April 1, 2007

   As a hobby gardener, and a specialty plant garden center owner I am exposed to a wide range of plant material. And through the years I have developed a personal list, and a list of my clients plant favorites. All of the plants I love are well suited for my zone 5 garden in north east Ohio. Most of them offer more than one season of interest in the garden, this helps ensure that there are fewer holes for those long winter months. I am building this article around plants that I like to use in my hosta garden, hosta being one of my favorite personal and professional retail plants.

  In recent years the genus Hosta has become the American gardener’s number one plant favorite. Their versatile choice for growing conditions, colors and sizes are well suited to almost any area of a garden. There are varieties that range from 2’’x 2’’, to over 40’’ tall x 60’’ wide. Colors range from all shades of greens, gold, white, and blue. There are also combinations of these colors on each leaf as well. While hosta are valuable garden plants, a mixture of other perennials, small trees and shrubs will round-out the year round garden.

  My favorite late winter/early spring shrub is Hamamelis, (Witchhazel).These have lacey, airy flowers often starting in late January and continuing on into March. Flower color can range from vivid yellows, red, to all shades of orange. Some are very fragrant. The fall leaf colors can be equally dazzling in shades of sunset colors. The winter branches are strong of texture, and silvery-grey. A favorite early spring perennial is the Helleborus(Lenten rose). Large bell shaped flowers appear as early as February and bloom into April. Colors can range from white to deep purple. The foliage is evergreen. A bit of light shade suits them well. Moving on next are all of the early flowering spring bulbs. Especially suited are Galanthus, Aconites, Puschkinia, and Muscari. These have blooms before the hosta foliage emerges, and go dormant by very early summer. These fill in the gaps where hosta will later emerge. A wonderful wildflower for the semi shade garden is Mertensia. These bloom later spring and have dazzlingly intense blue flowers on top of tall stems. They multiply and flower easily every year. I like the Chionanthus for a small growing tree. This beautiful tree with white, fragrant flowers, exfoliating bark and lustrous dark green leaves add year round features. Equally nice is the Styrax tree, also known as Carolina Silver Bell. The  drooping bell shaped white flowers appear late Spring. This tree is vastly underused and is dependable and long lived. Don’t forget to look at the new varieties of Cercis, our native “Redbud’’tree.  The flower colors now range from pure white, to soft pink. A weeping variety “Covey” adds winter structure as well. Replace your troublesome native dogwood with the Asian form, Cornus Kousa. These are not plagued with disease that our native form has become prone to. Colors range from white, to pink to red. The flowers are large, and are held outfacing on the branches. The large red fruit are handsome into the late fall, and are great for feeding birds.

   Going into the late summer and fall the Oakleaf hydrangea has masses of antique white and pink flowers, followed later by bright foliage colors for fall interest. The Itea is in my opinion,  the most underused and easily available shrub for giving year round interest. White flowers in early summer, shiny green foliage, no pruning and vivid dark red fall color, along with a tolerance for shade to sun and average to wet soils help make this my favorite shrub.

  For the later part of the year, nothing beats our native winterberry holly. This plant has been improved and hybridized to make it an important garden plant for zone 5. Masses of bead-like berries cover the bare stems thru the late fall, often looking fantastic past the new year.  They tolerate light shade to sun. While happiest in moisture retentive soils, they will perform well in average garden conditions. The berry colors range from pale yellow to orange, and all shades of red. They are excellent bird food, and are long lived. Heights range from 3’ to 8’ at maturity. The branches are especially nice for cutting and bringing indoors in the winter, and cut branches with berries can last a month or more in water.

   Of course, there are many more plants that are available for other situations in all gardens. The ones that I have discussed here meet my guidelines for year round appeal, ease of care and structurally impressive garden gems. As always, discuss your needs with a nursery professional for further help, and design placement. That is what we are here for!