Daphne odora 'Aureo-marginata' in garden designer David Ellis garden

Daphne odora 'Aureo-marginata' in my friend Julie's garden, she took the photo and her son shows just how large the plant has grown

Daphne odora 'Alba' in my garden, small but fragrant

If you seek winter fragrance and are not a plant snob, Mahonia bealei is reliable and hardy from Zone 7 to 9.  I know this because it was a dominant plant in my landscape when we purchased our current home over 6 years ago.  A stalwart shrub, it thrives in the shade and has tough spiny evergreen leaves.    I still have more than I want of it and as time and my budget allow, I plan to replace the majority of them with other shrubs.  Still, in December through February I  appreciate its yellow sweetly scented blooms especially  in other people’s gardens when I’m out walking our black lab.     If I were going to plant a mahonia it would be Mahonia ‘Soft Caress.’    This smaller and more diminutive mahonia is great in the garden or in containers and as the name suggests, the shiny evergreen foliage is soft to the touch.

Other plants of note this month include the buds of  Edgeworthia papyifera, the Chinese rice paper plant, colorful bark of many different trees, fuzzy  buds of deciduous magnolias, winterberry with brilliant red fruits (deciduous hollies)  and foliage of Angelica keiskei which I see offered by Plant Delights www.plantdelights.com , a mail order nursery in Raliegh, NC.   One note here about this Angelica, Plant Delights describes it as an evergreen rosette of foliage.  Mine is evergreen until summer heat sets in and then the foliage disappears for a few months, only to return when the weather cools off.  Because of this you may want to underplant with a low creeping evergreen groundcover. 

Edgeworthia papyifera buds in January 2012

Helleborus x hybridus in my garden, Jan 2012

Magnolia buds in January

I have been thinking about how much I enjoy deciduous trees in the winter landscape. Here in Atlanta, Georgia, Zone 7, the weather today is in the 60’s but temperatures are predicted to dip down to the 20’s by the weekend.  Then I’m certain we will have more mild weather followed by periods of cold, this is our winter.  While I enjoy winter blooms, especially,  Daphne odora, Helleborus x hybridus and the Japanese flowering apricot, Prunus mume, deciduous trees never disappoint.  Some have colorful bark while others offer striking silhouettes or curious forms like Harry Lauder’s walking stick, Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ which only looks good in the winter when one can appreciate its twisted branches and catkins.   In the autumn I was charmed by the fruits of Taxodium distichum .  In January, these same fruits take on a new look.   Below are some of the plants that I enjoy at this time of year. 

Taxodium distichum fruits in January

Acer japonicum in January

Stewartia pseudocamellia bark in January

Wisteria at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC

Edgeworthia papyifera buds in January

Hydrangea (mophead type) foliage in late November

Rose of Sharon seedheads

Recently I was a guest on the Martha Stewart Living Today Show (Sirius radio, a live show) and I talked with the host about creating holiday decorations from plants growing in our gardens.  Let me start out by saying that I am a horticulturist and plant lover, but have no expertise as a flower arranger.  My method is to “cut and cram” flowers, foliage, colorful fruits, seed pods or branches into a decorative container.  Over the years friends have given me some beautiful vases and I find that I get the most pleasing results if I keep it simple.  In other words, less is more.  Even a single blossom in a vase can make an elegant centerpiece.  The good news is that most of us have a wealth of material to choose from in our own backyards.  While fresh cut evergreens may be an obvious and popular (with good reason, many are aromatic too) choice, less conspicuous are flowers, fruits and seed heads of common shrubs including those of Nandina domestica, Fatsia japonica and hydrangea.

Nandina domestica

  A few days ago I noticed some decorative seed pods that had dried on some rose of Sharon plants that I inherited when I moved to my current garden.  Camellias, Magnolia grandiflora and Magnolia virginiana all offer handsome foliage to use for filler or in combination with hollies, both evergreen and deciduous types.  Although I don’t have one growing in my garden, the fruit of hardy orange, Poncirus trifoliata is aromatic, curious and pretty; especially when you fill a glass or silver bowl with them.  And, according to Michael Dirr, author of the Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs (Timber Press, 2011),  “ the juice can be used to flavor adult beverages but is extremely sour (acid).”      If you seek out the weird and unusual, consider the cultivar Flying Dragon with its contorted, twisted green stems and extremely sharp spines—not a good idea if you have young children.   

Fatsia japonica flower stalk

Camellia in bud vase, December

holly berries and variegated holly

Ilex verticillata 'Winter Gold'

In some region of the US where osage orange, Maclura pomifera is still a popular choice for hedgerows, the funky looking fruits could be used in a creative way. 

