spring

Over the Garden Wall

May 15, 2018 By Karen Chapman in Uncategorized 2 Comments Tags: combinations, conifers, deer, event, foliage, Monrovia, perennials, Proven Winners, shrubs, spring

It’s been a busy week as I’ve been hard at work on a special project for you! (More about that later…)

Are you curious to see what’s happening in your neighbor’s garden? Do you sneak a peek while out walking the dog? Don’t blush – we all do it!

Well I know I’m rather off the beaten track so I took a few photos this weekend to show you what’s happening.

It was early morning when I ventured out. The sun was just moments from making its appearance; that magical, ephemeral time of day.

Misty layers of flowers and foliage

Most of my garden borders have a “sunset” color scheme of coral, orange, magenta, gold and deepest burgundy. It’s a rich color palette that is vibrant in every season. In spring, the rhododendrons and Exbury azaleas (most of which I inherited) have their shining moment. My challenge is to find ways to showcase their fleeting glory – by partnering them with beautiful foliage of course.

Working with pink blooms

Burgundy leaves pair so easily with pink flowers.

A “no name” Rhodie Playing off the burgundy foliage of a new Pixie Japanese maple

Low lying branches flirt with Blackberry Ice heuchera

A golden full moon maple provides a brighter contrast

Golden yellows need bold partners

The deciduous Exbury azaleas are some of my favorite shrubs – I love the fall color as much as the “in your face” spring blooms.

The large golden flowered shrub below was here when we moved in although we relocated it with help from a bobcat! Today it joins company with a golden conifer and large Rose Glow barberry.

Forever Goldie golden arborvitae reinforces the color scheme

The wispy shrub with red flowers in the background is a sterile form of Scotch broom. It is an old Proven Winners variety. Love that it is deer resistant and drought tolerant.

Close up of the flowers on my sterile Scotch broom – so pretty

Foliage Highlights

Foliage is key in my garden and I love the way a Double Play Gold spirea and Mountain Fire andromeda frame these mango colored azaleas, one of the Northern Light series.

New growth on a spirea and andromeda echoes an orange-toned azalea

Mercifully barberries are not invasive in the PNW, because I love them for their deer resistance and wonderful range of colors.

Limoncello barberry and a blue pine

Limoncello barberry can be tough to place in the garden as the color goes beyond bold to almost garish. I’ve found blue and silver are the best companions and love it with a columnar blue pine in the background.

Lemoncello has crazy attitude!

Red barberries are much easier to work with, however. I have several clusters of the dwarf Golden Ruby barberry and am especially pleased with this pairing with a dark leaf euphorbia.

Golden Ruby barberry and Ruby Glow euphorbia

Those magenta colors seem to be everywhere right now! An elderly gentleman (Jerry Munroe, that some may remember from his Kenmore nursery) gave me these primroses many years ago. When we moved to this house I brought them with me.

Moisture-loving Japanese primroses and Rodger’s flower – ideal companions on our stream bank

Love how they play off the oversized Rodgersia foliage!

And deep in the garden….

So what else have I been up to? Well I’ve been working hard putting together a new online workshop for you; Designing Abundant Containers. This will totally change how you plan, shop and design your containers gardens! It will launch any day now and be offered to my newsletter subscribers. (Not a subscriber? No problem – you can sign up here.)

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look from one of the videos. We needed to check that when I moved about I would remain inside the frame of the primary camera. Andy (my husband who was manning all three cameras plus audio) asked to “see what (I ) could do”……

Never take yourself too seriously, right?!

A Spring Perennial you NEED – Epimedium

Apr 3, 2018 By Karen Chapman in Uncategorized Tags: combinations, deer, drought tolerant, foliage, groundcover, perennials, spring

Bleeding hearts (Dicentra sp.) get all the love. Cute name. Delicate foliage. Distinctive blooms. Yet there is another spring blooming perennial I get even more excited about. Whether you know it by the common name Bishop’s hat (UK), barrenwort (USA) or the botanical name Epimedium, this perennial deserves your consideration for a space in the shade garden.

