Add colour to your winter garden with Witch Hazel!

Witch hazels, also known as Hamamelis, are excellent deciduous shrubs to add to your winter garden. Known best for their colourful flowers and beautiful fragrance no garden would be complete without at least one variety of Witch Hazel. The flowers are beautiful during late winter and early spring from December to February.

The stems of this plant also add structure to your garden. During the summer the green leaves provide an excellent backdrop for other flowering shrubs or excellent shade for your hosta’s or other shade plants.

Witch hazels are hardy to zone 5 (-15 F, or -23 C) and most will grow to 8 to 12 feet high and 6 to 8 feet wide. They are easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. They flower best in a sunny location. They prefer moist, acidic, organically rich soils and can tolerate heavy clay soils.

As they grow it is important to remove sucker shoots that grow from the root system to prevent them from spreading. For general pruning give them a light pruning in spring after flowering to control shape and size.

The x intermedia hybrids (H. mollis x H. japonica) are large deciduous shrubs which typically grow 12-20′ tall and feature mid to late winter flowers.

The witch hazels rarely have serious insect or disease problems. They occasional get insect galls (caused by small wasps) on the foliage. Japanese beetles may chew on the leaves in some areas.

You can choose from the following varieties this year:

• Hamamelis intermedia ‘Arnold’s Promise’ - bright yellow flowers
• Hamamelis intermedia ‘Diane’ – bright orange
• Hamamelis intermedia ‘Jelena’ – vibrant yellow flower
• Hamamelis mollis ‘Pallida’ – pale yellow flowers
• Hamamelis intermedia ‘Sunburst’ – bright yellow

Ceanothus ‘Victoria Blue’

Ceanothus is more commonly know as the California Lilac. This beautiful shrub has masses of electric blue flowers in late June and early July. It prefers to grow in a location with full sun and well drained soil. One of the best features is the ability to attract hummingbirds and butterflies as they emerge for the summer.

You can easily grow the Ceanothus as a centerpiece in your garden or even make it into a hedge. You can prune Ceanothus vigorously every spring and it will still produce an abundance of blooms. If you are looking for a reliable summer flowering shrub look no further than the Ceanothus ‘Victoria’.

Hydrangeas give you summer colour the lasts!

If you are looking for a shrub that will give you colour all summer that lasts into the fall then look no further than Hydrangeas. These deciduous shrubs provide the perfect backdrop to your perennial or annuals gardens and have beautiful flowers that last from mid summer to late fall. Varieties that you can choose from include:

• Adria
• Annabelle
• Blushing Bride
• Colour Fantasy
• Endless Summer
• Harlequin
• Invincibelle Spirit
• Incrediball
• Limelight
• Mystical Flame
• Nikko Blue
• Pee Gee (Paniculata Grandiflora)
• Pia
• Pink Diamond
• Twist-N-Shout
• White Dome

Enjoy the Sweet Scent of Roses

This year you can choose from more than 150 varieties of roses including: David Austin, Climbers, Floribundas, Grandifloras, Groundcovers, Hedge roses, Hybrid Teas, Shrub roses, and Tree roses.

New hybrids of roses are becoming easier to care for as they are less susceptible to insects and diseases. Many varieties are resistant to black spot and mildew.

Click Here to Download our 2011 Rose Varieties

Try Something Unique – Grow a Mountain Laurel !

The Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), also known as Spoonwood, is a beautiful evergreen shrub that flowers every spring. The unique star shaped flowers form in a tight cluster and bloom from early June through July. They can grow well in a sunny or shady location. They keep their leaves all year which makes an excellent backdrop in a winter garden.

Our store has a great selection of Kalmia to choose from including:

• Kalmia ‘Carousel’
• Kalmia ‘Elf’
• Kalmia ‘Galaxy
• Kalmia ‘Heart of Fire’
• Kalmia ‘Kaleidoscope’
• Kalmia ‘Olympic Fire’
• Kalmia ‘Ostbo Red’

Enjoy the Sweet Fragrance of Lilacs!