Pine cones of different sizes and shapes are also an option including the tiny cones of hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, a native in many parts of the country.  Shrubby dogwoods, with brightly colorful stems are a favorite of mine, especially  Cornus sanguinea ‘Winter Flame’ and Cornus sericea ( hardy to Zone 2, there are numerous selections ).  The fasciated branches of the Japanese fantail willow, Salix udensis ‘Sekka’ and the contorted branches of Harry Lauder’s walking stick, Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ are dramatic in  winter, whether in the  garden or in a vase. 

Cornus 'Winter Flame'

Go forth with your pruners (I like Felco #2)  and create your own arrangements. Have fun, experiment and enjoy!

Acer japonicum foliage November 15

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, here in Atlanta there are still some remnants of fall color in my garden, neighborhood and at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  If there were a competition this year among the different genera of trees for “Best in Show” it would be hard to pick a winner but the maples, especially the Japanese maples, Acer palmatum, ( Zones 5 to 8 ), have been luminous.  Even my non-gardening friends have noticed.  An unnamed seedling in my yard (I inherited it when we moved to this property about 6 years ago) held on to its brilliant red leaves for several weeks and just a few days ago Acer japonicum (several different cultivars) at ABG was still turning shades of orange and red.  (Zones 5 to 7 )  Ginkgos continue to be one of my favorite trees for fall, and this year is no exception.  Thinking about Ginkgo biloba (Zones 4 to 9 ) and its fascinating history I am grateful for the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (established in 1872 ) and their long history of plant exploration and conservation.   For an interesting read check out arnoldia, Vol. 41, No. 4 The Ginkgo in America by Peter Del Tredici  http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/issues/74.pdf

Acer palmatum 'Dissectum' November 15

Ginkgo biloba, November 12

Ginkgo-- another view

In addition to maples, ginkgos, hickories (different species of Carya), oaks, sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) and sweetgums, I am impressed by the late showing of the crapemyrtle, Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’ ( Zones 6 to 9 ) and Parrotia persica,( Zones 4 to 8 )  commonly known as Persian parrotia, this handsome witchhazel relative has beautiful bark, curious small red flowers in winter and rich green leaves all summer.  The leaves on native American beech trees, Fagus grandifolia  (Zones 4 to 9 ) are now turning from bright yellow to golden tan and will continue to turn brown, then almost gray or transparent, persisting late into winter and early spring.

Parrotia persica November 15

Lagerstroemia 'Natchez' November 15

Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo) foliage- November 12

oak foliage-November 5

I look forward to these last few weeks of fall its lingering blooms and fading foliage.  Before you know it,  winter with its own delights will be here but not too soon ( I hope ) I still have bulbs and plants to get in the ground.

Liriodendron tulipifera, tuliptree, Nov. 3, Zone 4-9, large specimen tree

The fall color this year (2011)  in my Atlanta, GA neighborhood is spectacular.  Here are a few more plants that I photographed on my morning walk.

Acer palmatum, Japanese maple, Nov. 3

Acer rubrum, red maple, Nov. 3

Amelanchier selection, serviceberry, Nov. 3, Zone 4-9

Cercis canadensis, eastern redbud, Nov. 3, Zone 4 -9, native

Cornus florida, native dogwood, Nov. 3, Zone 5 -9

Ginkgo biloba, ginkgo in early Nov., plant male selections to avoid the smelly fruits in autumn

Oxydendrum arboreum, sourwood, Zone 5-9, fall color Nov. 3

Quercus phellos, willow oak, Nov. 3, Zone6-9, tolerates heat, drought and stress

Quercus rubra, red oak, Nov. 3, Zone 4-7, adaptable tree

maple foliage in fall

While I find it hard to choose a favorite flower, naming a favorite season in the garden is much easier.  Fall or autumn with all its finery never disappoints me.  Unlike spring which seems to  explode almost overnight with color and fragrance and then fade quickly (especially in the South) when heat sets in, fall often lingers and delights  us with a last flush of roses, colorful berries and foliage that ranges from pale yellow to brilliant shades of orange and red. 

Rosa 'Penelope' (hybrid musk) blooms in late October

roses with Japanese maples in background, November

Yesterday, I decided to take my camera along when I walked the dog so that I could document some of the fall show in my neighborhood.  I also made one of my biweekly visits to the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  What follows are photos of a few of my favorite shrubs, trees and perennials in fall. 

