Rose Garden in Late Spring

Late Spring is a time of great excitement. Shrubs leaf out, and perennials, major bulbs, and early peonies begin blooming. I've made sure to include lots of early bloomers in the rose garden, since the roses won't make their contribution until summer.

Late Spring in the Rose Garden: Daffodils, Spurge, and new leaves

This is early May in the Rose Garden. The roses have tiny new leaves, and daffodil blooms are scattered about (this is yellow 'King Alfred', white and orange 'Sound', and white and yellow 'Ice Follies' across the sidewalk). My fernleaf peony hybrid 'Little Red Gem' is an attractive mound of cutleaf foliage - it will bloom soon. The cushion spurge (Euphorbia polychroma) is just beginning its display of flashy yellow bracts. The early crocus have now faded, but blue Scilla blooms on in the background.

Mid-May: 'Princess Irene' Tulips, Heuchera, Daffodils, and Spruce

 
A week later and early tulip 'Princess Irene' has begun to bloom. This is one of my favorite tulips - the orange color is intensely bright, without being blinding or irritating (unlike some oranges). The slight purple tint on the outer petals deepens and softens the color. I think it echoes the color of Heuchera 'Pinot Gris' wonderfully. The dwarf spruce (Picea abies 'Little Gem') is also looking colorful at this time of year, with its bright yellow new growth.

'Princess Irene' Tulips, Hyacinths, Lamium, and Barberry

Another patch of 'Princess Irene' at the back corner of the Rose Garden. Here it contrasts sharply with the dark new leaves of Barberry 'Crimson Pygmy'. As you can see the White hyacinths are still going strong, and Lamium 'Orchid Frost' has begun to bloom at the foot of my young quince tree. It creeps and expands fairly rapidly, but is not hard to pull out.

Mid May: 'Princess Irene' Tulips, Lamium 'Orchid Frost'

Here is the same area from a different angle, a few days later. Lamium is now in full bloom, the barberry begins to glow, and the quince has fuzzy gray new leaves. Clematis vines start their ascent of the trellis (which needs to be painted!) in the background. The small yew (which needs a trim!) also puts on a new flush of growth.

Mid May: Tulipa humilis and Spurge

Meanwhile, in another corner, another early tulip has begun to bloom. This is the tiny species tulip 'Little Beauty' (Tulipa humilis). Unlike standard tulips, this type has unobtrusive, grass-like foliage that dies away almost imperceptibly when its time has come. The blooms are little but very cute. They are bright enough to stand up to the intensity of the Euphorbia in full glory. They also look good near my purple smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria 'Velvet Cloak'), which begins to leaf out now. The jewel-toned leaves of this shrub look fabulous from spring to fall. I cut it back to the ground every year to keep it small - otherwise it grows into a rather large tree. The dwarf conifer here is a fir - Abies balsamea 'Piccolo'. I will probably have to move this soon as it is too close to the Cotinus - hopefully I will manage to do this without killing it in the process!

Late May: Spurge and 'Little Red Gem' Peony

Finally, at the end of May my 'Little Red Gem' peony blooms. This is a so-called "Rock Garden" peony, which is a hybrid of several small European species peonies. It is much smaller than the Chinese Paeonia lactiflora types, and appears to have some fernleaf in its blood, judging by the fine foliage. It is my earliest herbaceous peony to bloom.

Late May in the Rose Garden: Peony 'Little Red Gem' and 'Princess Irene' Tulips

'Little Red Gem' is not really red - more of a deep pink. A lovely color that stands up well to the bright tulips and spurge which bloom with it. The rose behind it is a large, exuberant Rosa alba. It is very hardy and one of my earliest roses to leaf out in spring. At its feet, some dwarf Catmint (Nepeta 'Little Trudy') are just beginning to show color along the edge of the border.

Next up: June, and some actual roses!

Rose Garden in Early Spring

Here in Wisconsin, the snow usually melts some time in March, revealing bare branches and expanses of drab brown leaf litter. I try to include a few evergreens throughout my garden to give the eye some relief throughout the winter.

Peony Bed and Rose Garden just after snow melt

The front of the Rose Garden is on the far side of the picture above. The roses are as yet a tangle of bare stems. Thank goodness for the 'Little Gem' Dwarf Spruce (Picea abies) and 'Blue Point' Juniper (Juniperus chinensis). In the foreground is the lovely Dwarf Pine 'Slowmound' (Pinus mugo). The Rose Garden also contains a 'Piccolo' Dwarf Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) and a Yew at the back, not pictured here.

