Meadow Farms, little lime hydrangea, limelight hydrangea

At A Glance: Petunias

What brings a hot summer day to mind quite like a petunia? I love the simple shape, the vibrant colors, and its robust habit of growth. They grow companionably with other annual and tropical plants. They are not in the least bit demanding or troublesome to grow. Petunias even smell like summer. Why are they on my mind today? We have had a very cool and very rainy start to our summer. Early mornings the end of June-still jacket weather. We’ve had many more inches of rain than our average. The petunias are looking bedraggled and forlorn. Here’s hoping for some hot and dry weather-for the sake of the petunias.