Circumpolar Rock Garden
Established August 2002
updated June 3, 2007
The entire frontage of our yard was landscaped in August
of 2002. A professional landscaper hauled in 4 tons
of Dresser Trap basalt boulders and 3 tons of S. Dakota
Sioux red quartzite. These were placed to create
a somewhat natural set of outcroppings along the short
hill across our front yard, and along the granite sidewalk.
We also replaced our ancient and decaying concrete steps
and sidewalk from the steps to the front door--this was
the primary reason for the project. Rather than
using the usual concrete, we had the steps replaced with
four-foot wide St. Cloud granite slabs, and the walk with
matching granite pavers. The boulders are mostly
in the range of 1000 lbs, with one 1,800 lb stone.
That's about a dozen large, colorful and jagged volcanic
stones. We chose the volcanic stone to create a
wild, boreal feel to go with the 25 foot blue spruces
behind the stones. Being that it's on the North
side of our house, this area is somewhat shady, with one
zone quite sunny, and another zone in pretty deep shade,
receiving mostly Northeast and Northwest sun in our
"circumpolar" location.
The spruces create rather acidic conditions. Hence,
we are planting ericaceous plants and exotic dwarf conifers
as the theme. Heather, erica, miniature rhodedendron,
Wintergreen, Crowberry.
The intention is to get the pH down to 5.5 with a few
patches around 4.5. I'm still not there yet, but the
effect on the soil is quite visible. It takes time
to lower pH. Besides making a hospitable environment for
some very beautiful shade plants, grass will just not grow
well in acidic soil. That's the big thing I notice
after 3 winters--the grass that I dug out has not
returned--something I can't say about neutral to alkaline areas
I've worked.
Perhaps the greatest charm of this acidic garden is that it is
a beautiful and practical garden idea for the north side of a
house with large evergreen shade. This area
does get quite a bit of sun after the Spring Equinox, but
it was not an ideal location for trying a more
conventional garden that belongs on the south side of the
house. I dreaded the idea of being limited to hostas
or lily of the valley, which is what I notice most
gardeners do in similar situations. It had to be
unique.
The landscaper didn't do any of the gardening, and the
only sod they lifted was where the stones went.
We dug the sod, added peat moss, compost, iron sulfate, gypsum,
garden sulfur, and then worked it all in very meticulously.
Finally, we covered it all with pine bark mulch.
Not wood chips, but pure bark mulch, which smells so good
when it rains.
In Spring of 2004 I got an electronic pH tester, with a
nutrient detector also. I immediately went to check
the soil in several locations. I was surprised to
see that the acidification was not very strong yet.
The pH of most of the area was between 6 and 5.5. I
am shooting for 5 to 4.5. So, I added more sulfur
and iron sulfate to the
area where I first tried to get a Pink Ladyslipper to
grow. I also sprinkled more Bonide soil acidifier
(sulfur beads) and iron sulfate (Minnesota taconite mine
tailings) around existing plants. The iron sulfate
is an excellent acidic fertilizer, but it is very
strong. Apply sparingly and read the directions.
Here is a list of the plants I have placed in this
garden. The connecting theme in this
garden is the Ericaceae family, which includes the
Rhododendron, Blueberry, Wintergreen, Uva Ursi, Empetrum
and Bog Rosemary. Although each is distinct, there
are structural similarities that tie them
together.
Aconitum henryi 'Spark's Variety' -- Monkshood
or Wolfsbane [Ranunculaceae] Bachman's 1995 The flowers are larger
and more beautifully dark blue-purple than A. napellus, (see
below), but I suspect it's actually a cultivar of it. The
flowers are suspended out up to 6" from the main stem on
wavy horizontal stems, which makes it much more airy than the
densely packed A. napellus. 4 to 8 foot stems tend to be
almost vine-like. Ours are in a pretty shady location and
they reach 6 feet. Must be staked or placed in a tomato cage early
in the season. I moved them to the front yard to accompany
some boulder landscaping we have planned around our blue spruce
trees, where it will have acidic soil and more sun. This
is the third season that I will be playing a prank on unwitting
gardeners who pass by. I placed a nice clump of this about
2 feet to the side and a bit back from a rhododendron bush so
that the tall, lanky and flexible stalks can be bent and
threaded through the branches and tied inconspicuously with jute
twine. The effect is stunning, as the bush provides a
canvas for the blue violet flowers, and the casual look would
give the impression that something that looks like a
rhododendron is blooming in July with the most unusual color--deep
blue-purple!
Acontintum septentrinale "Ivorine"
Linder's 2000. White flowers, shorter in size--about 10-24".
It's leaves are very much like the A. napellus, but the flowers
are very different in shape--taller and skinnier. Very nice,
but reseeds itself vigorously. Cut the dead flower
heads off after blooming. The stems are sturdier than the
others, and don't seem to need staking. That's a plus.
I don't think they form the characteristic turnip tuber either. I
have this in a sunny location among vigorous growth of
larkspur and poppies. It does well there and seems
to reseed a bit. After dividing it, I placed clump
of these right up against the sidewalk in the circumpolar
garden.
Actea rubra -- red baneberry [ranunculaceae]
Spring 2004 Friends School plant sale, I think. Located in boreal
garden now in three locations in the circumpolar garden. A short version of the
cimicifuga ramosa with leaves that are a bit more raspberry
like. It is the only member of the ranunculaceae family that
produces berries, though the cimicifuga come close. The berries
of actea are poisonous. I have seen
them in the wild in both lime and acidic conditions. All three
of ours are in the boreal/acidic garden. In
2005, they all survived and expanded a bit. They
also bloomed for the first time. Of the three I put
in different spots, the one that gets the most sun has
expanded the most and flowered the best. They are
identified as shade lovers, but I recommend making sure
that they do get a bit of direct sun, or bright shade to
get the most beautiful plants possible. I would
describe the location as getting about 3 hours of direct
southern sun until the leaves of my maple come out, but
otherwise, it's pretty much bright shade. My general
impression at this point is that they are pretty tough,
bug resistant and fairly tolerant of variable water
conditions. (mild drought to overwatering) It
is also long-lasting with its beauty. It does not
collapse or get scraggly after blooming, so it would make
an excellent alternative to or accompaniment for astilbe.
