Blooming Right Now

I've been seeing these chartreuse blooms around town. At first I thought they were just spring green emerging leaves. I asked CH about them and she said they were probably Norway Maples. I never considered the blooms of the Maples being very significant- but look along Reed Market Rd and you'll be entranced by the yellow hue. Kind of a nice contrast to the white and pink





Prunus family blooms that are just finishing up.  The gnarly bark always seems out of place to me with the delicate blooms.








Look also for the Ornamental Pears that are showing off right now. Beautiful display in the Cascade Village Mall. Also young  Callery Pear all along OB Riley.

Plant Watching

We've decided to step away from the Mystery Plant question and answer blog format. It's proving too cumbersome to follow since the posts end up chronologically backwards. So, until we can grow a few more blog skills, we'll continue posting about the local plants that are catching our attention. If you have a question for our team- please post a comment, email us at info@heartspringsdesign.com or come out to the nursery 10-4pm Mondays thru Saturdays.

Happy Springtime! Serviceberry Trees are beginning to blossom.

Tuesday Twosomes

A favorite combination. Perfectly blends with our native sages and junipers. Looks wonderful massed in dryland plantings. Takes on all the critter challenges...Blue Oat Grass and Walker's Low Catmint!!

Helictotrichon sempervirens

Nepeta 'Walker's Low'

Tuesday Twosomes

 Beautiful shrubs are great for so many landscape situations and this combo has it all. If you're looking for colorful foliage, hardy and adaptable 'personalities', and wonderful shape and leaf textures try 'Summer Wine' Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) 

 with Dwarf Blue Artic Willow (Salix purpurea 'Nana).

Both shrubs have similar water needs. Both like sun or part shade and both grow about 5-6' with vase like graceful shapes. The only downsides are no great winter interest and no absolute deer resistance. Great choice if you have lots of room. And the colors really are striking together!

Answer to April 12th

Chionodoxa. "Glory of the Snow"
These hardy bulbs produce up to ten starry flowers per stem.












They are perfect matched with Scilla (Squil)

and
 Muscari " Grape Hyacinth"
 for a beautiful, delicate spring palate.

Tuesday Twosomes

We busy bees working at the nursery this week had fun pairing plants with Spring foliage interest.
We liked the way the emerging pink tinted foliage of the

Variegated Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Overdam')

 
reflected the cherry pink blooms of the Red Flowering Currant
( Ribes sanguineum)

The Red Flowering Cherry develops a fountain like shape and can reach 8' tall. The Overdam grass flower plumes top out at 5' and have a pretty pinkish tint later in the summer. Both thrive in sunnier areas and are water thrifty when established.
Deer will browse the currant, but it's not a 'deer candy' selection.  Surrounding it with the tall grass might offer some protection.

Just a little Mystery

I like daffodils. I really do. It's fun to be flooded with their shock of yellow this time of year when you're tiring of brown and gray and white and brown and gray. But they don't leave anything to your imagination. There is no mystery in a mass of daffodils. AND the foliage hangs around way too long after the fun is over.

This little bulb, however, takes a bit of work to notice. It blooms earlier than it's yellow friends. The critters seem to ignore it for the most part. It's dainty and hints of a spring sky. Have you seen any?

New! Tuesday Twosomes...

Ani and I were very excited about this  great combination. Both plants are evergreen- interesting textures together with complementary blooms and foliage colors. Both thrive in full sun, like great drainage- but will do fine in part shade.

Pineleaf Penstemon, Penstemon Pinifolius- has a red or a yellow flower. Angelina sedum, Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' has yellow green foliage that turns reddish- orange in winter. I see that there's a Blanket flower in the sedum picture which would also be a fine addition to this twosome- Gaillardia aristata. Oh boy. Look for more fun combos every Tuesday on this blog. Mondays will be for Mystery Mondays. We're getting new plants in at the nursery every day now. Hope it stops snowing soon so we can open... looking at this coming Saturday.