As the winter months drag by, we might look outside and appreciate a fresh snow fall, a colorful conifer, ornamental grasses and/or other details out in the garden.  Don’t ever neglect to appreciate the dynamic, and sometimes subtle, contribution that bark provides out in the garden.  Colorful stems are certainly of merit but will likely be covered in a separate blog posting.  My focus here is sharing the impact of bark like that of the paperbark maple (Acer griseum) seen in the above photo.  The contribution of ornamental bark becomes more pronounced once the leaves drop in fall although many conifers also have interesting bark but retain foliage.  These photos show a smattering of some of the really neat (in my opinion) woody trees that really add some interest in the winter landscape.  Make sure you appreciate the bark!

‘White Tigress’ striped bark maple (Acer tegmentosum…although many consider it a hybrid)

three flower maple (Acer triflorum)

Heritage® river birch (Betula nigra ‘Cully’)

Renaissance Reflection® paper birch (Betula papyrifera ‘Renci’) at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI)

Himalayan birch (Betula utilis subsp. utilis ‘Edinburgh’) at the Green Bay Botanical Garden

Amur maackia (Maackia amurensis)

Exclamation!™ London planetree (Platanus x acerifolia ‘Morton Circle’)

China Snow® tree lilac (Syringa reticulata subsp. pekinensis ‘Morton’)

 

lacebark elm (Ulmus parvifolia ‘Hallelujah’)

seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioides) – above and below

Eye Stopper™ cork tree (Phellodendron lavallei ‘Longenecker’)

Amur chokecherry (Prunus maackii)

 

I’ve always enjoyed using and observing Japanese painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) and some of the new hybrids that include a painted fern parent.  This blog features only a few of the many options available to the gardener.  Our Fern & Moss Garden features over 25 selections of Japanese painted ferns and painted fern hybrids.  The illumination that the silver fronds add to the garden is amazing.  Most painted ferns have a more intense burgundy hue upon emergence in April with more silvering appearing as the summer progresses.  Varieties have been selected due to a more pronounced color.  For instance, the variety ‘Silver Falls’ seen below is, what I feel, the painted fern exhibiting the best silver.  Ample soil moisture is essential for vigor and some degree of filtered light helps with coloration as well.  Younger specimens may also get more intense coloring as they age over the course of many years.  We use painted ferns in many locations throughout the gardens and the hybrids I allude to include the parentage of an Athyrium niponicum selection and a lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina).  Some noteworthy hybrids include ‘Ghost’, ‘Branford Beauty’, ‘Branford Rambler’ and ‘Ocean’s Fury’ (seen further below).  Crested (fan-shaped) foliage (pinnae and pinna) on some selections is amazing particularly with ‘Ocean’s Fury’ (hybrid) and ‘Applecourt’ (Athyrium niponicum).  While Japanese painted ferns rarely get taller than 15″, the hybrids will top out between 24″-30″ when happy.

 

We had a nice turnout of volunteers today.  Larry H. and Big John were on hand as staff to work on the take down and processing of the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  Alan, Vicki and Steve also helped with retrieval efforts.  Peg, Pat, Kathy and Kay all had projects in the office which included plant records, tidying, seed inventorying and some research projects.  Out in the shop we had Dr. Gredler, Dave, Jim, Bobby K., Marv,, Steve J., Dick H. and Bill O.  We also saw Maury, Chuck, Rollie, Gary, Mark S., Jim H., Maryam, Becky and many others today.

Athyrium niponicum ‘Silver Falls’ (directly above and directly below)

Athyrium niponicum ‘Burgundy Lace’ (photo above and four below)

Athyrium niponicum ‘Pewter Lace’ (directly above and directly below)

Athyrium hybrida ‘Ocean’s Fury’ (hybrid crested painted fern) – above and all below

