Beautiful Calla Lilies

I just bought these calla lilies from Granville Island today and put them in a vase with a hydrangea I nabbed from a customers yard last week.  I think they're pretty glorious and this picture didn't turn out too bad either.

Himalayan Fleece Flower

Himalayan Fleece Flower or Persicaria bistorta "Superbum' or polygonum affine 'superbum' is a beautiful groundcover perennial that does well in part shade to full sun in moderately moist soil. Nice tufted foliage with upright long standing pink blooms in the summer.  I took this picture down the street from my house. I love how they paired this plant with a large feathery grass.  It's one of those Unsung heroes in the garden.  

Gunnera

Wow!  Gunnera manicata is quite easily the most impressive and largest perennial out there. The leaves can reach to 6 ft in size and the entire plant is commonly 10 ft x 10 ft. This prehistoric-looking plant is native to Brazil. But, if protected and cared for properly, Gunnera manicata can survive the winters of both coastal parts of Canada (Maritimes and the Westcoast).  It's a zone 8 plan but can be nurtured in a zone 6 or 7 situation.  Covering the base with straw is good protection during the coldest months.  It also requires almost constant moisture and fertilizing during it's early growth.  Ideally, this giant is situated in a wetland or bog area in full sun or part shade.  I snapped these shots near the lawn bowling lane in the park down the street.  It was bordering a rain garden.  These Gunnera are still in adolescence in size.  Soon, the leaves will be big enough to sleep on!

lawn bowling in the backgound

interesting flower

Plume Poppy

Plume Poppy or Macleaya cordata is a true beauty.  But you won't find this perennial in most nurseries or gardens in your neighbourhood, primarily because of it's size.  This giant reaches to about 7' tall at mature height and 6' wide.  It also has a tendancy to spread by rhizomes.  It's easy to curb that by spading around the roots annually and capturing the escapees. I like this plant because the leaves are rounded and have really interesting notching and a slight bluish surface. Also the habit is quite loose and airy.  The flower plumes are fluffy and airy as well and start a cream colour and fade to a pinkish tone.  I think it's a great back border plant paired with large clumps of grasses.  In fact, every time I come across this plant I stop and appreciate.  It's a beautiful mid summer plant.  Absolutely captures the freedom of summer.  Also this plant is very disease resistant so it truly is a lush impressive plant.  The down side is you'll have to wear gloves when cutting the stems because it bleeds a yellowish sap that can stain your hands.  There is some confusion around the sap.  Some have used it medicinally yet other note it as a poisonous substance.   Best to wear gloves and avoid it.  This architectural plant thrives in full sun or partial shade.  

beautiful rounded leaves

the bloom

paired with euphorbia and heavenly bamboo

reaching towards the street trees

Ninebark

Okay, I came across these Ninebark shrubs on a walk the other day.   These deciduous shrubs grow between 1-3 meters and they make excellent specimen shrubs in a back border.   Physocarpus is the genus and the dark foliaged shrub is the cultivar 'Diablo' and the citrus green one is 'Dart's Gold'.  Love, love, love these this year!  They like full sun to partial shade and well drained average soil.

Sea-holly

The aliens have landed!

This is one of the most spectacular perennials.  Sea-holly is from the genus Eryngium.  There are many different varieties originating primarily from grasslands and coastal areas. They have spiky silver foliage and thistle like blooms.

There is a form of Eryngium that grows wild in Southeast Asia and Latin America countries.  It is used as a herb and tastes similar to cilantro. It has square spiky foliage.  I threw it in my rice and beans when I was in Costa Rica actually. Very tasty.  

I took a picture of this blue beauty on my walk down the street.  Note the bright blue stems too.  It's kind of wild, eh?

Sea-holly is nice paired with ornamental grasses.  They are really adaptable to most soils and prefer full sun.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums have those beautiful lily pad leaves and sunny tubular flowers. I planted nasturtiums all throughout my vegetable garden last year.  Big mistake though! They attract aphids which inevitably invite ants.  One big sticky party. This year I've decided to just keep them in containers and allow them to spill over.  This is the kind of charm that nasturtiums have always possessed in my mind anyway.   I found the self seeded seedlings throughout my garden and coerced them all into this planter.  They look happy enough.  Plant them in full sun and treat them like an annual...however, you might find a few pop up the next year.

Bush Morning Glory

This plant is in fact in the same family as the infamous morning glory but it is not invasive. The scientific name is Convolvulus cneorum I just bought this little pot of silver foliage for my Mom today at Figaro's Garden.  It has the wide open face of a morning glory plant in a striking white. It almost resembles a petunia bloom.  The bonus is this striking foliage.  It makes a great annual container plant in a charcoal grey or black pot.  It maxes out at about 2-3 feet in our Vancouver mild summer heat.  It prefers full sun but can survive in part shade (gets a bit leggy though). You can preserve it over winter by keeping it in a greenhouse or inside your house.  It's just straddles our zone 8 temperature.  I think it's worth the effort!

Vietnamese Coriander

Have you seen this coriander before?  This is the plant growing in a pot on my steps. The latin name is Persicaria odorata and it is sometimes commonly called cambodian mint or vietnamese cilantro or hot mint.  Either way, it's really good in asian cooking.  I eat it raw in salads.  So yummy and easy to grow.  It smells slightly different from the spanish cilantro. I'm a huge cilantro buff and use it in virtually all my cooking.  Give it a try.  Delish! 

Rex Begonias

It was love at first site.  I had my first exposure to Rex Begonias just today at the nursery. As a Landscape Designer- texture and colour are highly seductive qualities in a plant.  Well, these hybradized begonias are stunning. The flowers are insignificant, but who needs them? The foliage is a georgous silver sheen and has many different hues.  There are hundreds of varieties that can enhance any planter and instantly create a sense of elegance.  Rex Begonias are shade lovers.  Actually they fancy the soil similar to that of a forest floor, dry and shady.  Unfortunately they are annuals in our climate.  Plant and enjoy for the year.  Don't fret though- they'll be back next year!  

Catmint

A plant that I've been loving lately is catmint (Nepeta).  It has a strong sage smell that is intoxicating to cats, hence the name.  Ultimately, it has long lasting stunning purple blooms and a loose habit.  It's beautiful paired with most colours, but I particularly like it with the bright yellow of yarrow and the silver foliage of artemesia.  The texture works well with grasses and shrub roses for a casual english cottage garden charm.  I would recommend the cultivar 'Six Hills Giant', it is a taller more dramatic variety.  Grow this plant in full sun or partial shade.