[More
info and image]
Andromeda polifolia 'Blue Ice'
[Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Bog Rosemary.
Fall 2002 Rice Creek Gardens. Placed in the
rock garden. Pink, bell shaped flowers on a plant
that does look a bit like rosemary. It gets about
12" high and 15" around and has steely blue
foliage for winter. This plant has recently been
adopted into the English Heather Society.
Nice
description and images , and here
too. Now that we've seen it bloom in May
of 2003, this one gets high marks. It's very short,
which is what we want, and the flowers are really cute.
May 2006 starting last year just before blooming a quick and
virulent blight attacked about 2/3 of the shoots. The
remainder bloomed nicely, and the plant seemed to recover.
Again in 2006 this happened in spite of the much expanded and
healthy appearance it had in April. I have a suspicion that a
local cat or dog is pissing on it. I had a healthy miniature
evergreen and miniature rhododendron have similar reaction in the
same general vicinity. In 2006 the other two plants look
fine. I'm puzzled. Still, the andromeda looks quite
lovely. The blooms are subtle and cute, yet very
visible. In 2006 I am attempting to grow a daphne, which
sounds like a similar challenge. In Spring 2007 the second
plant is quite dead and the first one is looking shabby enough that
I am going to remove it. In retrospect, I suspect one of these
causes for this failure: excessive sun, garden sulfur, animal urine
(probably cat), fungus. That's a few too many variables, and
the attractive appearance I described above is only possible with
happy plants, and this one is way too expensive to treat as an
annual. In a last ditch effort, I moved it to the Northeast
corner of the garden where it will get only morning sun during
spring and summer. After a week, it is looking better than it
did.
Anemones
- Anemone sylvestris -- Snowdrop Anemone
I planted these in the circumpolar garden from
2002 to 2005. Although I decided that it was too
aggressive for my small, intensive front yard garden,
this anemone clearly thrives in mildly acidic soil.
- Anemone X hupehensis 'September Charm'
-- Japanese Anemone Leitner's 1995 Sun or light shade.
Rich, evenly moist, well-drained soil. Spreads by underground
stems to form clumps. It took six years for ours
to get to the point that we noticed it was spreading
like that. The plant in our main bed, with
alkaline-neutral soil lived for eight years but
vanished in the cold, dry winter of 2003. The
two in our boreal garden also succumbed to the nasty
weather. Perhaps I will try again, but keep in mind
that it needs some mulch for winter. Once it takes hold, it is fairly aggressive,
spreading 3-5 feet away from the main plant. You
will need to dig out those underground runners.
Use them to propagate by root cuttings. Divide
it after flowering in late fall. Supposedly it
grows from seed too, though only a few seedlings are
evident in my garden. It emerges fairly early in spring
(tulip time) with little leaves that look like grape
leaves. This is an absolute must for September-October
flowers in Minnesota, the pink flowers have irregular,
large petals that give it a whimsical look. When
in bloom, it is covered with flowers in airy masses
about 30-40" above the ground. Click
here to see a picture.
- Anemonella thalictroides 'double flower purple'
cultivar. Friends Plant Sale 2005. I
paid about $35 for this in a very small pot. It
was so small and fragile looking--I'd guess that it
was a second season seedling when I got it. In
2006 it increased in size, but not really any increase
in the number of shoots, however, it is in a fairly
shady spot that gets bright shade without ever having
direct sun during winter. As of Spring 2007 it's
still there, but it is quite small still. I
think that's because the spot is vulnerable to hose
damage, and it got hit a couple of times, breaking off
a major stem. I have some protection around it
now.
Arctostaphylos
uva-ursi 'Massachusetts'-- Bearberry, Uva Ursi [ericaceae or
empetraceae] Fall
2002. This low growing shrub will spread across dry,
sandy or gravel soil on hillsides, even with some salt
spray, so long as it has acidic conditions. It likes
sun, but will take some shade, which makes it an excellent
candidate around evergreens and oak trees where growing
grass is out of the question. The berries are edible
and medicinal, though not especially nutritious or
tasty. The berries endure to Spring, making them
important for late winter forage for birds and some
mammals. Lots
of information available at US Forestry Service.
One plant in a gallon pot exploded with runners in two
years so that it now covers about 6-8 square feet.
Its seeds need fire to open, then cold stratification, so
it's not likely to reseed in the average yard. The
USFS recommends it for erosion control, and notes that it
is an important plant for recovery after fire. Being
a member of the family of ericaceae, it has the
attractive, pale, bell-shaped flowers similar to those of
blueberry, but smaller and less showy although they are a
bit more colorful. In structure, it's vaguely
similar to the vaccinium, but
much more prostrate, with darker, waxier leaves on long,
running stems. I really like it, and have seen no
problems other than the speed at which it grows. Maintenance
obviously involves assiduous pruning of the fast growing
runners. In Spring 2006 it has a significant show of
flowers for the first time. Apparently it flowers
only on older stems--perhaps even three seasons old.
I estimate that it has some runners that are about 7 feet
long. Spring 2007 we had a tough early Spring
for ericaceous plants. Early warmth teased them into
bloom and new growth, but a hard freeze of several weeks
had a harsh effect on this and other similar plants.
There was a lot of singed brown foliage, and then some
die-back. I think it's going to be okay, but it is
evidently not happy.
Athyrium nipponicum 'Metallicum' -- Japanese Painted
Fern [Dryopteridaceae] 1995 Small, shade loving plant. Sturdy and easy to grow.
Late to emerge in spring. It looks oddly brown and artificial in
May, reaching its normal coloration and height by the beginning
of June. The multicolored leaves make it the closest thing to a
coleus in the fern family. Excellent idea for subtle color
and texture in a shady spot where you can cultivate such a small
plant. It's about 6-8" tall. Highly recommended,
this is my favorite fern. Period. After six years, ours
grew to a size where it was ready to be divided. I did that
in late Spring, and watered it regularly. No problem.