Many species are evergreen, forming weed-smothering carpets of heart shaped leaves. The new spring foliage often exhibits striking colors – red margins, copper shades or distinctive veins, while the rainbow-hued flowers dance high above the leaves on impossibly slender stalks, each blossom resembling a thimble-sized fairy hat.

Epimedium lend themselves to exciting design combinations that highlight either the foliage or flowers, or in their quiet season may serve as a foliage picture frame for other more showy companions. In fact I would encourage you to plan ahead and deliberately purchase companion plants at the same time as these perennials to make the most of them.

Here are some of my favorite plant partnerships to get you thinking.

Shades of lavender and rose

Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilafee’, seen here with dark purple heuchera and a silver dusty miller in the background

Lilafee has long been a favorite of mine. While evergreen or semi-evergreen in milder areas, I find the foliage melts away on its own by late winter, allowing the lavender flowers and new red-mottled foliage to shine.

Enhance the lavender blooms by pairing it with shades of pinky-purple and silver such as Pink Frost hellebore and Japanese painted ferns , or purple heuchera and silver dusty miller as shown above.

Lilafee dancing next to Iris ‘Gerald Derby’. Design by Mitch Evans.

Or celebrate the brief moment in time when Iris versicolor ‘Gerald Darby’ sports dark purple tones at the base of each blade by planting it adjacent to Lilafee as shown above. Bright yellow Japanese forest grass adds a visual spotlight to the scene.

There are many other varieties with rose and lavender blooms, often bi-colored like a fuchsia.

An unknown variety of Epimedium echoes the color of a blooming Bergenia in the background. Design by Mitch Evans

In the photo above, the magenta flowers of elephant ears (Bergenia sp.) echo one of the colors of the Epimedium bloom while the elongated, dusky-lavender leaves also play into the color scheme.

The very first Epimedium I ever bought was Epimedium rubrum – mainly because it was the cheapest! It has given me decades of pleasure in several gardens, has continued to spread generously into mature clumps and looks good no matter where I place it, even in dry shade under conifers. The flowers have rose-red outer petals and the evergreen foliage has distinctive red markings in spring.

Epimedium x rubrum paired with autumn fern, Francee hosta and Spiraea ‘Ogon’

I have found it a good idea to remove the old foliage just as flowers are forming in late winter. When I forget to do that (as in the photo above) the old leaves can hide emerging blooms. I do love seeing that sweep of orange colored autumn ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora) above it though.

Citrus shades

If you prefer orange flowers over purple, check out Epimedium ‘Amber Queen’.

Orange flowers of Epimedium ‘Amber Queen’ rise above a dwarf golden spruce. A deep violet Rhododendron in the background introduces a complementary color for maximum impact. Design by Mitch Evans.

Pairing dwarf golden conifers such as Picea orientalis ‘Tom Thumb’ with orange and yellow blooms of Amber Queen makes a showy combo in the shade as seen above. Notice how the deep violet rhododendron flowers in the background enhance the scene.

Still in the citrus theme, look for yellow blooming epimedium. Epimedium x perralchicum ‘Frohnleiten’ is a vigorous, evergreen variety with golden yellow flowers and distinctive red-veined new foliage that will quickly create a stunning carpet under trees.

In my own garden I planted Epimedium × versicolor ‘Sulphureum’ , whose two-toned yellow flowers remind me of miniature jonquil. Play off the color of these blooms by pairing with yellow toned grasses or golden foliage then adding deep purple or silver for contrast.

A new planting of Epimedium × versicolor ‘Sulphureum’ with golden bleeding heart and yellow veined Beesia

A new planting of Epimedium × versicolor ‘Sulphureum’ with golden bleeding heart. I did try golden Japanese forest grass here but the rabbits ate it!

You can see the still immature grouping above. Since the rabbit population make it impossible for me to grow Japanese forest grass here – or any other grasses, I have just added several Jack Frost Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’) in the empty areas. If the heart shaped leaves of that solo beesia survive deer and rabbits I may add more of those too, as the foliage has subtle yellow veins. However, last year slugs had a go at the beesia leaves – there’s always something!

Treasure hunt!

You’ll be seeing these perennials in the nurseries any day now. Which ones will you buy and what will you plant with them? There are so many to discover! They all do well in partial shade, many even in full shade. Average, moisture retentive soil is ideal but many also thrive in dry soil although their growth will be slower.