Crocus vernus 'Yellow Mammoth' bloom in very early Spring

The first bloom in this area is Crocus vernus 'Yellow Mammoth'. How grateful we are for this searing shot of color at this time! Depending on the year, things may begin to pop in late March or early April.

Early Spring in the Rose Garden: Little spring bulbs and a flush of new leaves

About a week later the bright blue flowers of Striped Squill 'Spring Beauty' (Scilla siberica) join in the show. The foliage of some early-growing perennials is starting to warm the scene as well: Heuchera have shining new leaves, and we can see signs of growth on Lady's Mantle and Hardy Geraniums. The daffodils-to-come are pushing up perky green spikes all around.

Chionodoxa forbesii 'Wedgewood Blue' with Heuchera 'Prince'

 
Another very early bloomer is this small patch of Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa forbesii) 'Wedgewood Blue'. This particular cultivar is an unusual violet blue shade. I have not seen it for sale anywhere - it was sent to me as a free packet of bulbs. If I could find it I would purchase more - the color makes a nice contrast with purple heuchera.

Rose Garden in early Spring: Pulsatilla and more early bulbs

On the other side of the Rose Garden a drift of white hyacinth wafts its sweet scent. A purple Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) is one of the first perennials to flower, and some early daffodils ('King Alfred') are even beginning to bloom in this warm spot as well. The branches of the cotinus are still bare, but new foliage growth can be seen on sedum, lamium, and lamb's ears. Summer-blooming allium bulbs have pushed up an amazing amount of spiky growth in a short time.

Chionodoxa forbesii 'Pink Giant' in April

More Glory-of-the-snow are carpeting the floor in the back corner of the Garden. This is Chionodoxa forbesii 'Pink Giant', a plant of delicate pink coloring that I am not able to capture easily on camera. It always ends up looking very washed out in photographs, while in reality it suffuses the area with a soft warm pink glow. The pink color looks nice with the bare red stems of the nearby barberry, with the dark green yew as a background. It also complements the minty green foliage of lamium 'Orchid Frost':

Chionodoxa forbesii 'Pink Giant'

As you can see, the Rose Garden has charm even in early spring, when roses are still nothing but a gleam in the gardener's eye! I love this time of year, but cannot help looking forward to May... which will bring peonies!

Dwarf Pines at the Arboretum

Pinus mugo 'Aurea'

I'm in the mode of observing my new garden to identify holes in design and seasonal interest. A major hole I noticed this winter is the total lack of evergreens visible from INSIDE the house. I planted a few evergreen shrubs as soon as we moved in (there were absolutely none on the property when we bought it - not even the obligatory "yew mustache"!): so far we have some arborvitae, yews, boxwood, and a dwarf spruce. However, I placed ALL of them around the foundation or the perimeter of the yard, where they look good from the street. I entirely neglected to plan for myself looking out on the barren scene from the windows! (Duh.) So, I need to select some more dwarf evergreens that will liven up my winter view - but which ones? Off to the Arboretum for some fun research!

Dwarf pines at the UW-Madison Arboretum

My first objective is to plant a dwarf pine near my tree peonies. I love how pine and peonies look together. The Arboretum has lots of pines to look at - although on the cutest ones it's of course impossible to find the bleeping ID tag! Rrgh. But here are my favorites of the ones who would tell me their names. These were all photographed in mid-March, so this is basically what they look like coming out of winter, in the dullest possible time of year.


Pinus mugo (Mugo pine)

Pinus mugo 'Aurea'

'Aurea' is a broad, spreading Mugo pine with long needles of a glowing, golden-green color. Shape is pleasingly bumpy. I really appreciated how it lit up the landscape. It is probably somewhat large for my small yard.

Pinus mugo 'Big Tuna'

'Big Tuna' is a very cool looking pine (with an equally cool name) - it is indeed big and chunky. It has long, stiff needles and a tough-guy globular shape. I didn't measure it, but it is taller than an average person and roughly equally as wide. Again, a bit large for my purposes, but I may just have to make room...

Pinus mugo 'Teeny'

'Teeny' is very small and cute! A compact flattened-bun shape, with rich green needle color. I'm sure I can fit this one in, or something similar. Some people think green is boring, and want all "evergreens" to be golden, blue, white, or pink..., but in the long winter deep green is the color I crave most.