Eleven years later I have divided and moved them about 4 or 5 times
and never had the slightest problem. The only thing to keep in
mind is that they are slow to get settled in.
Athyrium X 'Ghost' (Athyrium niponicum var.
pictum x Athyrium filix-femina) -- Ghost Fern
[Dryopteridaceae] 2003 I forget where I got this
one. It's very pretty, and easy to grow. Refer to the
entry on the Japanese Painted Fern above because the only
significant difference seems to be the color of the foliage--which
is an unusual pale green, almost white, with pinkish veins and
stems.
It's located in a pretty shady location in the boreal garden.
One thing I've noticed is that it seems to attract an inordinate
amount of attention from passersby. I tend to keep the
original plastic spike with the label on it near my plants until I
get them memorized, and they have enough gravitas to make their
location obvious in Spring. This particular plant's spike is
almost always pulled out of the ground and lying next to the plant,
indicating that somebody went to significant trouble to stand on a
boulder and lean across to pull it out and read it.
Betula glandulosa (unknown
if var. hallii) (Bog birch, resin birch, arctic dwarf
birch) Linder's Fall 2002 in rock garden.
This birch gives you all the beauty of young birch
branches (that reddish brown, textured surface) on a very
shapeable, tree-like shrub that runs about six foot high.
It's not supposed to get white, but from the looks of
my plant (which may be a garden cultivar--it was poorly
labeled) it could transform with age as birches do.
Old specimens can reach ten feet, but pruning should make
it easy to prevent this. It is hardy to zone one,
which means that it's perfectly happy in Alaskan Yukon
tundra. Although it's home is in land considerably
colder than metropolitan Minnesota, it should be hardy
here. (Four years later it looks excellent)
It sits atop a small man-made hill--a little berm that I
put in to create a slope for drainage. I have
watered it, but not to excess. It looks to be very
happy.
The bog birch catkins are a food source for chickadees
and other birds. Internet searches revealed that
it likes well-drained acidic soil (which it has).
The
forest service has excellent information. It's on the north side
of the house, but it's a sunny location in summer, and
fairly sunny in winter. Being that it's at
the top of the 20" berm, I thought that it would
be a very good idea to build a volcano crater around it,
building a water-retaining lip. It apparently does
not transplant easily. But, at this point,
there are no diseases, no bugs, nice leaves. In
2005 I noticed that it's getting kind of shaggy--the
branches get long and they are very flexible, so the whole
bush gets blown about pretty dramatically by the
wind. In July I shortened them so that the
whole thing is about 5-6 feet tall. That should make
for a stouter infrastructure. After four years and
one pretty vigorous pruning last summer, I very much like this
tree. If you keep the suckers and side shoots off from the
lower portion, it makes a beautiful mini-tree. At first I was wishing
that I had gotten something a bit showier, or a full sized
birch. The leaves are really cute. Spring
2006 it still does not show any whiteness in the bark, but it has
that attractive deep red tone that young birch branches
have. I recommend it
highly.
Calluna vulgaris spp. -- Scotch Heather
[Heaths and Heathers, Ericaceae or Empetraceae]
Note: Heathers are not really hardy in zone 4b where
we live. They require some extra attention, like
showy roses. In climates of zone 6 (possibly 5?)
they are very good on slopes with moist, sandy and acidic
soil. They will only reseed if they are
burned by fire. I tried toasting some seeds on the
bbq, but they didn't seem to germinate in the open
garden. Maybe they would in pots. I have layered several plants now.
(That means I buried a couple of branches so the tips
stuck out, held it down with a rock, and then I will cut
and dig the clump up.) This technique seems to be
working well, but I haven't yet severed the connection to
the mother plant.
If it's flowers you seek, then go for the Erica species.
The Callunas are beautiful enough in their foliage.
I have all three planted fairly close together, and I'm
going to have to move them apart this fall. They
are starting to grow into each other.
There are some simple rules to follow to keep Heathers
and Heaths.
- Cover it in leaves or snow for the winter. Anything that
is actually exposed to air at zero degrees or below will die back
or at least permanently loose leaves. I uncover it around
the first part of April, but I re-cover it with leaves if I hear
that an ice storm or extra cold weather is coming. Spring
snow fall won't hurt it at all. Dry, super cold air
will desiccate the leaves. They also seem to dislike
freezing rain. You might want to cover the mulched plant
with a burlap bag anchored to the ground to keep the leaves in
place. I always scoop snow onto them when I shovel in the
winter.
- Avoid watering it with tap water. I capture rain water
or use peat moss to condition water. I regularly use vinegar
(2 cups per 5 gallon bucket of water). Heathers are acid lovers.
I give garden sulphur, occasional coffee grounds, and some iron
sulfate. I also have my soaker hose system
set up so it misses the heathers. I hand water them.
- They hate nitrogen. Do not give them things like blood
meal, fish emulsion or other high nitrogen foods. I
have given them low doses of balanced chemical fertilizers
recommended by a local gardener who cultivated many heathers I
have.
The Callunas aren't terribly difficult, but not recommended
for lazy gardeners. Don't let anyone tell you that they can't
be grown in Minnesota. Click
here to visit the Heather Society web page in the UK.
They have a very nice Handy
Guide to Heathers and Heaths. Heaths
and Heathers--a great commercial site in Washington. This
looks like a great place to order heathers by mail. There
is an excellent
article on growing heather in Canada. My experience reflects
his quite well.
I currently have 5 cultivars and an erica, so this next few years will
tell me a lot. This
article discusses the different species and their hardiness
in cold climates.
The winter of 2002-2003 was very tough on heathers.
None of them died, but some of them were not looking so
good. Snow cover is important here, and we had none.
I think that what got them was a combination of cold and
dry soil. The new ones in the front yard were more
pampered with water, but less pampered with complete burial
in leaves than those in back. The result was that
two of three plants in back were very nearly destroyed.
