Tony Avent

We’ve spent the last two weeks renovating our alpine scree berm plantings, which were originally installed in 1998.  This meant digging up virtually all the plants, adding additional compost to the soil, and then rearranging and replanting.  Here’s a new shot of the finished plantings on the inside of the bed…we love transplanting in midsummer! 

Here’s a fun combination in the garden today…Miscanthus ‘Gold Bar‘ and Tanacetum ‘Isla Gold’, showing how you can echo colors while contrasting forms and textures.

I do love the foliage of the American native, narrow-leaf ironweed, Vernonia lettermanii…even before it’s topped with the purple flowers.  It’s just so hard to find great textural plants like this.  Average to dry soil moisture and a sunny site are the key to success with this one.

I’ve been writing catalog copy for the last few weeks and here’s a sneak peak at one of the many cool new offerings, Aucuba japonica ‘Natsu no Kumo’ PP 14,744.  The new foliage emerges an incredible ivory white.  The new catalog goes on-line and in the mail the second week of August.

Looking very good at Plant Delights Nursery is our crop of the North American native orchid, Calopogon tuberosus.  We have found these to grow wonderfully in straight peat moss, if it’s kept moist. We are very excited to be able to offer our own nursery propagated stock!

I pass our clump of Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘White Surprise’ several times each day and am always impressed with what a great grower it is…and this is before the blue flowers even begin. Here it is in the garden today….I hope you agree!