Euonymus, also known as ‘Spindle’ was given this name because, once upon a time it was used in making spindles used in spinning wool into yarn. It is native to most of the continents in the northern hemisphere. It home gardening it is used as an ornamental, a groundcover, or a hedge.
The species and cultivars vary greatly. They can be deciduous or evergreen, trees, shrubs, or vines with shiny, leathery leaves, small flowers in the spring, and berries in the fall. Most of their appeal comes from the wide range of foliage colors.
Good drainage is very important. Plants may be pruned at any time. Keep watered, and lightly feed plants in early spring with all-purpose slow release fertilizer worked and watered well into soil surface.
A couple of popular Spindle varieties:
E. radicans Winter Creeper– Clinging Vine. Zone 5. Held to support by root-like protrusions. 1/2 – 2″ evergreen leaves. Hardiest evergreen vine available.
E. fortunei Gold Splash– Compact Shrub. Zone 5. Most adaptable variegated Euonymus shrub. 2 – 4′ tall. Uses: Foliage Interest , Hedge , Border , Containers. Additional Features: Fall Color , Bird Lovers , Easy Care Plants , Evergreen , Variegated.
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If you are looking for a way to make your flower beds a little more interesting, you should try a ground cover plant. They prevent weeds from growing and help to control erosion. They are also an excellent way to make your garden projects look lush and complete.
If you think that the classic green foliage of ivy or sweet flag is not showy enough for your garden, you could always try a flowering ground cover. Flowering ground-covers come in various colors to compliment your garden, and some of them, like Rose Salmon Vigorosa, a creeping rose, can be interesting all by itself.
If you would like to browse through a few ground covers to see if you can find something that fits your garden check out this link: Ground Covers
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Shade plants are often come in a very limited color range because there is not enough sunlight to bring out most of those beautiful bright floral colors, and deep color is usually too dark to stand out. When designing a shade garden, one must rely heavily on textures and light-colored shade plants that will stand out in the low light.
This situation forces the gardener to be creative and shapes the subtle feel of the shade garden. Thankfully, there are some plants out there that have very interesting textures and the light eye-catching colors that are perfect for you shade garden. There are some new colors of
fern, brilliant variegated
hostas, and my favorite, new hues of
heuchera.
Heuchera comes in a wide variety of colors and has a ruffled texture that will add interest to your shade garden. My favorite variety of heuchera is Wayside Gardens’
‘Fire Chief’ which has a rich crimson color that will stand out against any deep green or purple foliage in your shade garden.
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When cutting hydrangeas, cut them just as blooms fully develop. Cut your flowers in the early morning, before the sun comes up to evaporate some of their moisture. Cutting at diagonal will allow the stem to take in the most amount of water, some people will even cut slits or fray the ends of the stems a little. Place your freshly cut flowers in a bucket of cool water to soak for an hour or two before arranging your final product.
Once you have your flowers, use a commercial floral preservative to get the best results. This will feed your flowers, maintain a constant pH, and will serve as an anti-microbial to prevent premature decay. You should be able to find this at a local nursery. Keep in mind that many gardeners and florists complain that hydrangeas wilt faster than other cut flowers and may require a little extra planning.
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Traditionally, old garden varieties and Hybrid Teas dominated the rose market. These varieties were delicate and bred specifically for their beauty. Their diseases, pests, and climate limitations were the burden of the individual gardener—a burden born with great pride, because very few people were willing to make the sacrifice. To have a yard full of roses spoke loudly, touting the reputation of the rosarian. Many people who grew roses grew little else. That is starting to change.
New, low-maintenance rose varieties are introducing rose gardening to new demographic groups, and redefining the rosarian. After the Rose Knock Out was chosen as an All- America Rose Selection (AARS) in 2000, it sold better in the following years than any rose ever before. The disease resistance and hardiness of this plant made it accessible to even the most novice gardeners. Commercial landscapers who normally avoided roses because of the hassle began using them everywhere. This was the start of a different way of thinking about roses. Breeders have seen how much people love easy roses, and I think roses will continue to get stronger.
Finally,
roses for everyone to enjoy. Some people believe that one can only hold the coveted titles of Rosarian through suffering and endless fussing with the flowers. That is not the case any longer and its a beautiful new day for us all.
If you are looking for an easy way to quickly increase your plant stock, or if you just want to root a cutting for a friend I will quickly walk through the methods for doing so, based on what type of plant you have. When reproducing semi-hardwoods, hardwood, or softwood cuttings, rooting can be very easy and rewarding if done correctly.
For cuttings from semi-hardwood plants like clematis choose young growth that hasn’t quite ripened. Trim the plant about 5 cm below a leaf node where the stem is bulging and just above the same node. Leave the leaf on the node, and split the stem in two pieces down the center. Insert the half-stems into your potting mix up to the bud. Water your cutting, and keep this in a well- lit warm place.
For hardwood cuttings such as roses, gooseberries, and apple, In late autumn, after all the leaves have fallen, choose a ripe branch from the current year’s growth. Remove the soft tip above a leaf node and cut just above another node, leaving about 5 nodes in between the ends. The size of these cuttings will vary greatly. Large fruit tree cuttings could be over 2 ft. long, while weigela cuttings will only be about 4 in. With your spade, make a hole in the ground appropriate for the size of your cutting,and put about and inch of sand in the bottom. Fill the hole with good topsoil and your cutting should become a new plant by spring.
Softwood cutting will be the easiest to root. Some plants, especially succulents, barely need any prompting to sprout roots. The best method, however, is to take your cutting from new tip growth just below a node, remove the lowest pairs of leaves and insert in a pot of pre-fertilized potting soil. Or, if you have a seed starting kit with rooting media, you could just insert your cutting into this. Make sure you keep the cutting warm and moist. You may see new growth within days.
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While browsing a few news articles for tidbits about Wayside Gardens I came across this article, “Ooty’s Wayside Gardens Go to Seed”, on the front page of The Hindu, India’s national newspaper. My first thought was (foolishly) “why would we be mentioned in an Indian newspaper?”– we don’t ship to India.
It is actually a very good article about how wayside gardens in Indian urban areas are increasingly at risk from modern development, surely not a concern isolated to India. As many American urban gardeners have found, it can be very hard to maintain a respectable plot in the hustle and bustle. Also, it is getting more and more difficult to conserve historically significant gardens in booming cities where air pollution and new construction dominate.
The revelation for me, however, was that “wayside gardens” are more than just the name of a company, they are a particular kind of garden. I had just never thought about it. Dictionary.com defines “wayside” as “the side of the way” (obviously) or “roadside.” Wayside gardens are simply decorative gardens planted along the roadside. For example, the DOT projects where they plant flowers or ornamental trees along the interstate, sometimes on hills facing traffic. In the spirit of the article, however, I understand a traditional wayside garden to be a more cozy thing, an invitation into your home, maybe even a botanical welcome mat. I guess the big cities have little time for such frivolities.
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Wayside Gardens was mentioned in the New York Times because we are one of the few US carriers of the super hardy Kordes roses. The roses from German breeder, Kordes, have been selectively bred since the early nineties to be resistant to everything that rosarians hate about growing roses.
No harmful chemicals are necessary to prevent black-spot– these rose are inately durable and are expected to perform even better in the climate of the United States. In Germany, the climate is cooler than most of the United States. The Kordes roses do well in germany, but these hardy lovelies are expected to take off in the places in the US that have longer growing seasons.
Check out the article here: Kordes Roses, in the New York times Home and Garden section.
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