It will take a couple of years to nurse one of them back
to health. The ones in front were in excellent shape
where they were covered, but exposed leaves were desiccated
like a rhododendron.
- Calluna vulgaris 'Drum
Ra'--Scotch Heather. Rice Creek Gardens in Fall
2002. Has white flowers on vigorous deep green
foliage.
- Calluna vulgaris 'Green Cardinal'--Scotch Heather.
Garden City 1996. 15"h x 18". Bright green foliage that
turns reddish purple in late season. It will be dark when
you uncover it in spring, and then it greens up. Trim off
any dead ends of branches that were singed by cold. It's
more stiff and upright than the sprawling, curly 'Sir John Carrington'
or Erica. This one is the more vigorous of the two
Callunas we have. It is also more sensitive to Winter
cold air--losing more leaves if it gets too cold. Bury it
completely in leaves as soon as the temperatures start dipping
below 10 degrees F. The flowers are lilac pink, and are
quite nice. This appears to be the easiest one for cold
climates. You have to keep it (and all the
others) from being exposed to the elements during
winter, but given that kind of care, you'll have
little or no trouble keeping it in zone 4b (or at
least in urban zone 4b).
- Calluna vulgaris
'Little Orchid'--Scotch
Heather. This one looks really good four years
later, but not
as vigorous in the rate of growth as the Green Cardinal.
- Calluna vulgaris
'Robert Chapman'. This one is doing extremely well, but not
as vigorous in the rate of growth as the Green Cardinal.
Very pretty pale green. Has survived three winters, and looks great.
- Calluna vulgaris 'Sir John Carrington'. Garden
City 1996. 12" h x 18". Chartreuse to yellow foliage
changes to red in fall. Dark maroon-purple flowers from Aug-Sept.
This one is tough, but it doesn't grow as fast as the
others. This one has colorful foliage and deep lilac pink
flowers. Click
for image.
Daphne x 'Lawrence Crocker' [Thymelaeaceae] Spring
2006 this hybrid daphne looks absolutely beautiful,
and allegedly fragrant. This Thymelaeaceae Juss.
family of plants is new to me. Although there are a
number of species, it looks to me like the daphnes are the
only genus in the family. They are toxic, and
temperamental. In appearance, they seem rather
similar to Andromedas, but the flowers aren't so
unusual. Although they prefer a more neutral soil, I
am going to put it in the circumpolar garden, where I
think it will look right at home if I can keep it
alive. A site I linked below states that an expert
said of these miniature glories that they can die suddenly
and inexplicably. That sounds rather like the
andromedas... This is an expensive experiment for
2006. Since I have no experience of these, and have
never heard of anyone growing them here, I will withhold
my endorsement. In May 2007 it looks great. It
has increased in size and has very healthy leaves. [more
garden info, extensive
botanical info, extensive
history and tips, nice
image at Dave's Garden.]
Dryopteris erythrosora --
Japanese Shield Fern, Autumn Fern [Dryopteridaceae] Spring
2006 from Linders (Monrovia brand) This fern caught my eye right
away. It is unusual for its fall coloration.
Also, it's relatively compact and non-invasive--both of
which are highly valuable traits in the fern family.
Although it's native to the southern USA, it's supposed to
be able to take our cold winters, given that it doesn't
get much or any direct sun. It's supposed to be
18-24" tall.
Dryopteris felix 'Femina Nana' -- Miniature
Ladyfern.
Rice Creek 1996. This 3-5" ultra dwarf fern started out in
our raised bed. It was pretty happy there, but was
apparently stunted by the excess sun it was getting.
I moved about half of the clump to the front circumpolar
garden to a spot that only gets a bit of morning sun in
the Spring. It's a star attraction in our fern collection amidst
another small fern: Athyrium nipponicum 'Metallicum' (which
spreads horizontally more than vertically--about 4-5" tall.)
They are both simply stunning. Ferns require acidic soil and
some shade. I have not done a thing with this fern other than
water it and give it acidic conditions. It spreads very slowly
Empetrum nigrum 'Compass Harbor' --
Crowberry from Maine [Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Fall 2002 from Rice Creek Gardens.
This beautiful plant looks something like an Erica, but a bit more
vertical. This is a real boreal trooper--found in tundra areas
and boreal bogs around the entire globe. According to the
owner of Rice Creek, it's quite durable. Considering that
a substantial plant in a half-gallon pot only cost $8.50, this plant
must be fairly vigorous too. She said that it doesn't require
a lot of moisture, though it does appreciate it. It is apparently
both a bog plant and dry forest floor alpine. It produces
delicious blueberry-like fruit that can be harvested during the
winter and early spring--frozen. Hikers can use them for emergency
water. Links to sites with more info and images: Ethnobotany
and Boreal
Forest and Ascentia
and USDA
Forest Service. Apparently it grows well in highly polluted
boreal areas, where it seems to love
heavy metals. May 2006 it has little green berries all
over the stems for the first time. Also, click
the picture
Epimedium unknown species 'Chen
Yi #4' Barrenwort [Berberidaceae (Barberry Family)]
This rare species was "rescued" from development
in Southeast Asia by a Chinese
woman named Chen Yi, who sells a vast array of
botanical treasures from Asia. I didn't research
that before I bought it at the Quaker "Friends School
of Minnesota Plant Sale." I was surprised to
learn that the Quakers had chosen to buy from such an
unpopular source. I
did some research on Dave's Garden for reviews or
critiques of the nursery and found this. It is
fairly typical in appearance, except for the fact that the
leaves are elongated and more pointed, the edges have
stronger "spines" and the fuzziness of the
leaves is more pronounced. Overall, it gives the
impression that it will be about 1/2 the height of the
normal garden varieties. It has white flowers,
tinged with violet, and they're about twice the size of
typical epimedium flowers. Very nice. [Image
of flower]
Euonymus fortuneii 'minus' variegatta. [Celastraceae]
(Wintercreeper) Fall 2002 in rock garden. From Rice
Creek Gardens. 2003 Leitners. Stay tuned for updates. In
the Euonymus species is a more bushy and large plant commonly
known as the burning bush. Others are large creepers
or ground covers. This is apparently a dwarf version
of the creeping
variety. The flowers are not notable, but the
green and white foliage is very beautiful. The
tough winter killed it. We bought another one, much
larger from Leitner's in 2003. In 2005 it is
really doing well. It survived the winter quite nicely and
once the growth started, there were no dead branches. The
variegated foliage is very nice, and it appears to be a quick
grower. In Spring 2006 it looks extremely good. I
love this thing, but it is a fast runner. The
creeping shoots are well over six feet now.