Pinus strobus (Eastern White Pine)

Pinus strobus 'Pendula'

This weeping Eastern White Pine looked awesome in the landscape, and you can go inside there and hide! My daughter would love that. Probably also some raccoons, foxes, rabbits, or even baboons would move in too... This one is not very dwarf - it's at least 10 feet tall, and wider.

Pinus sylvestris

Pinus sylvestris globosa viridis

This one has the most fantastic long, twisty foliage that gives it a very appealing fuzzy, tufted look. It won't fit next to my tree peonies but would make a great background plant.

Finnish Rhododendrons at the Arboretum

Rhododendron 'Helsinki University'

I have been admiring the ultra-hardy Finnish or "Marjatta" series of rhododendrons for quite a while now. By my reckoning, there is only room for ONE of these large specimens in my new garden, and now I'm faced with making the torturous decision as to which one that should be...

All of the Finnish rhododendrons are incredibly winter hardy - down to at least zone 4 and some even to zone 3. They are elepidotes, meaning they have very large leaves. (As compared to the small-leaved PJM type.) Large evergreen leaves and raging northern winters usually spell disaster, but these toughies are an exception. They offer an exciting opportunity for us northerners to add bold texture to the winter garden.

Here are the cultivars I've personally seen growing in Wisconsin, mostly at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and Olbrich Botanical Gardens:

Helsinki University

Rhododendron 'Helsinki University'

I've seen a few mature specimens of this one, and all were very tall and upright. Magnificent is a word that comes to mind. The foliage was mostly in good condition, and I like the nice bright pink color of the flowers. It's hard to tell the scale of the plant from the picture, but these are about 7-8 feet tall at least. It perhaps has a tendency towards legginess, which would not necessarily be a problem for me as this will be a background plant in my shade garden.


Hellikki

Rhododendron 'Hellikki'

'Hellikki' has bright reddish pink flowers, a deeper color than 'Helsinki University'. I haven't seen as many plants of this one, but it appears to be slightly smaller growing. On the few that I saw, the foliage did not look terribly happy, although that could have been an accident.










Mikkeli (aka St. Michel)

Rhododendron 'Mikkeli'

Rhododendron 'Mikkeli' with Japanese painted fern

'Mikkeli' ('St. Michel') definitely has the nicest foliage of all that I have seen. The leaves are particularly large and seem to hold up extremely well against winter weather. This is supposed to be the hardiest of all the cultivars, down to zone 3. This one also grows tall - the mature specimens in the Arboretum are at least 7-8 feet. BUT, I find the color of the flowers uninspiring. They are a very pale grayish pink which fades to white. Foliage is my main reason for wanting to get an evergreen rhododendron, but I WAS hoping for a bright splash of spring color as well...









Haaga

Rhododendron 'Haaga'

'Haaga' has bright pink flowers of a medium hue. The foliage is smaller than 'Mikkeli' or 'Helsinki University', and the overall plant height is somewhat smaller too.

Elviira

Rhododendron 'Elviira'

The color on this one is awesome - bright coral red. (Apologies for the terrible glary photo - it's the only one a managed to get!) 'Elviira' blooms earlier than all the others I've seen - mid-May here, as opposed to late May to early June for the others. It won't suit my purposes because it's a low, flat-growing bush and I'm looking for a large, tall specimen. It reportedly grows to be only about 2 feet high - the one I saw was only about a foot high, although it may have been immature (I've only ever seen one of these).








 
Pohjola's Daughter

Rhododendron 'Pohjola's Daughter'

'Pohjola's Daughter' is another low, broad shaped rhododendron, although larger than 'Elviira'. The flowers are a very pale pink, which often fade to near-white. (Again sorry for the awful picture - I include it for completeness' sake.)

So.. I'm still not sure which one to get. What I want is a rhodo with the foliage and habit of 'Mikkeli', but the flowers of 'Hellikki' or 'Haaga'. That probably doesn't exist... sigh.

There are three more cultivars that I have not seen in person yet: 'Kullervo', 'Pekka', and 'P.M.A Tigerstedt' ('Peter Tigerstedt'). 'Pekka' looks particularly interesting, but I'd like to take a look at a mature live specimen before purchasing it. The Finnish Rhododendron Society has a helpful page with some info on all nine cultivars.