Great Mixed Borders

Everything but the Kitchen Sink:
Recipes for Great Mixed Borders
The Connecticut Hardy Plant Symposium
March 1, 2008
The gardens shown this Kitchen Sink lecture are among the eighteen featured
on my website RGardening.com. I know you’ll enjoy them all. I’ve listed the
plants that were highlighted in the lecture, as well as their availabilities among
twenty-eight exceptional vendors, so that you can purchase them for your own
garden. All but Sylvan, Quackin’ Grass, Broken Arrow, and Seven Arrows are mail
order.
Kurt Bluemel is usually wholesale only, so your local nurseryman may need
to order for you—but sincerity and charm never hurt, so call them up to enquire
about a bit of retail shopping anyway. Whatever the price, it will be well worth it!
Sometimes the most desirable plants are also the least available. Indeed, I
couldn’t find a single current source in the US this year for the two plants marked
N-A: Grafted standards of cryptomeria and the pure-yellow four o’clock, Mirabilis
dichotoma. On the other hand, I myself have way too much Rubus idaeus ‘Aureus’
and Eryngium giganteum. Please call me to arrangement a time when you can
come to my gardens in Rhode Island so I can dig you some of either from my robust
colonies.
Don’t hesitate to be in touch about any facet of the lecture, or about
horticulture and design in general.
Kind regards,
Everything but the Kitchen Sink:
Recipes for Great Mixed Borders
Connecticut Hardy Plant Society Symposium
March 1, 2008
Shrubs, roses, trees, pollards, coppices, espaliers, standards, tender tubers, edibles,
groundcovers, self-seeders, grasses, vines, natives, containers, and, yes, even some
perennials to include in your “flower” border. Mixed indeed!
Latin Name
Common Name
Source
8
6
Sinucalia tangutica
Sparks’ monkshood
Yellow-leaved catalpa. (Spring
pollard)
‘Chocolate’ Joe-Pye weed
‘The Swan’ hydrangea
Golden-leaved locust (Spring
pollard)
Fern-leaf ligularia
Tilia cordata ‘Winter Orange’
Orange-twig (in winter) linden
13
Buddleia davidii’White Ball’
Calycanthus floridus ‘Michael
Lindsay’
Cornus alba ‘Aurea’
‘White Ball’ dwarf buddleia
‘Michael Lindsay’ sweetshrub
6
6
Yellow-leaved Siberian
dogwood
6
Woods Hole
Summer Border
Aconitum ‘Sparks’
Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’
Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’
Hydrangea p. g. ‘The Swan’
Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’
5
8
13
7
Layout:
Large & Simple
Shrubs
Forsythia intermedia ‘Gold Leaf’
Orixa japonica ‘Aurea’
Paeonia ludlowii ‘Lutea’
Philadelphus coronarius ‘Variegatus’
Yellow-leaved forsythia
Yellow-leafed orixa
Fern-leafed tree peony
Variegated mock orange
6
6
17
21
Quercus dentata ‘Pinnatifida’
Salix eleagnos
Fern-leafed Japanese oak
Rosemary-leaved willow
17
6
Trees
Fun w/ Pruning
Buddleia alternifolia ‘Argentea’ STD
Spring-flowered silver-leaved
buddleia, untrained only
Catalpa erubescens ‘Purpurea’
Black-leaved catalpa (Spring
pollard)
Cryptomeria japonica
Japanese cedar as a “forest”
Cryptomeria japonica ‘Globosa Nana’ Dwarf Japanese cedar
Cryptomeria japonica ‘Globosa Nana’ Japanese cedar standard
STD
Magnolia grandiflora ‘Bracken’s
Hardy southern magnolia
Brown Beauty’
Paulownia tomentosa
Empress tree (Spring pollard)
Poncirus trifoliata STD
Hardy orange, untrained only
Ulmus glabra ‘Aurea’
Gold-leafed Scotch elm (Spring
pollard)
6
13
8
19
N-A
8
13
13
6
Groundcovers
Aegepodium podagraria ‘Variegata’
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Geranium macrorrhizum
Hakonechloa macro ‘Aureola’
Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’
Petasites japonicus ‘Purpureus
Rubus idaeus ‘Aureus’
Xanthorhiza simplicissima
Variegated bishop’s weed
Hardy plumbago
Big-root geranium
Variegated hakone grass
Yellow creeping Jenny
Purple-leafed butterbur
Gold-leaved raspberry
Yellow root
20
20
20
8
8
22
Call Me!
