August is the month of so much energy in the garden. The month for plants that are puffed high and wide in the heat, and are proud to say "I'm big, I'm bright, I'm the only one of me in the whole state, and I'm throbbing in yellow, orange, cerise, or burgundy."
Like in this picture: The chrome-leaved raspberry (Rubus cockburnianus 'Aureus'.) The heavy purplish strap-leaves of the eucomis. The rigid, dangerously-sharp white-and-green architecture of the agave.
The Wait-a-minute,-what-IS-that? dangling red flowers of the african violet cousin Sinningia 'Towering Inferno'.
All pretty, all pretty fabulous.
Subtlely isn't on vacation this month, though. Right in the middle, the whole time, is this marvelous little shrub.
Flowers as fragrant as jasmine.
It's been in bloom since May. (Here it is in late June. Trust me on May.)
And tidy, browser-proof foliage too.
No bugs, no rodents, no deer. No nothing: Clear, elegant, happy foliage.
This is Daphne houtteana, only the third year in the ground for me, from a small plant from Heronswood. (Who doesn't seem to sell it any more, but keep reading.)
You can tell it's a daphne right from the trunk, with the shiny bark that looks tightly-stretched around the wood...
...and the "extruded" cylindrical look to the roots as well as the trunk and limbs.
Now if only it had the black foliage that it does at nurseries that sell it. (Visit Chocolate Flower Farm. Thank you for the picture too!)
Black: what could be the antithesis of the vibrating August palette? A shrub with black foliage and white flowers.
Mine was black the first season, but ever since has been charming blue-green. Oh well: Whatever the color, Daphne houtteana is such an indefatigable performer, so elegant and so gets-along-with-everyone too.
Make yours happy with full sun with great drainage in the Winter. Mine is where the soil is half gravel too, which might also be a thought even apart from how much it helps that Winter drainage. Daphne houtteana is none too hardy—upper Zone 6—so siting is the key to its happiness. Dunno what the key is to its now-departed blackness. Summer heat? Humidity? Maybe we'll know more when there's an East Coast nursery that sold it.
Like in this picture: The chrome-leaved raspberry (Rubus cockburnianus 'Aureus'.) The heavy purplish strap-leaves of the eucomis. The rigid, dangerously-sharp white-and-green architecture of the agave.
The Wait-a-minute,-what-IS-that? dangling red flowers of the african violet cousin Sinningia 'Towering Inferno'.
All pretty, all pretty fabulous.
Subtlely isn't on vacation this month, though. Right in the middle, the whole time, is this marvelous little shrub.
Flowers as fragrant as jasmine.
It's been in bloom since May. (Here it is in late June. Trust me on May.)
And tidy, browser-proof foliage too.
No bugs, no rodents, no deer. No nothing: Clear, elegant, happy foliage.
This is Daphne houtteana, only the third year in the ground for me, from a small plant from Heronswood. (Who doesn't seem to sell it any more, but keep reading.)
You can tell it's a daphne right from the trunk, with the shiny bark that looks tightly-stretched around the wood...
...and the "extruded" cylindrical look to the roots as well as the trunk and limbs.
Now if only it had the black foliage that it does at nurseries that sell it. (Visit Chocolate Flower Farm. Thank you for the picture too!)
Black: what could be the antithesis of the vibrating August palette? A shrub with black foliage and white flowers.
Mine was black the first season, but ever since has been charming blue-green. Oh well: Whatever the color, Daphne houtteana is such an indefatigable performer, so elegant and so gets-along-with-everyone too.
Make yours happy with full sun with great drainage in the Winter. Mine is where the soil is half gravel too, which might also be a thought even apart from how much it helps that Winter drainage. Daphne houtteana is none too hardy—upper Zone 6—so siting is the key to its happiness. Dunno what the key is to its now-departed blackness. Summer heat? Humidity? Maybe we'll know more when there's an East Coast nursery that sold it.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