Ignored by deer and rabbits … usually …(last year “something” nibbled the emerging stalks of Epimedium x rubrum. Being so tiny it was hard to determine the angle of the cut and accuse the culprit!). Vine weevils can be a problem but otherwise these are really easy and low maintenance. They do not need to be divided although it is easy to cut through a section with a spade if you want to move a clump.

Resources

If you’d like to learn more check out The Plant Lover’s Guide to Epimediums by Sally Gregson (Timber Press, 2015) which features 126 commonly available varieties.
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There are also several combinations using Epimedium in my latest book Gardening with Foliage First, co-authored with Christina Salwitz (Timber Press, 2017)

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This post contains affiliate links

Pinterest Peer Pressure – baring it all!

Apr 18, 2017 By Karen Chapman in Uncategorized Tags: art, books, combinations, conifers, container design, deer, design, Focal points, foliage, perennials, shrubs, spring

I thought it would never happen. Sunshine finally arrived in Seattle for two days in a row! Enough time to get 21 yards of mulch on the garden and persuade me to take some photographs.

To celebrate that spring may finally be reaching us I thought I’d share some of the early season color that I enjoyed this morning. I always hesitate to show you my garden, especially when I see my east coast friends posting photographs on social media of lush landscapes featuring fully clothed Japanese maples in their vibrant spring colors and tender coleus already being planted out! My garden is a far cry from such abundance and as such it’s easy to fall for what I call Pinterest peer pressure! You know what I mean: “How can I possibly show MY garden when YOUR garden looks so stunning?”

Well here it is, rabbit, slug, deer-nibbled and all. Because there are always a few ideas to share if you look hard enough.

The Big Picture

Conifers in shades of gold, green and blue and a colorful assortment of spirea and barberries ensure early spring interest that goes well beyond daffodils.

When you design a garden with a focus on foliage first you’ll never lack for color, and when you use that foliage to frame focal points such as this cabin there will always be a Pinterest-worthy vignette.

I also used relatively few herbaceous perennials in this border, opting for a variety of deer-resistant, blooming shrubs instead. This was primarily to reduce garden maintenance as I was finding the annual chore of cutting down the perennials too hard on my back. An unexpected bonus from this decision has been the increase in early season color from the new growth on these shrubs. I grow a number of different varieties of weigela, spirea, barberries and exbury azaleas to achieve this.

: Limoncello barberry

: Lime Glow barberry

: Double Play Gold spirea

Closer to the home, our new patio gardens are also evolving.

Here the emerging perennials (Artemisia s. ‘Quicksilver’, Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’, Sedum ‘Autumn Charm’ and Eryngium ‘Neptune’s Gold’) leave distinct gaps but the container in the center of the bed helps to distract the eye with brightly colored viola surrounding the velvety, antler-like branches of a Tiger Eyes sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Tiger Eyes’). Once again I rely on the color of foliage to provide structure, however – the evergreen, blue blades of blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens), orange-gold Magic Carpet spirea, dark purple Spilled Wine weigela and bright green leaves of a bush cinquefoil (Potentilla) that will add orange flowers to the summer scene.

In the raised bed behind the patio is a simple perimeter planting of daffodils and viola. As these blooms finish the entire bed will become a haze of feathery foliage from almost 60 Arkansas blue star (Amsonia hubrichtii). This perennial will feature blue flowers in early summer but I grow it primarily for the incredible fall display as the foliage turns orange.

Spring delights

I will replace the viola in the cube-shaped container with summer annuals in a few more weeks but for now I’m enjoying their cheery faces and love the color play between them, the spirea and the variegated iris.

Garden Moments

Not all focal points in the garden have to be large – or permanent. Look for opportunities to create smaller vignettes that can be discovered while strolling in the garden. I call these Garden Moments.

This morning I was surprised and delighted to see the interaction between this rusted metal sphere and the Blade of Sun snowberry. The new leaves have a warm blush to the otherwise golden hue and seemed a perfect complement to the rust detail. In fact this was beneath a katsura tree, whose new leaves were also playing into this color scheme.

