And boy am I ready to wrap it up, as I introduce you to a few more of our damn fine plants on sale tomorrow, 9/20, 10am-12pm at the WG.
Today we’re looking at a few selections of California lilac, aka Ceanothus. Then there’s Dierama, the angel’s fishing rod and lastly Borinda, the lovely clumping bamboo.
Likely you’ve seen front yards with big shrubs smothered in impossibly blue flowers anytime between May and July. That’s Ceanothus, the California lilac, a genus that absolutely thrives here, unlike in Portland, where they end up looking like burnt toast.
For a generally well-known plant, ceanothus is still underutilized at the coast. We’re hoping to change that with several different varieties:
‘Concha’ is THE plant for you if you’re in the market for a really big stunner of a shrub, like 8’x8’. Otherworldly ultramarine flowers. Like all ceanothus, it’s easy to grow: full sun and no water.
‘Dark Star’ is a bit smaller with wowza flowers and very small, bite-size leaves. Bear in mind, the worse the soil is for these plants the slower they’ll grow. Consider that a plus. And if you don’t have any full sun left in your garden, consider yanking out those suffering sunburnt rhodies.
‘Italian Skies’ has the largest flower trusses of all the ceanothus. The plant tops out at 5’x7’ and the bloom color’s been alternately described as, well, light blue, medium blue and blue. Can’t go wrong.
Lastly, a ground-covering ceanothus: ‘Point Reyes’. This one I can say with certainty is light violet blue. Gorgeous useful evergreen that covers a lot of distance and smothers everything in its way.
Enough with the honking beasts, here’s a look at a particularly delicate perennial: angel’s fishing rod.
Dierama pulchurrimum ‘White’ is a sweetheart of a mid-summer bloomer that prefers not to be crowded by other plants. Any work required (full sun, rich soil, regular water) pays off with music of celestial beauty. What can I say, see the picture below.
Our last plant is somewhat dainty in appearance but rugged and undemanding. Clumping bamboos are different from running bamboos, the devils who devour property. Instead, clumpers just fill out slowly and don’t send out runners. We’re selling the delicate-looking Borinda angustissima, little leaf clumping bamboo, a soft green fountain topping out at 10’ and @4’ wide. We’ve got it in a lot of shade but it would also enjoy a nice big sip of morning sun.
Done! Check out the pix and see you tomorrow, 10am-12pm at the Wonder Garden!
