Like Large Snow Diamonds In the Garden: Edgeworthia Chrysantha

Any plant that give you year round interest in the garden is the plant you want to grow. Edgeworthia chrysantha, aka Paperbush, fits the bill perfectly. Just look at those fuzzy buds on my bare shrub. To me they look like large snow diamonds dangling off of the brown bark. Not only is the interest in the fuzzy buds but in the sweetly scented blooms that bloom in late winter (January through March here in Upper Middle Tennessee). Once spring arrives the shrub will get elongated green leaves that stay looking good all season long. Come fall those leaves slowly turn yellow and will fall off the shrub exposing the beautiful buds. This shrub has never failed to attract attention in my gardens.

An entire shrub really makes a big statement in the winter garden. Neither snow nor cold seems to faze them; tho you do want to plant your paperbush in a sheltered area as they are only marginally hardy to our area. Sources will tell you this shrub is hardy to Zone 7 (which we changed to in 2012) but if you plant paperbush in an exposed area you are dooming the bush. I have found through several years of growing paperbush that a north or eastern exposure is a perfect exposure and you need to plant it near a wall of a house so it can be sheltered from winds and perhaps get some heat from the house. Planting it out in the sun and in windy locations will ensure these large buds will quickly freeze and fall off prior to blooming.

As you can see mine is in a small alcove on the north side of the above brick wall. It is an area I always planned for this valued shrub even before the house was built. The hard part for me was moving my existing paperbush from the old house to this spot. I dug it in February of last year and I really had no hope it would survive but it did! Not only did it survive even though it came out of the ground bareroot, it has thrived in this area. I am hoping to get some offsets from this shrub this year so I can spread it around. Paperbush is very, very, difficult to find in my area but if you go south a state or two it is a bit more common. I lucked out and purchased this one from a vendor at the Nashville Lawn and Garden show several years ago. I never could understand why paperbush was so prominent in the display gardens at the Garden Show but was nowhere to be found for sale at the garden show. By the way, this year's Nashville Lawn and Garden Show will be held from March 3 thru March 6 at the Nashville Fairgrounds. 

Paperbush will like an organically rich spot with good drainage in mostly shade or part sun. Be sure to site it close to your house where you can not only enjoy the 'snow diamonds' but also enjoy the sweet scent of its bloom. Other than that sit back and enjoy the show....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Pretty Lady Emily Anemone

Gardening is all about growing plants, so from time to time I like to profile super good plants. The last one I profiled was Allium 'Millenium' and this month it is 'Pretty Lady Emily' Japanese anemone. 


It seems like at the end of the growing season each year there are several pots of the 'Pretty Lady' series anemones left over in our local big box stores. Since I love Japanese anemones and I love a bargain plant as well, I always tend to pick these perennials up. I have to tell you though that I've never had luck with them coming back in my garden until this year. 

Even before our house was finished last fall I happened across several pots of these pretty little anemones. I immediately bought them and planted them in a foundation garden at the edge of the sidewalk. I seem to recall it was in October of 2014 that these plants were planted. I honestly did not have much hope for them because the soil where they are planted is not the best and they were planted fairly late in the season. It was also a tough winter for perennials last year. Despite these little not so perfect conditions this anemone came back wonderfully. Even where the original plant had died out the plant managed to put on new growth from the roots near the original plant. Slowly, but surely, all spring and summer these plants filled in. They actually got quite a bit of good leafy growth and I believe I'll be able to divide these soon and increase my stock of them due to all the growth.

It was sometime early last month that the numerous buds began to open. Slowly at first then with more speed, so much so that the plants are now covered with pink blooms. They are an attractive edging along the sidewalk and just happen to be planted near my pink garden so they really work out well for me. Now that we are in October the plants are still blooming but the older blooms have declined quite a bit. They are still pink but not so much in their prime as they were a few weeks ago. I absolutely love these perennials! This particular anemone is more compact than most and stays in its allotted space fairly easy. I've allowed about one square foot of space for them and they'll get about that tall as well.

I never watered them at all this summer and we have had some serious dry spells but that did not seem to faze these guys. I have them growing on the east side of my home where they get the full morning sun until about noonish.