8
Vines
Aconitum ‘Sparks’
Clematis ‘Lady Murasaki’
Clematis viticella ‘Plena Purpurea
Elegans’
Jasminum nudiflorum
Sparks aconitum
Lady Murasaki’s clematis
Purple late-summer clematis
8
5
5
Winter-flowering hardy jasmine
23
Rosa ‘Eddie’s Jewel’
Rosa ‘Nevada’
Rosa roxburghii
‘Eddie’s Jewel’ rose
‘Nevada’ rose
Chestnut rose
11
24
24
Cacalia atriplicifolia
Silphium perfoliatum
Prairie hosta
Cup plant
15
15
Amaranthus cruentus x A. powelli
Amaranthus gangeticus
Amorpha canescens
Cirsium heterophyllum
Digitalis ferruginea ‘Flashing Spires’
Eryngium giganteum
Oenethera glazoviana ‘Tina James’
Onopordum acanthium
Papaver somniferum ‘Lauren’s
Grape’
Polygonum orientale ‘Variegatum’
Hopi Red Dye amaranth
Elephant Head amaranth
Lead plant
Melanchony thistle
‘Flashing Spires’ foxglove
Miss Willmott’s Ghost
Tina James’ evening primrose
Scotch thistle
Grape-flowered opium poppy
10
10
15
16
16
Call me!
7
16
25
Variegated Kiss-me-over-theGate
Silver tansy
Moth Mullein
Yellow-furred mullein
25
Roses
Natives
Self-seeders
Tanacetum niveum
Verbascum blattaria
Verbascum epixanthinum
26
16
16
Edibles
Armoracia rusticana ‘Variegata’
Mystery rheum @ the Cambridge
England Botanic Gardens
Silybum marianum
Variegated horse radish
Mystery rhubarb
6
Milk Thistle
16
Amorphophallus bulbifer
Brugmansias, various, winter dormant
in the basement
Erythrina crista-galli winter dormant
in the basement
Firmiana simplex, winter dormant in
the basement
Jasminum officinale ‘Fiona Sunrise’
winter dormant in the basement
Voodoo lily
Brugmansias, various
7
7
Bean tree, as a coppice
3
Parasol tree
19
Yellow-leaved jasmine
5
Ensete maurelii
Eucomis comosum ‘Sparking
Burgundy’
Purple-leaved banana
Purple eucomis
22
3
Canna indica ‘Purpurea’
Dahlia ‘Classic Summertime’
Hedychium ‘Tara’
Mirabilis dichotoma
Mirabilis jalapa ‘Alba’
‘Russian Giant’ canna
‘Classic Summertime’ dahlia
‘Tara’ tropical ginger
Yellow four o’clock
White four o’clock
Wintered
dormant in the
basement
Wintered in a
cool greenhouse
NOT HARDY?
Planted in the
ground for the
summer
12
28
3
N-A
25
NOT HARDY?
Kept
permanently in
an above-ground
container
Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’
Agapanthus ‘Storm Cloud’
Agapanthus ‘Tinkerbell’
Amorpha canescens
Dicksonia antarctica
Ensete maurelii
Eucomis comosum ‘Sparking
Burgundy’
Eucomis pole-evansii
Euphorbia cotinifolia
Geranium maderense, 2nd-year plant
and then 3rd-year in bloom
Jasminum officinale ‘Fiona Sunrise’
Nelumbo nucifera ‘Alba Grandiflora’
Portulacaria afra ‘Variegata’
Tibouchina semidecandra
Black-leaved tree aeonium
‘Storm Cloud’ agapanthus
Variegated dwarf agapanthus
Lead plant
Tasmanian tree fern
Purple-leafed banana
Purple eucomis
27
3
28
15
26
22
28
Giant eucomis
Smoke-bush euphorbia
Madeira geranium
28
22
30
Yellow-leafed jasmine
White lotus
Elephant food
Glory bush
3
31
22
Brugmansia ‘Snow Bank’
Clerodendron trichotomum
‘Harlequin’
Erythrina crista-galli
Snow Bank brugmansia
Variegated bush clerodendron
7
21
Bean tree
3
NOT HARDY?
Kept
permanently in a
container, which
is sunk into the
garden for the
summer
NOT HARDY?
Zone Denial
Camellia ‘Survivor’
Rohdea japonica
Kniphofia ‘Cool Knip’ (under “dryhat” cardboard-topped
mulch)
Caryopteris divaricata (under “dryhat” cardboard-topped mulch)
Tetrapanax papyrifera ‘Steroidal
Giant’
Musa basjoo, winter-protected with
mulch, a wire cage, and a secure tarp
‘Survivor’ camellia
Rohdea
‘Cool Knip’ poker
33
34
32
Herbaceous caryopteris
35
Rice paper plant
3
Hardy banana
7
Acer platanoides ‘Crimson King’
Aralia elata ‘Aureovariegata’
Canna ‘Australia’
Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’
Cornus alba ‘Aurea’
Purple-leafed maple
Variegated tree aralia
‘Australia’ canna
Gold-leafed catalpa, as pollard
Chrome-leaved Siberian
dogwood
Purple Robe smoke bush
False hemp
Variegated furcraea
Purple-leafed hibiscus
The Swan hydrangea
Fern-leafed ligularia
Gold-needled spruce
Gold-leafed robinia
Giant elderberry
8
6
12
6
6
PUTTING IT
ALL
TOGETHER
at an oceanside
estate
Cotinus coggygria ‘Purple Robe’
Datisca cannabina
Furcrea foetida ‘Mediopicta’
Hibiscus acetosella
Hydrangea p. g. ‘The Swan’
Ligularia japonica
Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’
Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’
Sambucus maxima
8
16
35
22
8
7
36
13
13
PUTTING IT All
TOGETHER
at my own
gardens
Musa basjoo
Nepeta yunnanensis
Rosa ‘Dortmund’
Hardy bamboo
Yunnan cat-mint
Dortmund rambler rose
7
5
1
Exceptional vendors
for these terrific plants
1.
