A Grower Perspective

 Today we had a customer buy several Chamaecyparis thyoides ‘Heather Bun’ which look absolutely great right now. They are a dusty plum color and have a soft and fluffy appearance. (to learn more about this plant, click here) When we asked our customer what he had planned for them, he described a mounding, informal hedge of heatherbun as a backdrop for heather. You might recall heather (Calluna) is a low growing shrub that echoes the soft and mounding shape of ‘Heather Bun.’  The combination sounded so great I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it! So why not try this combination in your yard? We have calluna vulgaris ‘Robert Champan’ (see below, in the foreground) that would make a great companion to ‘Heather Bun.’ All this heather talk is reminding me of the movie “Heathers” from 1988. If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly recommend it. And if you have seen the movie, then you should know that the plants, heather and ‘Heather Bun’, are far better behaved than their movie counterparts. All they will ask of you is full sun and well-drained soil- and you won’t have to worry about the popular crowd.

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There are some pretty negative opinions about junipers out there. Some people might hear the word “juniper” and run away, screaming. What these running, screaming people may not know is that the juniper family is a widely diverse group that includes ground covers, shrubs and trees of all kinds of color, growth habit and landscaping applications. They also might not know that there are some truly beautiful specimens in the juniper family, one of which is ‘Wichita Blue.’ With proper site selection, junipers can reward you with years of care-free beauty. The two most important items for site selection: full sun and well-drained soil. In the Pacific Northwest, this juniper needs full sun to thrive. It will tolerate light shade, and in hotter climates, it appreciates more shade. The other essential, well-drained soil, will ensure success with this juniper.

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Here we have an evergreen fern with lacy, delicate fronds that emerge from the base and fan out from a central rosette. It is a low-maintenance plant that asks very little from you: full shade and in moist, well-drained soil. If you like a neat appearance, you can cut the dead fronds in the early spring, or, if you like a rustic, woodland look, you can leave them for natural mulch.

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An oft-requested plant: an evergreen shrub that looks attractive year-round and is highly adaptable, thriving in the deep shade or hot sun. To answer your question, vaccinium ovatum would respond “I’m your huckleberry.”

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What to say about the Japanese Holly Fern? It seems too obvious to mention that the leaves closely resemble holly leaves. But they do, and they are beautiful and not the least bit sharp.

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