This pretty lady is a great addition to perennial beds for late season color....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Allium 'Millenium'

It has been a long time since I have done a plant profile and I am not really sure why other than time gets in the way. I love plants and especially love good plants. I have a good deal of good plants in my gardens. These are plants that look good all season, are easy to care for, serve a purpose, and provide nectar and/or pollen for the pollinators. One such plant is allium 'Millenium'.

This allium is a very new addition to my garden. When I visited Ohio in June I also visited a great deal of plant nurseries and got some good buys. Did you know plants vary by region? Even plants that will grow in my Tennessee garden might not be available in my area. Therefore, traveling to other states and plant nurseries help to provide a smorgasbord of options for good plants that not only grow in other states, but also grow in my Tennessee garden. This allium is perfectly hardy in Tennessee and has withstood heat and drought and being newly transplanted and divided admirably. It is a winner all around. I was most excited to find it.

A good deal of alliums are prolific self seeding perennials. Not this one! This one is sterile and grows from a rhizomatous bulb that will slowly spread to form a good sized clump. Right now my clumps are small and kind scarce. That is to be expected since I bought only three pots but divided those three pots into six or seven clumps. Next year they'll be bigger and better.

I planted mine at the front of the foundation border near some garden phlox that echoes the color of the 'Millenium' allium. Both the phlox and the allium are beloved by butterflies. I could not really get a picture of the allium without a skipper partaking of its goodness. Okay, I could've but geez, don't you love the skipper on the flower? Pollinators are quickly becoming a passion for me in my garden.

These are long blooming attractive in any season perennials. They are also deer and rabbit resistant. So far so good!

The next time you are looking for a great plant look up 'Millenium' allium. It just can't be beat for late season color and ease of growth....

in the garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Aucuba Japonicas in the Home Garden

It has been quite a while since I first posted about Aucuba japonica (Aucuba japonica), aka Gold Dust Plant, so I thought I'd take the time to talk about this favored shrub of mine here in Tiger Gardens. Winter is sometimes when the aucubas shine the most in the garden so right now, early February, is the time to spotlight this wonderfully adaptable shrub.

We'll first start with a description which will include glossy evergreen leaves speckled and splashed with dots of yellow. It is almost as if someone took a paintbrush and flicked specks of yellow paint all over this deep evergreen shrub. The shrub will stay a neat and rounded shape that will very slowly grow to about six feet or more in the home garden. My aucubas have been in place about eight years and have finally reached the very large size of four feet tall and about 3 1/2-4' wide.

Aucubas begin producing buds in the winter. Soon these buds will open up and bloom. If there is a male shrub nearby and the buds on a female aucuba are pollinated you will be overjoyed to see berries growing on your aucubas. The berries have not yet formed on these shrubs this year but if you'd like to see what they will look like take a quick peek at my first aucuba post found here. It is absolutely necessary to have a male plant along with female plants if you want berries on your aucubas. At many reputable and good quality nurseries you should be about to find aucubas sexed-labeled male or female. Big box stores may or may not have their aucubas labeled as to male or female so be aware that when you purchase an aucuba you need both a boy and a girl in order to have berries. If, however, you only wish to propagate the aucubas they can be rooted easily from cuttings so you don't need the berries to make more.

Aucubas fit into woodland and shade gardens marvelously. I have mine all planted in a raised bed surrounding a large short pitch pine located in the front yard. There is also a nearby Pieris (Pieris japonica 'Mountain Fire'). Both of these shrubs grow in a good organic soil that is heavily mulched with pine needles from the pine tree each year. The garden is extremely dry during the summertime so I occasionally have to water-but you must be very careful when watering aucubas. It is better not to water them than to water too often too shallowly. I think I watered these aucubas only one time last summer from early May until late June. Most of the other plants and shrubs in my garden required far more water. Be sure you give aucubas and pieris a good well drained area in which to grow or they will suffer. Both pieris and the aucubas need some sun protection and will burn if not given sun protection. Pieris and aucubas are shrubs for the shade.


My aucubas help to provide a great deal of privacy from the road in front of my home. Evergreen shrubs are good for that as well as for looking great in the wintertime. The above picture was taken looking toward the silverberries and road. I wanted you all to see just how full and lush the aucubas are during this time of the year. It wasn't until I uploaded these pictures that I saw the little female cardinal sitting in the hedge on a crepe myrtle branch. Can you see her?

If not, here is an up close picture of the cardinal enjoying the view of the aucubas....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden