STILL TIME TO PLANT SPRING CROCUS

Crocus chrysanthus 'Cream Beauty'
www.whiteflowerfarm.com/140714-product.html

Fall shipping for bulbs usually ends around the end of October, so you still have time for crocus.

Crocuses are inherently charming and courageous as they brave blasts of cold air and accumulated icy snow in early Spring. Perhaps, most importantly, crocuses provide a healing splash of bright color in the landscape after a seemingly-interminable, gray and bleak Winter.



Crocus 'Pickwick'











Separate from violet in your composition with another color but not white.

Here's how to do crocuses. If your site has space, avoid the color mixes. Make a selection of five varieties that includes one white. Strive for an accent of something unexpected, such as the tawny shade of 'Cream Beauty.' Incorporate a bright yellow, one of its color wheel opposite, violet, and something striped:

That's:

'Cream Beauty'
White
Yellow
Violet
Stiped

In this case, quantities of each color are not as important as creating individual color drifts. In fact, the aesthetic effect is much more dramatic if the indivudal color quantities are highly varied.

Offset the drifts with about 7-11, oddly-placed single crocus corms slightly away from the drift itself to simulate naturalization. Do not blend the offset corms into another color drift.

Spring crocuses! The perfect segue from Winter Tyde.

VISIT THE AMAZING VITEC'S NEW SHOP FOR STUNNING BIRD PORTRAIT ORIGINALS

Monticello in autumn
www.monticello.org/




A masterful robin portrait by the brilliant VITEC

The Green Man chanced upon the deliriously-magnificent, Impressionist bird paintings of Berkshire, England-based artist VITEC several years ago. Now, he has an online shop, and it gratifies TGM to see and know he is prospering!

The new Etsy shop features bird miniatures although VITEC has created other artwork such as still lifes (some possibly yet available), and one certainly hopes he is open to private commissions.

VITEC's work is simply brilliant, and the artist has played an important role in revitalizing the endangered, holiday tradition of the Christmas Robin.

Visit today to view VITEC's enthralling, superb work!

www.etsy.com/shop/VitecArt?ref=seller_info&order=price_desc&page=1



Portrait of a great tit by England's VITEC

(Click on image for a breathtaking enlargement.)

PEONY 'WHITE TOWERS' MEDIATES COLORS

Monticello in autumn
www.monticello.org/



Paeonia 'White Towers'

"Brand new and not to be missed, this lustrous double is indeed a tower of pure white petals, rising above good, dark green foliage that is so important after the big show has passed. 'White Towers' has delightful fragrance, too. A great choice for a Moon Garden. Midseason."

Available from www.whiteflowerfarm.com

The Green Man recommends this new cultivar from White Flower Farm for peony beds. 'White Towers' offers a dazzling display of double white that mediates colors in your peony bed.

Outline the area of your proposed peony bed. Use 3 color cultivars. Choose 3 colorful varieties, but separate them in the bed with a drift of 'White Towers.' Such a strategy will allow the subtleties of each of the color varieties to be optimized by eliminating visual competition and by brightening the display in general.



"Coral Collection" peonies










For example, plant White Flower Farm's "Coral Collection," subtle pinks with hints of yellow, in your bed. However, separate each variety with an elongated drift of 'White Towers' between each, but use fewer plants. For example, try, left to right in your peony bed, a 5-3-5-3-5 combination.



No matter the numerical combination, do not use the same amount of white; use more or fewer whites than the color cultivars. Each variety will stand out optimally.


Plant peonies in full sun.

KOREAN SPICE VIBURNUM 'DIANA' HITS THE MARK

Heronswood features this "must-have" compact, tough, yet graceful viburnum. Makes the perfect hedge.



Try search term: heronswood

BEAUTYBERRY 'DUET' BRIGHTENS UP THE SHADE GARDEN

Variegated beautyberry 'Duet' is Callicarpa dichotoma 'Duet.'

The Green Man loves the use of Beautyberry cultivars as accents in the landscape.

Cultivar 'Duet' is especially useful as a large shrub for shady areas in tough sites: the white of its variegated leaves brightens dark corner and add an element of surprise. The small berries this shrub produces are enchanting and understated, while the shrub itself responds well in difficult conditions and exhibits some deer resistance.

Definitely an "equity" addition to your grounds! Use sparingly. 3 for most home sites max. Larger areas can take 5, but no more or the effect is diluted. Arrange in pairs at large passageway entrys, and/or triangulate around the site.

Try www.heronswood.com, or search the name.

"Anticipate a joyous cascade of cream and green variegated foliage from this fine-stemmed, fountain-like 6' shrub. Come Fall, 'Duet' reveals a secret: the unique white fruit clustering along the stems. Like a perennial, once established, it needs to be cut to the ground in early spring. Will do fine in poor, if well-drained soil. Disease-and insect-free. Full sun to part shade."

"GOT GALANTHUS?"

The Giant Snowdrop, Galanthus elwesii

Glistening, celestially-white, snowdrops are de rigueur for early Spring cheer! Use the Giant Galanthus sparingly! 3-5 rather compact drifts in easily visible areas, for example, near the house entry, of 7 plants suffice...otherwise, the subtlety is lost.

Use, also, other Galanthus species available at The Green Man's favorite bulb purveyor JOHN SCHEEPERS.

www.johnscheepers.com/catview.cgi?_fn=Item&_recordnum=3500&_category=Best:Galanthus