Cornus florida, native dogwood-a four season beauty

In my own small garden, Acer palmatum ‘Sango kaku,’ coralbark maple glows with its yellow leaves that are tinged  pink.  Single chrysanthemums (unnamed seedlings from a friend that owns a nursery) are most welcome at this time of year.  The botanical name  for these fall-flowering mums is now Dendranthema x grandiflorum  (Zone 5-9) .  Whatever you call them, they are as my English friends would say “good doers.”  I favor the “ Daisies,”  single daisy-like flowers with yellow centers.  To keep them from getting leggy and floppy, cut them back (by ½ is fine until the 4^th of July. 

Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku' and smoke tree

Dendranthema x grandiflorum (unnamed seedling) in November

Oxydendrum arboreum, sourwood- a great native, Zone 5-9

Hamamelis virginiana, witchhazel-fragrant flowers in November, Zone 3-8

Hamamelis flowers up close

Symphoytrichum oblongifolium (still an aster, ) 'Raydon's Favorite'

Cercidiphyllum japonicum-katsuratree-when the leaves change color and begin to fall they have a fragrance like burning sugar or cotton candy

Fagus grandifolia -native beech tree with seed pod

bird with beechnut

Hydrangea quercifolia, oakleaf hydrangea in November

hickory foliage in fall

Hovenia dulcis fruits

Back in September, I noticed across from my daughter’s school a tree with odd looking fruits.  When I got closer I recognized it as the Japanese raisin tree, Hovenia dulcis.  I first encountered this tree when I worked at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College.  The fruits- actually the fleshy branches are (according to Michael Dirr, chewed by the Japanese and Chinese and are “actually not bad tasting.”  I have nibbled on them and found the taste unremarkable.  Still, I am drawn to their curious look.  Native to China, this unusual exotic makes a good medium size shade tree (up to 30’ tall) and is hardy to Zone 5. 

Taxodium distichum -immature cones

Some of my best plant sitings happen when I walk our dog in my neighborhood.  Recently I noticed a group of bald cypress loaded with 1” green cones.  I will have to check back as they should be mature (brown and looking more like cones) in a year.  What’s surprising about this tree is how adaptable it is.  Native to swamps bald cypress, Taxodium distchum will also grow in full sun and in a well drained soil.  In mid- October the foliage is just beginning to turn orange, brown and red. This deciduous conifer is known for its “knees” which only occur when they grow in or near water.  I have fond memories of canoeing at Trap pond in October when the trees were completely russet color.  Located in  Laurel,  Delaware this pond is home to “the northernmost stand of natural bald cypress in the United States.”  There’s something magical and mysterious about these trees that appeals to me at every season. 

Aesculus parviflora foliage in October

Some trees like Cercidiphyllum japonicum , also known as katsuratree  offer their own special brand of fragrance when the leaves begin to change color in the fall- shades of yellow, red and orange.  On a recent trip to Seattle, I was at Lakewold Gardens touring the collection and wham, that welcome scent of burning sugar or cotton candy, you decide, hit me before I saw all the leaves on the ground and realized it was the now leafless katsuratree  that was responsible. 

With ample moisture and space this tree can become quite large.  One of my favorite specimens is located at Dumbarton Oaks, a public garden in Georgetown, a neighborhood in Washington, DC. 

Cercidiphyllum japonicum at Dumbarton Oaks

As a group many magnolias offer colorful and fragrant flowers in spring.  But there are also those with interesting fruits and foliage.  One of my favorites, Magnolia macrophylla (big flowers, big leaves) offers its own form of fall interest when the leaves turn yellow and then drop to the ground, exposing silver undersides.   Even the ordinary Magnolia grandiflora displays colorful fruits in October.  Great for decorations if you get to them before the critters do. 

Magnolia grandifolora fruit in October

A trio that caught my attention last fall at the Atlanta Botanical Garden includes our native dogwood, Cornus florida, a red  maple and Stewartia pseudocamellia.

Cornus kousa fruits in October

Cornus florida fruits are red and shiny but not very large.  This is not the case with Cornus kousa, which produces fruits that look like large raspberries.  They are edible but probably appreciated more by squirrels and birds. 

Fall foliage

Heptacodium miconioides in Fall

These are just a few of the gems that add interest and color to one of my favorite seasons in the garden.

Oxydendrum arboreum in November

As with his other books (including more recent titles on the subjects of viburnums and hydrangeas) this one covers the best of the best, including both familiar and more obscure selections.    Starting with the A’s (who knew there were so many selections of Abelia)  and continuing through the alphabet, the enticing photographs of flowers, foliage, fall color and bark of numerous trees, shrubs and even vines are sure to boost plant sales everywhere.   I already have a list started of plants I would like to add to my garden.  I was glad too that with some plants like Elaeagnus umbellata, autumn-olive, he stresses the fact that this species is invasive and can become a pernicious pest.  The good news is that once gardeners know this they can choose other more desirable options , of which he offers plenty.  For certain genera like Magnolias (I counted at least 18 different species and many more cultivars) his list is comprehensive including Magnolia sieboldii which I have long admired for its fragrance and odd fruits but never grown .