3.
5.
6.
Rogue Valley Roses
20. Kurt Bluemel, Inc.
Medford, OR
2740 Greene Lane
Baldwin, MD 21013-9523
V:
F:
Web:
V:
F:
Web:
541-535-1307
541-535-1307
roguevalleyroses.com
Plant Delights
800-498-1560
410-557-9785
KurtBluemel.com
21. Cistus
9241 Sauls Road
Raleigh, NC 27603
22711 NW Gillihan Road
Sauvie Island, OR 97231
V:
F:
Web:
V:
F:
Web:
919-772-4794
919-662-0370
plantdelights.com
Joy Creek Nursery
503-621-2233
503-621-9657
Cistus.com
22. GlassHouse Works
20300 NW Watson Road
Scappoose, OR 97056
Church Street, POB 97
Stewart, OH 45778-0097
V:
F:
Web:
V:
F:
Web:
503-543-7474
503-543-6933
joycreek.com
Broken Arrow Nursery
800-837-2142
740-662-2120
GlassHouseWorks.com
23. Quackin’ Grass Nursery
13 Broken Arrow Rd.
Hamden, CT 06518
16 Laurel Hill Road
Brooklyn, CT 06234
V:
203-288-1026
F:
203-287-1035
Web: brokenarrownursery.com
V:
860-779-1732
F:
Web: QuackinGrassNursery.com
7.
8.
Seven Arrows
24. Vintage Roses
346 Oak Hill Avenue
Attleboro, MA 02703
4130 Gravenstein Hwy North
Sebastopol, CA 95472
V:
F:
508-399- 7860
508-399- 8661
V:
707-829-2035
F:
707-829-9516
Web: VintageRoses.com
Web:
SevenArrowsFarm.com
Sylvan Nursery
25. Select Seeds
Westport, MA 02790
180 Stickney Hill Road
Union, CT 06076
V:
F:
Web:
V:
F:
Web:
508-636-4573
508-636-3397
SylvanNursery.com
10. Seeds of Change
800-684-0395
SelectSeeds.com
26. Big Dipper Farm
POB 15700
Santa Fe, NM 87506-5700
26130 SE Green Valley Road
Black Diamond, WA 98010
V:
F:
Web:
V:
360-886-8133
F:
Web: BigDipperFarm.com
888-762-7333
888-329-4762
seedsofchange.com
11. Heronswood Nursery
th
27. Plant Safari
7530 NE 288 St.
Kingston, MA 98346
3710 Via Real
Carpinteria, CA 93013
V:
F:
Web:
V:
F:
Web:
360-297-4172
360-297-8321
Heronswood.com
805-705-4061
805-684-4993
PlantSafari.com
12. Karchesky Cannas
28. Brent and Becky’s Bulbs
7900 Daffodil Lane
Gloucester, VA 23061
Web:
karcheskycanna.com
13. ForestFarm Nursery
V:
804-693-3966
F:
804-693-9436
Web: brentandbeckysbulbs.com
32. Seneca Hill
990 Tetherow Road
Williams, OR 97544-9599
3712 County Rt. 57
Oswego, NY 13126
V:
F:
Web:
V:
315-342-5915
F:
315-342-5573
Web: SenecaHillPerennials.com
541-846-7269
541-846-6963
forestfarm.com
15. Prairie Nursery
33. Camellia Forest
POB 306
Westfield, WI 53964
626 Highway 54 West
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
V:
F:
Web:
V:
F:
Web:
800-476-9453
608-296-2741
prairienursery.com
16. Chiltern Seeds
919-968-0504
camforest.com
34. Munchkin Nursery
Cumbria, England
323 Woodside Drive NW
Depauw, IN 47115
V:
F:
Web:
V:
812-633-4858
F:
Web: Munchkinnursery.com
44 (0) 1229 581137
44 (0) 1229 584549
chilternseeds.co.uk
17. Fairweather Gardens
35. Asiatica Nursery
POB 330
Greenwich, NJ 08323
POB 270
Lewisberry, PA 17339
V:
856-451-6261
F:
856-451-0303
Web: FairweatherGardens.com
V:
F:
Web:
19. Fantastic Plants
717-938-8677
717-938-0771
asiaticanursery.com
36. Rare Find Nursery
5865 Steeplechase
Bartlett, TN 38132
957 Patterson Road
Jackson, NJ 08527
V:
F:
Web:
V:
732-833-0613
F:
Web: rarefindnursery.com
901-438-1912
FantasticPlants.com