Plants I Dig....

Geraniums

No not those bright annual geraniums, but hardy, perennial Geraniums. It seems like there is one for almost every situation. I love Geranium cantabrigiense as a low groundcover which flowers in spring. ‘Karmina’ has pinkish flowers while ‘Biokovo’ and ‘St. Ola’ are white selections. One of the great features of this species is its fall color of red to purple and its nearly evergreen foliage. My favorite geraniums for their endless flowering abilities are ‘Rozanne’ and ‘Jolly Bee’ (both are hybrids). Almost indistinguishable from each other, both boast violet-blue flowers from May through September.

Blue Muffin Viburnum

This new cultivar of Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum) has many excellent qualities. It is a compact deciduous shrub growing 3-5 feet tall and wide. Its white spring flowers give way to blue berries later in the season. In fall it supposedly gets reddish-purple in fall, though I have known it to be yellow. Though the berries and fall color are great, it is the texture of the plant which I find most appealing. Its bright green serrate leaves are beautiful as they are.

Little-leaf Linden

The little-leaf linden (Tilia cordata) is easily one of my favorite trees, especially when allowed to branch to the ground. Though it does not offer any fall color to speak of, there are plenty of qualities which make this tree worth planting. In my opinion, there is no plant which offers a fragrance to top the linden; it in itself is enough of a reason to include one in your landscape. Not every landscape lends itself to a linden, as they are typically quite large. Lindens in general have attractive foliage, are densely branched and have a very regal form, all of which makes it one of my favorite trees.