Magnolia sieboldii fruits, October

A bonus is the section at the back of the book called Selecting Plants for Specific Characteristics or Purposes- with lists of plants for flower color, flowering sequence, fragrant flowers and fruit.  

 The recipient of prestigious awards, Dirr was a  professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia for nearly three decades. Worth noting too, is the fact that  he grows or has grown many of the plants he writes about.

Fortunately for the rest of us, his passion for plants continues and this book is bound to gain him even more fans. 

Ginkgo biloba, Camellia and hollies

photos on this blog are by author Erica Glasener

This year I am excited that I will have the opportunity to present two lectures at Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood, Washington on Saturday, October 1, 2011.   Designing A Garden for Year-Round Pleasure will be the topic of my talk in the morning.    This event is being sponsored by Lakewold Gardens, the Northwest Perennial Alliance and Interlaaken Garden Club.  If you live in the region I hope you will join us.  For details visit www.lakewoldgardens.org or www.n-p-a.org

Sedums and Sempervirens

Dahlias in Autumn

Nasella and Sedum in fall

Dumbarton Oaks

August is a tough time for southern gardeners.  The forecast today is like much of our summer has been with temperatures predicted  in the 90’s, but this morning was delightful and even a bit cool.  As I was watering and weeding I had to admire my Clematis ‘Arabella’ still flowering in late August when many plants look tired and worn out.   Although it blooms profusely in May, this clematis also blooms sporadically through the summer and requires very little from me.  In my garden I let it scramble through perennials, like a groundcover.  A hardy vine (Zone 4 to 9), it will grow 4 to 6’ tall, perfect for trailing over a shrub or growing up a small trellis.   This good doer got me thinking about vines and plants that climb.  There are vines for every occasion including those that bloom, those with striking foliage, fruiting selections and, some that offer interesting bark.

Clematis 'Arabella' in August

Milletia reticulata blooms in August and offers mostly evergreen foliage.  Known as evergreen wisteria, (Zone 7 to 10) it offers magenta pea-like flowers with a strong scent.  I have read a description that describes their perfume as similar to camphor but I don’t know exactly what that means.  I get a sweet, slightly spicy scent.  Unlike the genus Wisteria, Milletia is not invasive and the foliage is glossy.    

Milletia reticulata in August

While perusing the vine collection on a recent visit to the Atlanta Botanical Garden ( a few weeks ago) I spotted the native scarlet clematis, Clematis texensis ‘Gravetye Beauty.’ (Zone 4 to 11)  I got to see both  flowers and showy seed heads of the spent blooms on the same plant.  This clematis begins to bloom in mid-summer and often continues into autumn.  Growing  6 to 8’ it is one I plan to add to my garden this fall. I think I will plant it on the same trellis that supports my rose ‘Zephirine Drouhin.’  Also blooming in this collection was a hardy passion flower with fragrant white blooms  called Passiflora caerulea ‘Constance Eliott.’ According to Dan Long of Brushwood Nursery* this passion flower may be hardy to Zone 6 with some protection.  And, the fruits are edible.  

Passiflora caerulea 'Constance Eliott'

For evergreen vines Kadsura japonica ‘Chirimen’ offers a choice with interesting variegated leaves.  If you can’t find this cultivar look for ‘Chirifu’ which is similar in its appearance.  Hardy from Zone 7 to ll, this vine is happiest  in part shade. 

Clematis texensis 'Gravetye Beauty' seed heads

A fall bloomer, Aster carolinianus  flowers as late as November and is ideal for training through an open brick wall or chain link fence.  Native to the coastal southeastern US, it  (Zone 7 to 9)  will also scramble over a shrub putting on a show when it is covered with blue-purple daisies (yellow centers). 

Aster carolinianus in November

As fall approaches and the weather begins to cool (we hope) it’s a good time to add plants to your garden.  When you do, don’t forget to include some  versatile vines. 

Mail Order Sources for Vines

Brushwood Nursery, Athens, Georgia, www.gardenvines.com

Joy Creek Nursery, Scappoose, Oregon, www.joycreek.com  (great selection of clematis)

Woodlanders, Aiken, South Carolina, www.woodlanders.net (rare native and exotic plants)