Aside from Roses, there are no flowers as beautiful and aromatic as Lilacs. Lilacs have a strong fragrance that you can enjoy throughout your garden. Unfortunately, Lilacs bloom for only a few weeks in the late spring.

Weather has a lot to do with how long your blooms last. Cool dry weather helps your flowers last longer if only we could control that. Once the blooms have finished, you still have a nice shade bush, but you have to wait until next year to enjoy the blooms again.

You can choose from a variety of Lilacs including:

• Syringa patula ‘Miss Kim’ (Korean Lilac)
• Syringa vulgaris ‘Katherine Havemeyer’
• Syringa vulgaris ‘Charles Joly’

Summer Never Ends for the Endless Summer Hydrangeas!

If you have ever had your Hydrangea fail to flower this is the variety for you. The ‘Endless Summer’ Hydrangea is a mophead hydrangea that can bloom on both old and new wood. So no matter how you prune them they flower every year. There are now three varieties in the Endless Summer Collection to choose from:

• Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ - The Original, flowers can be Pink or Blue
• Hydrangea ‘Blushing Bride’ - pure white blooms with semi-double florets that mature to pink
• Hydrangea ‘Twist N Shout’ - a Lace-cap type with vivid colour and sturdy stems

The repeat blooms of the Endless Summer® Collection truly offer gardeners an endless summer of incredible colour. These hardy plants are perfect for everything from foundation planting to container gardening. They even make an ideal floral arrangement or table setting as cut flowers.

The colour of the Original Endless Summer can be altered from pink to blue. For more information visit www.endlesssummerblooms.com.

All of the Beauty and None of the Work!

If you are looking for a Rose that has all of the beauty with none of the work you might want to try the new Easy Elegance Roses. For more information click here.

Gone are the days of high-maintenance roses. With Easy Elegance®, you can have hardy, disease-resistant, chemical free roses without all the effort and attention. Let it be known – these are not your grandmother’s roses. You don’t have to spend all day in the yard to make them last. All you have to do is plant them and enjoy the beauty. And there’s nothing easier than that.

You can choose from varieties including:

• Easy Elegance ‘Coral Cove’ – dark pink double blooms
• Easy Elegance ‘High Voltage’ - yellow double blooms
• Easy Elegance ‘Macy’s Pride’ – lemon yellow buds open creamy white and fade to light pink
• Easy Elegance ‘Paint the Town’ – red hybrid tea shaped flowers
• Easy Elegance ‘Super Hero’ – perfect red hybrid tea shaped flowers
• Easy Elegance ‘Sweet Fragrance’ – tropical coral and orange flowers with a pink base

Click here for more information about Easy Elegance Roses. 

Forsythia are Bursting Into Flower!

One of the first spring flowering shrubs to delight us with its blooms every spring are the Forsythia. These beautiful shrubs are filled with bright yellow flowers.

You can choose from three great varieties including the ever popular Lynwood Gold, Gold Tide, and Nothern Gold. The Lynwood Gold forsythia is one of the best and most reliable varieties. The flowers appear as deep golden wands in late March and early April. The ‘Lynwood Gold’ forsythia is a dense growing plant with an upright habit that will reach a height of 6 to 8 feet tall and wide.

Gold Tide is an excellent dwarf variety that reaches a height of 2 to 3 feet tall and spreads to 3 to 4 feet wide. If you are looking for a smaller variety then this is the one for you.

Northern Gold is another excellent variety that will grow to 6 to 8 feet tall and wide. The Northern Gold comes in a standard tree form that makes an perfect centerpiece for a pot, container, or garden bed.

Add a Tropical Touch to your garden with Hibiscus!

Like their tropical cousins these Hibiscus are hardy enough to survive our winters. They produce an abundance of blooms from August through September. There are several varieties to choose from including:

• ‘Ardens’
• ‘Blushing Bride’
• ‘China Chiffon’
• ‘Collie Mullens’
• ‘Diana’
• ‘Lavender and White Chiffon’
• ‘Lavender Chiffon’
• ‘Violet Satin’
• ‘White Chiffon’