Pinus 'Louie' and SuperTrouper Magenta + White Dianthus

I always try to take photos of cool plants in the stores even if I don't have approval from the purchasing department (aka my family). Here are a couple nice ones I saw recently. Something has to be pretty cool for me to stop and say 'ooh, I'm gonna post about that' so this is just some favorites.

SuperTrouper Magenta + White Dianthus caught my eye with the large ruffled flowers with striking white borders. I became a fan of dianthus after my 'lavender lace' bloomed for 3 months straight last summer.

SuperTrouper Magenta + White Dianthus

Next, I've been eyeing white pines on car trips - enjoying the north woods vibe without the obtrusive pyramid shape of a spruce. I like them tall and skinny with wispy soft needles. Here is a pine that caught my eye at Allisonville Nursery the other day, Pinus strobus 'Louie'.

Pinus strobus 'Louie' - Louie's Eastern White Pine

2017 Indiana Flower and Patio Show Favorites

The Indiana Flower and Patio Show is a sure sign that Spring is right around the corner. It's a nice escape from the cold and usually dreary March weather to explore the show gardens and features in a heated building at the state fairgrounds.

This year I got half price tickets online just by typing a bunch of different 4 letter words into the coupon code box, score!

Last time I went to the show it was during the closing weekend, this time I was there for opening day. I was a little disappointed - I thought everything would look super fresh for opening day, but I realized that most of the bulbs and things weren't quite open yet since they probably are intended to last all week.

I noticed a lot of repetition of the same plant varieties throughout the show, and it made me wonder if they had one landscape company come in and dress the feature areas all at once or something. Or maybe the similarities are just because those are the kinds of plants that look attractive this time of the year, or that were available from local wholesalers.

Overall, I was a little turned off by the prevalence of non-flower-and-patio-related vendors. I mean, I can understand the roofing companies and the hot tub companies because those are outdoor related, even the carpet companies and kitchen counter companies because those are at least home improvement related - but what gives with the blender company giving demos with a headset microphone, and the Xfinity high speed internet booth, ugh.

Anyway, I did see some cool things that stood out as highlights:

I just love this gas fire that looks like a campfire, with metal beams for kindling stacked in a loose teepee shape

This was a nice display sticking with mostly white flowers and lots of glossy foliage. I recognized star magnolia. 

Zack and I agree, we loved the detail on this unnamed sunburst spruce. We even asked the guy at the display and he had no idea what it was. Come on!

Flower detail for Kilmarnock Miniature Weeping Pussy Willow (Salix caprea 'kilmarnock'), saw several of these, it was a popular selection for the displays.

This little guy would have been easy to overlook, but it was actually one of my favorite things I saw during the day. It's a taxus but it has round needles so it looks almost like a boxwood. Neat! Label said Taxus baccata 'Amersfoort'. 

Deschampsia Goldtau

Some kind of cloud form pine, also missing a plant label (frowny face). 

Very interesting Chirimen Hinoki Cypress

Not sure what this is, it was just labeled 'BJD' - any help? It almost looks like a rhododendron ground cover.

Thuja plicata 'Whipcord' and Other Interesting Conifers

I spotted some interesting conifers at Allisonville Nursery yesterday. They have dozens of varieties, so I didn't catalog everything, but I wanted to post some photos of a couple interesting ones I spotted.

Large conifer selection

Mini conifer and succulent container, a really cool combination!

So adorable, Pinus mugo 'Mops'

Whipcord Western Red Cedar - Thuja plicata 'Whipcord' - looks almost like an ornamental grass at first, but it's closely related to other arborvitae evergreen trees. Imagine taking an Emerald Green arborvitae and stretching out the fingers of each of its evergreen fronds and you'd make this bizarre plant. Whipcord is the perfect name for it.

Mugo Pine Used in Commercial Landscaping?

I went to check out the new Cabela's store in Noblesville yesterday. Since it just opened this Fall, the landscaping was pretty on point. I did notice something a little unusual though - so much that it made me want to take a picture. Instead of the usual boxwood or sweetspire, they were using what looked like mugo pine as evergreen shrubs.

I've never seen mugo pine used in commercial landscapes like this. Look, a whole row of them! Not that it has never been done before, it is just uncommon in my area. And probably more expensive than the usual options.

They're very cute - I wonder how big they are going to get.

Beautiful Pinus strobus 'Pendula' at Butler University

I was on campus for a meeting at Butler University today and I was a little early so I thought I would take a stroll and check out the formal gardens and other plants on campus. The landscaping overall was beautiful, but I had heard plenty about the formal gardens so I wanted to check them out especially.

Pinus strobus 'Pendula' at Butler University

Pinus strobus 'Pendula' at Butler University

My favorite was the belltower tucked along the edge of the woods on a hill overlooking a pond, and 3 absolutely gorgeous shaggy weeping white pine trees [Pinus strobus 'Pendula'] out in front of their HRC building.

Beneath the bell tower at Butler University

Had to crank the brightness on this photo to make up for the shade and backlight

The bell tower was really cool, and it was right by the pond in the woods near the observatory (the only other building on campus I've been inside).

Rows of flowers and a grassy lawn with a groomed evergreen hedge

Rows of flowers in large beds on both sides of the grassy lawn

Rainy Day Off New Additions: Dwarf Mugo Pine and Tiny Invader

I'm having a nice rainy day off work, and it's starting to feel like Fall. I woke up to upper 50s, overcast, low humidity - it was splendid. I guess the weather got me in the mood to look for deals at Lowe's so after two cups of coffee, I grabbed my umbrella and strolled around the garden center for a bit.