Gaultheria procumbens (Wintergreen, Box Berry, Ground
Holly, Mountain Tea, Ground Tea, Partridge Berry, Petite the du
bois, Teaberry, Spice Berry or Checkerberry) [Ericaceae] Rice
Creek Gardens Fall 2002, Spring 2003 Another larger
specimen from Highland Nursery in Spring 2004 in rock garden.
Spring 2006: added a Monrovia brand 'Red Barron'. That means
we have three slightly different cultivars. It's a 6" high ground
cover with waxy leaves and red berries. The leaves contain
the aromatic oil that provides wintergreen flavoring for candy.
The berries are edible, and much loved by birds.
It's a circumpolar plant found in the Minnesota
Boundary Waters area. It does very, very well in our
yard. I give this one my highest endorsement for
shady acid soil. It spreads nicely from the
roots. Click for picture
and info,
close-up
Hacquetia epipactis [Apiaceae] We got
this gem from Rice
Creek Gardens in 1995, moved them and seeded them
all over the garden. A nice clump was moved out
to the rock garden in Fall 2002. I call it "Hellebore
anemone" because it seems like a cross between the
two plants, though it is actually more closely related
to the Eryngium (Sea holly) a rather thistle-like alpine
plant native to Europe. The flowers are bracts colored
like a euphorbia--brilliant chartreuse. The flowers
shoot up first, then come the leaves. Once the flowers
fade, the seeds are nearly ripe, and they drop off as
the bracts turn into leaves and flop over. True
leaves come up behind them, looking something like a hellebore.
The flowers stand about 3" high and about 1"
across. After blooming, the heavy, waxy leaves stand
about 5" high, and form a dense clump. The
bract flowers turn darker green, the stems lengthen and
droop over, perfectly designed to deposit seeds right
at the perimeter of the colony. Ours is spreading
steadily, but not rapidly from its roots and reseeding
modestly just beyond its perimeter. After I saw how readily
its seeds take simply by dropping them in desirable locations
right after they ripened, I started gathering the seeds
for more careful planting. I'm not sure if the seeds
need stratification or not. Now we have starts all
around the garden, making a cheery display that attracts
more attention than anything else in the early spring
garden. It seems to draw people like a magnet.
I gave one to my mother, and some jealous neighbor stole
it out of her front yard.
Once they set their seeds, they loose the vivid color,
turning a deep green like the leaves. They make
a very nice ground cover for a rock garden or bouldered
area. They grow nicely in pretty deep deciduous
shade, but they need early spring sun. I have only
just started some in full sun, and a clump in deep shade
is doing well, but spreading less quickly.
In order to pull off a successful harvest of the precious
seeds, you really need to keep an eye on them. They
ripen quickly. Cup your hand under a flower and
very gently stroke the seeds in the center of the flower--they're
fairly obvious. When they are ripe, they will fall
out of the flower at the slightest touch or flick.
The problem is that you you have to catch them before
a breeze knocks them out. If you have good eyes,
it's not impossible to see fallen seeds on the ground
and pick them up. They are usually pale green when
they are ripe, so you can't tell by looking. Once
they drop, they turn dark quickly. I put them into
an open container to dry for a few weeks, then I just
plant them about 1/8" deep in loose soil. This
is a very easy plant, and a prize possession in our garden.
The seedlings will bloom in their second season.
This plant is extremely highly recommended. Click
here to see a nice picture. I still can't believe
it's not in the
Ranunculaceae family. Apparently it is occasionally
a companion of Hellebores in the wild.
Hemerocallis 'Stella D'oro' expensive little bastards
that bloom all summer long on short plants. Two
1 gallon pots planted in the sunny side of the rock garden.
We want them to spread in our front yard along the street.
Nice color of yellow.
Heuchera X brizoides 'Mt. St. Helens' --Coral Bells [Saxifragaceae
(like Astilbe)]. Remove dead or damaged evergreen foliage in spring.
Tends to look unattractive in early spring. However, it's an
easy plant, and it looks quite nice now on the north
facing slope of our front yard. They have really
attractive red flowers and they flower for a long
time. Low maintenance. Inexpensive.
Bright flowers for a long time. Check, check,
check. This is a nice plant.
Iris Reticulata. Dwarf Iris.
Fall 2001 This is the second round of planting these.
The first batch only lasted 1-3 years. They are
marvelous plants, but apparently not long-lived.
I scattered them around widely in the garden. I
like the effect. More planted in rock garden
Fall 2002
Jeffersonia diphylla -- Twinleaf Ground --
Squirrel Pea -- [Berberidacea (like Epimedium)] Spring
2007 from Linders. This underappreciated woodland
wildflower is a native, endangered species. I was
pleased to find them at Linders because I feel pretty
confident that they were cultivated rather than
pilfered. It's too early to comment on its
viability, but the appearance is wonderful. Imagine
an epimedium with leaves that look like butterflies.
The flower is rather like Hepatica, but larger. Mine
hasn't flowered yet. It's very enchanting because,
like Epimedium, the wiry stems make the
"butterflies" quiver in the breeze.
Juniper horizontalis 'Blue Chip' -- Blue Chip Juniper
[Cupressaceae] Linder's Fall 2002 in rock garden. This
is one of those sprawling, ground hugging junipers with the growth
that tends to go off in points like a star (click
for good image of the typical form, but this is a different variety
that is more green in color). They are fairly fast growing,
making up to a five or six foot wide carpet of very blue foliage.
It is native
to our area, and is known for its hardiness well into zone 2.