Simple color echoes between the katsura leaves, rusted metal spheres and the edges of the newly emerged Blade of Sun snowberry foliage

This was pure serendipity – often the best designer.

Floral delights

Designing with foliage first doesn’t mean avoiding flowers – far from it. Rather it is creating a framework of foliage into which to layer the flowers so that when those blooms are gone you aren’t left with visual black holes in the garden.

Right now I have several shrubs in full bloom including Ogon spirea and Mountain Fire andromeda as well as this super-thorny, evergreen Darwin barberry.

Evergreen Darwin barberry – the deer actually did eat some of these branches but not enough to kill the entire shrub thankfully!

Perennials are the primary source of spring flowers for many gardeners though. These are just a few of my favorites that are in full bloom in my garden today, selected for deer/rabbit resistance and foliage interest – or in the case of English primroses, pure nostalgia.

: Lungwort

: English primrose

: A delicate double primrose

: Silver Heart Siberian bugloss

Bleeding heart are a cottage garden favorite and I grow several varieties including Gold Heart shown below.

Planted near a group of yellow blooming barrenwort (Epimedium) and the glossy foliage of beesia these are finally starting to make a good sized clump.

They add a welcome splash of light under towering Douglas fir trees.

I struggle to overwinter spurge (Euphorbia) on my garden. My well-mulched soil is too moisture retentive it seems. However my new acquisition Purple Preference has survived just fine both in a container and in the garden. I love the red stems, purple tones of the foliage and bold acid-green flowers.

: Purple Preference euphorbia

: Donkey Tail spurge

I purchased more of the donkey tail spurge (E. myrsinites) this spring as they really did seem to keep the voles away from my yarrow. In fact I must get some more! Last years plants rotted over the winter.

Final Flourish

Hellebores may be on their last fling, but Pink Frost can be relied upon for looking just as beautiful as they fade as they ever did at their peak.

What Pinterest-worthy vignettes are you enjoying in your garden today? Don’t be shy! (And feel free to Pin these to your boards)

If you would like more ideas on how to create a stunning garden using foliage first, check out my two books co-authored with Christina Salwitz.

Reflections

Dec 29, 2016 By Karen Chapman in Uncategorized Tags: combinations, container design, fall, Nature, spring, winter

My Mum was one for frequently reminding me to “count my blessings“. Whether it was for an unexpected gift, for food on the table or for a warm home. She taught me never to take these things for granted, to give thanks and to freely share. In a social media dominated world where we tend to measure our success against the fairy tale posts and dreamy images shared by our peers, family and friends, we can easily lose our attitude of thankfulness in our anxious determination to do more, be better, aim higher.

The start of a New Year is more than turning a metaphorical page in our Life Book, as much as the pristine new leaf promises everything will be an improvement on our previous, less-than-perfect chapters. I believe it is also a time to pause and reflect on the blessings of the past year. Human nature is such that we tend to think of all the sad, negative or worrying things first; loss of loved ones, political uncertainty, financial concerns. I’m not suggesting these can, or even should be casually swept aside as though they are of no consequence, but I encourage you to take a few moments to reflect on the good and for me that is often tied to the garden.

So as 2016 wanes and 2017 comes into sharper focus, I’d like to share with you some of the many garden-related blessings that I received this year.

Spring

Is there any greater gift than love?

We were quite literally speechless when our friends at Berg’s Landscaping said they would like to build a new patio for us as a gift. I remember just standing there unable to find any words to adequately express how much such generosity meant to us. I mean these guys are BUSY – with their own installations as well as most of mine so how could they possible have time to do this for me? And patios aren’t cheap. And we had drainage problems to deal with, and broken concrete to remove, and I wasn’t even going to be in the country, and……

This was a blessing with a capital B and we remember and give thanks for these wonderful folks every day.