My backyard is seriously lacking evergreen, so I wanted to get some kind of conifer. I had my eye on a dwarf mugo pine for a while, but I wasn't sure how big they'd get. There seems to be a lot of variety, anywhere from 5 feet to 10 feet tall and wide.

Pinus mugo var. pumilio

I also saw some color on the sale table and went to check it out. I found this Tiny Invader Asiatic Lily for Chris, because he loves his Asiatic Lilies and there was a gap I had to fill by the downspout. It's orange but not too orange, it has purple spots and magenta hue to it in certain light.

Lilium ‘Tiny Invader’

I put the Tiny Invader over by the downspout because it likes semi moist conditions. It still has one flower left on it, but other than that I'm basically saying "see ya next year" until it comes up again in the spring. I hope the colors don't clash with my other lilies - or I hope they come up at slightly different times so we have more weeks of color.

I was obsessing a little bit about my dwarf mugo placement. I wanted to put it by the patio, but I don't want it to take over. I mean, if it really gets up to 10 feet wide there's no way it can stay here. I watered it in, then changed my mind and moved it about 2 inches and watered it in again. It's trunk is lined up with the arborvitae on the other side of the patio - about 25 inches from the side of the house.

Adorable, I can see why people get obsessed and start collecting dwarf conifers

It's so tiny! My dad recommended naming it Milton the Mugo Pine

I got it in the ground and knew that I would keep dwelling on it until I moved it that extra 2 inches. I can almost see it with a 4-5 foot spread fitting perfectly. I'll have to keep an eye on the new candles and keep them tight.

It might take years to fill the space I've allowed for it, but I'd rather it grow into the space than immediately overwhelm the space. In the meantime maybe I can plant some annuals to finish the front of the border.

My dad also said I should watch out for little green caterpillars that eat the pine needles because they can clear a bush in days! Oh no!

Emerald Green Arborvitae One Year Growth Before and After

I got this Thuja occidentalis 'Emerald Green' arborvitae on sale at Lowe's late last summer. It didn't put on any new growth until this Spring. When it did start growing, it really took off (relatively speaking). It's slow growing so it's hard to tell just by looking at it, but looking back to photos from when it was first put in, it's obvious that it has been filling out.

When I got it, the leader at the top was brown so I snipped it off. Using this point as the old 'top' I put the ruler on top of the cut leader, and see that this Emerald Green has put on about 7 inches of vertical growth this year.

I put the ruler on top of the old leader that I cut off, and this shows I have about 7 inches of new stringy growth

The overall shape and color has filled out this summer, so I think it's finally rooted in and growing nicely.

September 21, 2014 (before) to September 6, 2015 (after)

It's so handy to take an obscene number of photos of your own yard, because then when you want to dig one out of the archives to compare a year later, you have it! It is definitely a lot fuller, but it will still be a few years before it actually blocks the view of my neighbor's patio.

I'm still very pleased with the placement, when it's full grown it will just about fill this whole planter - and it's far enough away from the house that it shouldn't knock into the gutter on the roof.

Tropical Plants and Specimen Conifers at Gaylord National Harbor Resort

A nice collection of specimen conifers at the Gaylord National Harbor!

The Gaylord National Harbor Resort and Convention Center has an amazing atrium filled with trees, plants, and water features. Many of the tropical plants look familiar yet somehow strange, because most are kinds you would see on an office desk - except these have grown to several feet tall. Take, for example, this huge ZZ Plant [Zamioculcas zamiifolia] just like the one on my bathroom counter - except this one was about 3 feet tall and wide!

Huge Zamioculcas zamiifolia by a water feature

I had some time to kill before heading out to the airport, so I walked around and explored the atrium and some of the outdoor gardens. The most striking indoor plants were the huge Fishtail Palms [Caryota mitis] that surrounded the lobby bar. The name comes from the shape of the leaflets, but these palms also produce wispy broom-like tails on the sides of their trunks.

Stepping outside the waterfront door of the atrium (that locked behind me) I found a formal garden with conifer topiaries. None of the plants had name placards other than the Fishtail Palm, so I did my best to identify the trees using Google images and this helpful conifer identification article.

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Boulevard' in cloud form

First up it looks like we have a large Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Boulevard' in cloud form. This specimen was easily 9 feet tall, and the focal point of the waterfront garden. The short blue floppy mop tips were nearly groomed into billowy fluff balls.

Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar - Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca Pendula'

Next up, also in the waterfront garden, this weeping blue atlas cedar [Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca Pendula'] had a 5" caliper trunk (eye-ball measurement) and stood about 7 feet tall. It's blue barbed wire needle clusters lined each whip-like branch.

Some kind of Chamaecyparis obtusa in cloud or Hindu Pan form

Walking up the service drive to the front (since I was locked out) I came upon an unknown variety of Chamaecyparis obtusa in cloud, hindu pan, or pom-pom form standing neatly in front of the main entrance. This specimen towered over me, at least 3 meters tall.

Finally, framing the Chamaecyparis obtusa topiary on both sides were two weeping Alaskan cedar [Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Pendula'], with soft floppy fronds (needles) and standing 15 feet or more.



I did my best to identify these using images online, so I welcome any corrections or other input in the comments section! Thanks!