It is recommended for xeriscaping situations, but it is suggested
that you water it during winter in warmer climates. Click
for image of plant growing in sand dunes. Click
for image. More
information. The needles aren't as unpleasant to touch as some
junipers, but you want to wear gloves when you work with it.
I am doing a semi-bonsai with it. Starting with an 24"
wide, angular plant in a gallon pot, I pruned out most of the vertical
growth, and all of the growth from the center, thus exposing the
branches there for bonsai wiring. I cleaned up lots of dead
growth, and generally made it look as "oriental" as I
could. I then washed as much soil out of it as I could, root
pruned it, focusing on removing only larger roots, and leaving feeder
roots. Then I placed it into a broad shallow pot with stones
in the bottom, and a layer of composted bark. The pot I used
is one of those plastic green pots used for hanging baskets that
are ready made at the greenhouse. I was pretty careful to
bang the pot to knock the compost back down into the roots, and
do the Japanese technique of chop-sticking the soil mix into the
roots. The idea is to stunt the growth, and get it accustomed
to root pruning. This pot was then buried in the soil so that
the top part of the roots is slightly above the rim of the pot,
and the rim of the pot is below the soil. I mulched right
up to the stem of the plant and out the full root radius with long
strand sphagnum moss, and placed a water retaining crater around
the whole affair, and placed bark mulch up to the sphagnum mulch.
I will water it well this fall until frost, then I will give let
it grow for one year in the pot in the soil. I will then dig
it up, pot and all, root prune it again, but place it into a larger
pot, and bury that pot the same way for two years. I plan
to put some bonsai copper wires on it once I see if it adapts to
this first session of abuse. At the end of that period, I
will dig it up one more time, assuming that it is stunted and used
to being root pruned, and then I will just let it grow in the soil.
Since it will be adapted to root pruning, I will be able to dig
it up again if I think it's getting too vigorous. My
hope is to create an exotic juniper bush that will ripple up and
down off the ground, and spill over some boulders near it.
I will focus on getting the wooden stems in the center to be visible.
Spring 2005 update: It has had a second root pruning last Spring,
and it is doing fine. It's definitely stunted. It looks
about the same as when I first put it in. Maybe it needs
a bigger pot. Spring 2006: the results have been quite
good. The only complaint I'd have is that it really
did stunt the growth quite a bit. It has gotten
bushier, so I am able to thin the growth some, but the
overall diameter has not changed much at all.
Lewisia 'Pinkie' - A L. longipetala x L.
cotyledon hybrid -- bitter root [Portulacaceae,
more
on the family] Spring 2004 Rice Creek Garden. Small
and cute like an alpine saxifrage, with a bit of a "hens and
chickens" look, and a bit of a sedum look. It has cute,
cute pink, waxy flowers. They are alpines native to Western North
America. Spring 2005, they bloomed for the first time, and
look just great. Spring 2006 they look excellent. They
are on a west facing slope in the less acidic part of our circumpolar
garden. We have a second Lewisia (unknown
species) that was given to us from a friend's garden in
2005. It's much larger and the flowers are
pink-orange are about 1" across in mid-May. I
really, really like these. [click
for image, more information
about Lewisias]
Lysimachia nummularia -- Creeping Jenny,
Moneywort -- [Primulaceae] Spring 2007. Two
4" pots are in the circumpolar garden. I am
trying them in shadier locations where I am having
difficulty getting other things to grow. The foliage
is quite nice, even if I don't get blooms. The
upside of not getting blooms is that they can't
reseed. The reviews I've read suggest that cold
weather and shade slow it down. One of the plants I
put in a place that tends to get dried out from the Spruce
roots. If I can get it to run around under those
trees without taking over the garden, I'll keep it.
So, I'm not ready to recommend this one.
Pinus mugo pumilio-- Dwarf Mugo Pine, Mountain Pine [Pinaceae]
Fall 2002 Linder's in rock garden. Click
for image Excellent container plant for bonsai, excellent
for rock gardens and coexisting with perennials. The tag says
they get three to five feet tall, and six to ten feet wide.
Native to the Alps, it loves acidic soil, which it has. It
apparently is very tough, and can even tolerate fairly dry and sunny
conditions, though it can take some shade. It should be very
happy on the northwest corner of the berm, about half-way down the
side. I am doing a semi-bonsai with it. Starting with
an 18" spherical plant in a gallon pot, I pruned it to clean
it up in the center, and remove lots of small internal branches.
I then washed as much soil out of it as I could, root pruned it,
focusing on removing only larger roots, and leaving feeder roots.
Then I placed it into a broad shallow pot with stones in the bottom,
and a layer of composted bark. The pot I used is one of those
plastic green pots used for hanging baskets that are ready made
at the greenhouse. I was pretty careful to bang the pot to
knock the compost back down into the roots, and do the Japanese
technique of chop-sticking the soil mix into the roots. The
idea is to stunt the growth even more, and get it accustomed to
root pruning. This pot was then buried in the soil so that
the top part of the roots is slightly above the rim of the pot,
and the rim of the pot is below the soil. This allows the
shallow feeder roots to spread out horizontally, but they
can be easily sheared when I lift the plant for root
pruning. I mulched right
up to the stem of the plant and out the full root radius with long
strand sphagnum moss, and placed a water retaining crater around
the whole affair, and placed bark mulch up to the sphagnum mulch.
I will water it well this fall until frost, then I will give let
it grow for one year in the pot in the soil. I will then dig
it up, pot and all, root prune it again, but place it into the
same pot, and bury that pot the same way for two years. I plan
to put some bonsai copper wires on it once I see if it adapts to
this first session of abuse. At the end of that period, I
will dig it up one more time, assuming that it is stunted and used
to being root pruned, and then I will just let it grow in the soil.
Since it will be adapted to root pruning, I will be able to dig
it up again if I think it's getting too vigorous. My
hope is to create a bush about three feet wide and two feet high.
Fall of 2005 I noticed that it was growing
vigorously. In Spring 2006 I observed that some
thirsty roots had gotten over the rim of the pot and were
gorging the thing. I pruned it heavily in late
April, and now it's looking great. The stunting
effect is very obvious very quickly. More
info on mugos
Rhododendrons [Ericaceae
or Empetraceae] at this point, we only have two specimens
in this family, though we are beginning a collection of
ericaceous plants. There are almost 1,000 different
species within the Rhododendron genus. This
page is a nice starting point for information on them:
Vireya Website's Rhododendron
page.
- Rhododendron 'Karen Seleger' [Ericaceae or Empetraceae]
Fall of 2002 in rock garden from Rice Creek. Stay
tuned for updates. This little beauty is only
15" tall with violet purple flowers. It is
supposedly quite hardy, and its compact form should
make it very durable in its location. This plant
is extremely expensive for its size, so we only got
one rather small one about 8" tall. Spring
2006 it's looking much better after almost losing it
last year. It bloomed nicely, but is a bit
sparse because it lost so much foliage, and it's an
evergreen. It has increased to about 10" in
height. The color of the blooms is nice--a
deeper red tone than the usual PJM pink. Spring
2007 it took a bit of a hit in the cold Spring, but it
did bloom, and it's getting lots of new
leaves.
- Rhododendron X 'P.J.M.' -- PJM Rhododendron [Ericaceae
or Empetraceae] Fall 2002 in rock garden from Linder's.
As all of this genus, it needs acidic soil and more
shade than sun, but good light. Ours is on the
east edge of the rock garden, up behind the blueberry.
It gets bright violet pink flowers, and grows 3-5 feet
tall, and may spread much more than that. Four
years later, it looks really great. It has grown
some in size, but not excessively. It blooms
really well. Monrovia
description
Rubus chamaemorus -- Cloudberry [Rosaceae] Spring
2003. This yellow raspberry grows rhizomes underground, which could make
it a nasty pest except for one thing: it is very short and the stems
die back to the ground every year. I bet you can mow
it. It did very well in 2004, and obviously is of the
underground spreading ilk. It quadrupled in size.
Hmmm. It's so small and cute. Spring 2005: It is
continuing to spread underground, reaching up to 3 feet from the
original planting. The flowers are visible for the first time
this year. They are a bright, strong pink/mauve. I am
completely seduced. Spring 2006, the spreading is continuing,
but not as quickly as I thought. It's quite well-behaved, but
the location is rather shady. No blooms and some caterpillar
must have stripped it. Spring 2007 it is more
vigorous looking this year. It bloomed. So far
(four years later) I'm not greatly impressed, but I think
that more sun would help. The owner of Rice Creek
gardens personally recommended it for shade, and I think
it's cute, but not enough blooms and no berries yet.
The blooms are very pretty and quite large. Click
for image and info. more
images
Saxifraga Crustata [saxifragaceae]
2002 Rice Creek Gardens. Looks like a "hens and
chicks", but much finer and smaller. 2006 it
looks very nice, but the eunymous is crowding it out, so
we'll have to move it.
Saxifraga 'Peter Pan' Mossy Saxifrage [saxifragaceae]
2002 Rice Creek Gardens. Four years later, this is
doing extremely well in a pretty shady spot underneath the
miniature birch tree. It is ultra small at about
1" and cute pink flowers on 2" stems. It's
spreading like a bed of moss.
(Semi)aquilegia Ecalcarata [Ranunculaceae] Rice
Creek Gardens Fall 2002. This incredible little rock garden
gem has rose-wine colored spurless flowers, otherwise, it's just
like an alpine columbine. Look at this
lovely picture. There is some debate as to whether or
not it's actually just an aquilegia, this seems an odd argument.
It's obviously a very close relative. As near as I can tell after
two and a half growing seasons, the Semiquilegia is immune to
the problems that plague the larger leaved Aquilegias. It
is only about 3" high in its leaves, but a mature plant sends
up the lovely flowers about 10" high. The sellers on the
'net list it as hardy to zone 6, but one can safely assume that if
Rice Creek sells it, it's going to be hardy in Zone 4. I have
both specimens in a fairly sunny north exposure in fertile, acidic
soil. They both thrived for a season, and then succumbed to
crown rot, or something like that, vanishing almost
without a trace. I expect to see some seedlings,
though. However, unlike other
columbines, known for their interspecies promiscuity, this one
will not hybridize with other columbines. Native to central
China and Tibet. Spring 2006 the seeds I sprinkles about
are evident now, and doing quite well. However,
there are no plants more than 2 years old.
Therefore, my advice is to be certain to plant some of the
seeds in situ to assure their survival. In
spite of the short lifespan, I still recommend them
strongly.
Smilacina stellata (L.)
Desf. var. crassa Vict. -- False Solomon's Seal,
Solomon's Plume [Liliaceae] Rice Creek Garden 2004. Placed
in sunny North exposure in our acid soil garden, these are
incredibly short and cute. This naturally ocurring cultivar
from Rice Creek is a dwarf that only gets about 3-6" tall with all
the leaves compressed vertically, as if the stem were a
telescope. Shortness makes it perfect for moist alpine and boreal woodland
settings. As the rhizomes run outward and develop, the roots
disappear along the older lengths of rhizome. Spring 2005,
after mistakenly thinking that they died late last Summer, they
spread. Now there are about three plants for each of the two I
put in, and they are clearly spreading underground. All
Smilacinas should be considered slow to start, but quickly turn into
vigorous thugs. Fortunately, like the Solomon's Seal, the
rhizomes aren't terribly deep and they're easy to find. They are very
happy in the sunnier side of the boreal garden. In Spring 2006 they
are sprouting all over the place. Like the other
members of the family, they run about in the garden,
covering a surprising distance, and never appearing in the
same place twice. The ultra compact size helps keep
them from being considered total pests. In Spring
2007 they are spreading widely about the garden now, and
look great peeping up through low ground cover. They are also known as Maianthemum stellatum and
Convallaria stellata click
for general information, more
information and more
information, information
on uses and cultivation, closeup
of flower
Thalictrum coreanum (pink) Rice Creek 1997 expensive,
only 6" high. A real beauty, T. coreanum is a
pretty unusual member of the family. The wiry stems attach
to the underside of the leaves giving it some of the personality
and structure of an epimedium. The shape of the leaves is
about halfway between T. aquilegifolium and a Nasturtium.
The flowering occurs from mid-May throughout the season.
The flowers are sparse puffs like the T. aquilegifolium.
Mine are white in color with a faint pink tint. The
leaves are mottled--green, chartreuse and russet, especially in
Spring. It likes neutral soil, and seems to tolerate some
acid. It likes moist shade, but I find that they do quite well
in more sunny locations, given the soil is good and watering is
consistent. Extremely highly recommended.
Thalictrum isopyroides -- Zi
jin ye tang song cao (Chinese) Rice Creek Gardens
Spring 2006. No flowers yet as of mid-May 2007, but
it looks great. This tiny Chinese alpine is probably
the most delicate and beautiful for its foliage--perhaps
even more so than the T. kiusianum. However,
I'm waiting to see the flowers and such before
recommending it. This
Canadian garden supplier has some pictures of it, and
you can even by it and some other very exotic beauties.
Thalictrum kiusianum (pink) (Kyushy Meadow Rue) Outstanding
small meadow rue. Very expensive. They seem
to be trouble free and slow to spread. They need some light,
and because they are so small, they are easily shaded out by other
plants. Give them rich soil, even water, and apparently
they can tolerate some acid in the soil. I have not seen any reseeding.
Spreading is by rhizomes. They look like
tiny versions of the T. aquilegiafolium, but the leaves
are more like the Anemonella thalictroides. There
is an image
of the plant in a large mass, which indicates how floriferous
it is, but it doesn't capture the essence of the plant because
it is so small. This
picture is better, but too dark. They range in color
from faintly lavender-white to mauve. In Spring 2002 I put
in a couple in the circumpolar garden, and four years
later, they are definitely starting to spread into a nice
ground cover. I really love these.
Thalictrum zhongdian (from China).
Spring 2006 Rice Creek Gardens. Located in the
Circumpolar garden, this Chinese alpine specimen appears
to be similar in structure and proportions to the Hewitt's
Double and T. diptercarpum. It did not bloom
for me last year, but seemed content. This year
there is just one stalk, and it might not bloom this year
either. It looks really healthy, but it is
definitely taking its time getting established. I
can't find any images of it, but I found this gallery
of images of its native landscape.
Thuja 'Teddy'. (Arborvitae) Fall
2002 Rice Creek Gardens. This is a dwarf cultivar.
In the rock garden, this 15" dense ball of glaucus
juvenile foliage will make a very attractive and interesting
impression. Rather expensive for its size,
but these are the kind of plants that you want to spend
that kind of money on. Exotic
evergreens are a specialty at Rice Creek. It
survived the winter, probably because we planted it in
the shade of a large stone. It doesn't like winter
sun, but it gets some after the Equinox. Four
years later it increased in size quite a bit more than I
expected. It's about 15" tall and very
full. Because of its lush growth I had to create a
girdle to hold all of its vertical branches together
because it has developed a tendency to collapse on
itself--probably with the help of the neighbor's cat who
thinks it makes a really nice cozy bed. It is a very
nice looking mini bush, though. I recommend it.
Trollius chinensis 'Golden
Queen' -- 1996 Globe Flower [Ranunculaceae].
Water and fertilizer. Easy to grow from fresh seed. A
fabulous plant. The intense yellow flowers stand high
(about 3 feet) above the attractive foliage. I have
mine next to Jacob's Ladder, with bright lavender flowers.
The two bloom together to produce a really loud color
combination. Since the trollius is so bright, I
think it silly to try to find a color to complement it.
Instead, use it for its attention-getting nature, like
an oriental poppy. In Spring 2002, I finally
noticed a number of seedlings--because I let some seed
pods develop. They must reseed pretty easily.
Species Tulips planted in Fall
2002 in rock garden. 6 'Little Beauty'
Vaccinium angustifolium 'Burgundy Dwarf' -- Low bush
blueberry [Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Spring 2004 This particular
species creates dense foliage and a really compact, low growing
structure of less than a foot in height. That makes it ideal
for coverage in a rock garden like our Circumpolar garden. It
doesn't appear to be mature enough to bloom this year, but the plant
filled up the four inch pot it was in. It has many leaves and
stems. In its second Spring, it looks vigorous, but close
to the ground in May. It looks like it will get a growth spurt
in June. In Spring 2006 it is blooming for the first time and
has increased by about 2-3 times its original size 2 years
ago. As promised, it is a low grower at about
8".
Vaccinium 'Northblue' -- Blueberry [Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Fall
2002 Highland Garden Center, in the rock garden. This self-fruitful
variety does not require two plants. It also provides the
best combination of large berries on a small plant. We are
not expecting to get many for ourselves. The birds and passersby
will probably get them before we do. Blueberries like very
acidic soil, so we planted ours on the edge of the root range of
a large blue spruce. They can tolerate some shade, but berry
production is reduced. This location is bright, but has
limited direct sun. Most of the brightest sun it gets is
between sunrise and 10:00 AM, and from 4:00 PM to 7 PM. The
second season yielded only about five fruits. This third
season the plant is obviously thriving, and covered with beautiful
blooms. For more information
on cultivation, check these links: Growing
Blueberries in the home garden and Blueberries
for the home garden I did a soil test in Spring 2004 and
found that the soil near this plant was only about pH 5.5, so I
added more sulfur and some coffee dregs. Spring 2006 it looks
very nice with lots of flowers, but the growth in size has been
minimal. It is still only about a foot tall and maybe a bit
more than two feet wide.
Veronica 'Blue Reflections' [Scrophulariaceae]
Fall 2002. This creeping Veronica is only about
3-4" tall, but has spread in four years to cover a
large area. In a location with Winter sun, be sure
to mulch it so that it's not exposed to the air. We
have it in the sunniest location in the circumpolar
garden.
|