And talking of love, is there any greater love than that which a parent has for their child? I miss my parents so much yet am grateful for the life lessons they taught me by example and only hope I can continue to live up to their standards and expectations. When Mum passed away in October 2015 I wanted to buy something as a special keepsake. She loved gardening and we spent her last days poring over photographs of my new patio being installed (thanks to my husband Andy emailing those to me each day) and other images taken of my garden throughout the year. It therefore seemed fitting to treat myself to something for the garden. I selected a very ‘grown up’ patio set with deep teal cushions and a beautiful propane fire table. These were such a luxury for us. I can promise you that every single day as I look out at our garden or settle into those deep cushions I remember my dear Mum. She would have loved this: I can almost hear her saying “Well done Karen“.

Summer

Foliage inspiration from 4 Seasons Gardens LLC, Portland, OR

Talking of a parents love for their children we are blessed to have both our grown up children living in the same state, with our daughter Katie being just two miles away. As she and her husband are renovating their first home their interest in gardens is growing so I was delighted that she accepted my offer of a trip to a garden tour in Portland for her birthday treat this year. Being able to share one’s own passion while exchanging ideas, discoveries and garden dreams with my daughter has been an unexpected blessing for sure. There’s also a sense of coming full circle as I have so many memories of learning from my own parents and grandparents.

When work and play meld together you know you are fortunate. I was invited to visit Bailey Nurseries in June to see their production greenhouses and learn more about the new shrubs and roses that they are propagating. As a designer and writer I was thrilled, but you may be surprised to know that this invitation came about as a result of a glass of wine! A year or so ago my coauthor Christina Salwitz and I were enjoying a glass of sauvignon blanc after a day of garden tours in Pasadena, CA. When it came time to pay our tab, to our great surprise we were told it had already been paid “by the gentleman with the blonde hair”. Well that gentleman was none other than Ryan McEnaney, PR & Communications Specialist for Bailey Nurseries whom we had spent only a few moments chatting to earlier! So our friendship and business relationship began over that glass of wine – and continues to this day.

Fall

Snoozing alligator in the Audoban Swamp, Magnolia Plantations and Gardens, Charleston, SC

I truly value my membership with the Garden Writer’s Association (GWA). I have met many wonderful folks that have helped me in my writing career and am always inspired by the garden tours and educational seminars that are the highlight of each annual conference. This year the conference was held in Atlanta – an area of the country I had never visited. I decided to fly out early and combine it with a visit to Charleston, Beaufort and Savannah. Unfortunately my timing wasn’t great, coinciding with a crazy tropical storm that flooded streets and sidewalks but I did still manage to visit historical Magnolia Plantations and the adjacent swamps where surprisingly large alligators were just ‘hanging out’!

Charleston chic

I also loved seeing the colorful window boxes, interesting architecture and ancient live oaks in the area. This vacation was an unexpected bonus, especially as Andy joined me for this leg of the trip.

While we saw many wonderful gardens both large and small in the Atlanta area on our organized excursions, perhaps my favorite was the one some friends and I took on our own, returning to the Atlanta Botanical Garden and seeing the Chihuly exhibit lit up at night – unforgettable.

Winter

Winter in the PNW is a slower time of year in the garden. While there are still chores to be done it is also easy to justify a rest after the frenzy of fall clean up.

Andy and I decided to head to our favorite retreat for Christmas: Mountain Home Lodge in Leavenworth, WA. In winter the steep road is closed so you are transported to the lodge by Snowcat vehicles. The seclusion is an inherent part of its appeal – the gourmet meals come a close second (and we didn’t need to grow, prepare or clean up after them!!)

Snow blanketed the earth offering perfect conditions for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or tobogganing – or just sitting on our porch snuggled under a blanket and watching the sunrise.

As you reflect on your favorite memories from 2016 I hope that your garden was a part of the good times. Maybe sharing lunch on the patio with a friend? Or watching the fall colors change? Or marveling at the pattern of light and shadows? Do share your reflections in the comments below or on my Facebook page – I’d love to hear them

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes. It speaks to me of the beauty and wildness of Nature, but it also guides me as a landscape designer.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.“ – John Muir, The Yosemite, 1912.

May 2017 be a year of blessings for you all, both given and received.

Party Time for Hummingbirds!

Mar 22, 2016 By Karen Chapman in Uncategorized Tags: birds, deer, drought tolerant, foliage, fragrance, hummingbirds, shrubs, spring, wildlife

King Edward VII flowering currant

Zzzzzzzzzzip. Zzzzzzzzzzzzip.

