I made an effort this winter not to fall prey to temptation and purchase more plants online than I have room to fit into my garden or energy to plant when they arrive. It's hard not to go crazy when we're deep into dark days and all I want to do is buy myself treats for next year's garden.
We've had a lack of significant snow cover for much of this winter, coupled with extreme cold. Cold is usually not a problem if the garden is sleeping under a thick blanket of snow all season. What this means is that when I am ordering plants in January or February I don't yet know if what I ordered and planted the prior year has survived. So it's always possible I am throwing good money after bad.
I mostly stuck with plants I have had good luck growing and that are geared to my zone. And I limited my purchases to two nurseries who offer terrific plants that have arrived in great shape and survived in my garden in past years. The two suppliers are Avant Gardens Nursery and Design on the East Coast and Far Reaches Farm in the Pacific Northwest. Mainly I bought foliage plants and shrubs with a few flowering plants like Primula poisonii and Iris lactea added for good measure.
I've only seen the variegated Aralia (top photo) growing in someone's garden one time and I've been searching for it ever since. It can take full sun to full shade making it extremely useful. It does have thorns but I have a number of places to put it where that won't be a problem. I also bought three different ferns including Pteridophyllum racemosum (directly above) which looks like a fern but is actually a member of the poppy family. But unlike ferns this plant sports spikes of white flowers in the spring. I love how it looks growing with Arum italicum in the photo and I may replicate that same combination.
I also ordered Adiantum x tracyi (above) which is a naturally occurring hybrid between A. aleuticum (the Western maidenhair fern) and the Californian Adiantum jordanii. This grows to about 20 inches high which will be sweetly dramatic. It is listed as hardy to Z6 and "likely lower." I am chancing that it will be able to handle Zone 5. I've had great luck with both A. pedatum, the common Maidenhair fern, and A. venustum, the Himalayan Maidenhair.
The other fern I bought is Dryopteris labradorei, the golden mist fern. The word "dry" in the name of this family of ferns says it all. They do very well in dry areas. I have a group of D. remota, the remote wood fern, growing in the triangle between a silver Maple tree, a Canada Hemlock and a huge old Arborvita. So this is a fern family I will always find another spot for in my garden.
All photos are from the websites of Far Reaches and Avant Gardens.
You have inspired a project for me today. I haven't placed my order yet this spring. This cold weather has kept my ambitions at bay. I like all of your choices but especially the D. fern. It looks like a special plant with that bit of gold. I wonder if it turns green after the flush of spring gold? I might have to try that one.
Posted by: Lisa at Greenbow | Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 07:18 AM
The new growth is that great gold color but I will have to discover how long it actually lasts. I have Autumn fern and the goldish tones on that last quite a while.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 08:48 AM
Your restraint in ordering is admirable! Looking forward to seeing where you plant these when they arrive!
Posted by: Peter/Outlaw | Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 09:32 AM
I've made file cards for each plant and on the back I wrote where I intend to plant them. Now we just have to see if I follow what I was thinking when I ordered them. Plants won't arrive until late April.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 09:47 AM
Excellent choices! You really find the coolest things to add, I love that poppy-which-looks-likea-fern! I think I saw that somewhere else recently, I bet it was here.
What a good job you do keeping track of your orders and new additions. I need to motivate myself to do the same, but each year I hope for the same thing!
Posted by: Frank | Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 06:24 PM
I did order a few more things I did not mention but that is very restrained compared to my last few years. Plus I have gift certificates for two local nurseries so more is definitely coming. You know I am a list-maker so that helps with records. But mostly I kept records because I wrote about gardening as part of my newspaper job and I did a lot of garden speaking etc. and people want to know exact names of things.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at 09:28 AM