A shrub that I continue to promote in our area is the North American native buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) featured throughout this blog.  Oddly enough I first saw this plant as a child in the wetlands of upstate New York where my grandparents lived.  I vividly remember seeing the interesting blooms (above and below) on these large shrubs that were near my grandparents summer camp.  They were thriving in a wet location that frequently had standing water.  That’s exactly what buttonbush (also called button-willow, honey bush and honey balls) prefers and they are frequently used in rain gardens and along wet edges.  There are six other species of Cephalanthus although Cephalanthus occidentalis is native to a wide range of the Eastern U.S. and Midwest (Z5).  This shrub get 6-12′ tall although larger specimens are not unknown.  I normally observe this plant at about 6′-8′ in our area although there are some more compact varieties mentioned further below.  The interesting flowers appear in June and really are quite fetching.  They emerge white or the lightest of pinks and hold their shape as they form in to fruiting structures (see further below).  The flowers are also slightly fragrant and attract a wide range of wildlife including pollinators like bees and many species of butterflies.   The large, glossy foliage is rarely affected by insects or diseases and can transition to a decent fall color too (see bottom photo).  This shrub is also deer resistant and rarely bothered.  Positioned in full sun or part sun, this distant member of the coffee family (Rubiaceae) will thrive in our climate but does not exhibit drought tolerance.  Don’t let it get thirsty!  There is a variety called ‘Sputnik’ which seems to not vary much from the traditional species.  However, the selection First Editions® Fiber Optics™ (‘Bailoptics’) from Bailey Nursery only gets 6′ x6′ and the selection Sugar Shack® (SMCOSS) from Proven Winners® is listed at 4’x4′.  This is a tough, durable plant that offers form, function, wildlife value, potential in damp locations and is also very beautiful.  Check it out!

buttonbush at Allen Centennial Gardens (UW-Madison)

even the fruiting structures late in summer and early fall are interesting and nibbled by area wildlife

the fall color on buttonbush can be a nice orange-bronze or gold depending on the year…

As I continue to make plant and seed orders daily, one of my favorite seasonal collections to consider is what we’ll be planting and displaying in our three demonstration beds.  These three curved beds (about 800 square feet total) are located just west of the arboretum towards the sunken garden.  These  beds displayed a great selection of Caladium varieties last year and previous collections featured in this space also include annual gloriosa daisies (Rudbeckia hirta), moss roses (Portulaca sp.), globe amaranths (Gomphrena sp.), cosmos (Cosmos sp.), flossflower (Ageratum sp.), marigolds (Tagetes sp.), amaranth (Amaranthus sp.), cannas (Canna sp.), annual salvias (Salvia sp.) and much more.  I think these beds have been around for over 13 years so I may be forgetting a couple collections.  It’s been fun to do side by side comparisons and we photograph every variety many times.  Some of our favorites inevitably end up back in the gardens in later years.

Our collection this year will feature coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) selections.  More specifically, it will focus on those varieties that are still available as seed.  We use lots of coleus at the gardens including many of the new, fancy varieties that are produced vegetatively (not offered as seed).  We love all of our coleus but this collection of seed grown coleus will show the amazing spectrum of what is still offered in the seed catalogs.  The Kong® series of coleus (many featured in this blog) will be included and are some of my favorite selections for bold foliage. While many coleus will tolerate full sun given ample moisture, this series (first Kong® selections introduced over 10 years ago) is known for excellent shade tolerance and massive leaves.  Full sun can be tough on these varieties.  The Kong® Jr. Series is newer and shows some different colors on plants that are roughly 30% smaller in terms of leaf size and overall stature as compared to the larger Kong® series.  Regardless, there will be plenty more varieties of coleus in these beds and we hope to display over 80 selections.  The variety above is Kong® Rose.

Kong® Jr. Green Halo

Kong® Jr. Lime Vein

Kong® Jr. Rose

Kong® Jr. Scarlet

Kong® Lime Sprite

Kong® Mosaic

Kong® Red

Kong® Salmon Pink

Kong® Scarlet

Although the Holiday Light Show (HLS) is officially over for visitors, the long process of taking down the show continues on a daily basis.  These images, taken this morning, show some of the lights and cords that end up back at the Horticulture Center for processing.  Larry H., Larry O., Big John and Cindy are leading the charge as grounds staff with retrieval, processing and storage. We’ve had recent (and significant) help with this process from Bill O., Dennis J., Alan M. and many others with more volunteers trickling in for this three month process.  Ron P. had “re-started” his efforts with lights repairs.  We test everything before it is stored which allows for proactive repairs and saved time next fall when everything comes out again.  Recent mild weather has been nice for getting out in the gardens but we certainly realize that winter isn’t over yet!

 

the C7 lights seen above (and two photos below) are what we use in the milk jug luminaries seen directly below

 

Ron’s Repair Nook (above) with pending repairs (below)