Yes it’s that time of year when hummingbirds can be seen, heard and enjoyed daily as they flit from one flower to the next. Like most gardeners I used to rely on hummingbird feeders to entice them but quickly transitioned to adding flowering plants that provided a natural food source and habitat to support their presence year round.

Typically hummingbirds prefer blooms with tubular flowers but in my summer garden they regularly feast on more open flowers also e.g. tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis). Likewise although all the literature tells us they prefer red I have seen these diminutive birds slurping on everything from white and purple to pink and orange flowers.

These are the early spring flowering shrubs and perennials currently on the brunch menu at the Chapman’s.

Flowering Currant

Flowering currant is a great addition to a large mixed border, seen here with conifers and spirea

A modern selection of a native shrub, King Edward VII flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum ‘King Edward VII’), quickly grows to 6′ tall and at least as wide. Although browsed occasionally by deer the damage is rarely noticeable as you can see and the hummingbirds LOVE these flowers!

One thing that I found interesting this year is the color variation. This plant (photo above and also the one in the leading photo) grows in full sun and the flowers are an intense, deep pink.

The shrub pictured above is exactly the same variety but the flowers are smaller and a softer hue. This shrub is shaded somewhat by neighboring trees which presumably accounts for the discrepancy. However, it struck me that to extend the duration of available flowers for the hummingbirds it would be a good idea to deliberately plant these in a variety of lighting conditions from partial shade to full sun.

Flowering currant is hardy in zones 6-8 and is drought tolerant once established. There are many named varieties with both pink and white flowers.

Lungwort

I think this variety may be Mrs. Moon

One of the easiest perennials to grow, lungwort (Pulmonaria) has many other common names including soldiers and sailors! This old fashioned favorite is now available with other flower colors from deepest cobalt blue to pure white but I still prefer the traditional coloring that shows both pink and blue flowers as they age. Likewise the foliage typically has silver spots but you can now find varieties with almost entirely silver foliage.

Fashion statement regardless, hummingbirds will squabble loudly over these! Be sure to place them where you can enjoy the show from your armchair or while strolling along a path in spring. The clumps grow quickly and are easy to divide to expand your planting area.

TIP: older varieties are prone to mildew. Shear the entire plant down to 2″ after blooming. It will quickly regrow and the new leaves will remain clean and healthy.

Although recommended for partial shade and moist soil I also have these growing in full sun with no summer irrigation – and they still thrive!

Andromeda, Lily of the Valley shrub

I first saw these thirty years ago, flourishing in the acidic soils of Scotland and was envious of those gardeners who could enjoy the heady perfume and evergreen foliage. When we moved to the USA in 1996 I was thrilled to discover that Seattle also has acidic soil and so can now grow these in my own garden. The variety above is Mountain Fire (Pieris japonica ‘Mountain Fire’)- one of many to choose from.

New foliage growth is a deep mahogany red, making a striking contrast with the older mid-green leaves. Tough, dependable and deer resistant this has also proven to be surprisingly drought tolerant and yes the hummingbirds love these flowers too – even if they are white!

I also have a young Impish Elf that looks promising with raspberry red flowers and several Little Heath which as a dwarf has much smaller flowers and I grow primarily for its foliage.

Variegated leaves of the compact Little Heath – love the rosy flush of new spring growth

Winter daphne

These blooms are almost gone – most are faded to a dirty white although still emit a remarkable fragrance. The winter daphne (Daphne odora ‘Aureo-marginata’) has been flowering since early February and as such was one of the first blooms to entice the hummingbirds to visit. Planted adjacent to the lungwort these little birds won’t go hungry as they simple move from one flower to the next!

In harsh winters my daphne can lose a lot of their leaves but the plants quickly recover and are a highlight of the late winter and early spring garden, welcoming visitors of all species with their intoxicating fragrance and pretty variegated leaves.

And for dessert…

A special gift from my daughter last year – found at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show

I’d love to add a few more treats for these wonderful little birds. What do YOU grow for hummingbirds? Leave me a comment here or on Facebook – I always enjoy hearing your ideas.

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