Do You See What I See?

My good friend and horticultural demigod, John Stella, inspired the title of this article. Several months ago we were talking about characteristics of plants and how a trained eye can see them so clearly. Just as a doctor can look at an X-ray, a mechanic can listen to engine or a chef can taste the individual ingredients of a dish, so too can a plant person look into the depths of a landscape and pull apart all of it’s inner beauty with ease. Asked years ago to list all of my favorite plants, I believe I gave up somewhere around 400 or 500. There are simply too many plants that do too many wonderful things to have a list any smaller. While most are happy just being enamored with the leaves and flowers of plants, there are those of us who appreciate the bark and twigs as well. Many trees and shrubs devoid of their foliage offer outstanding characteristics, in the dead of winter, and in many cases builds the argument for their main appeal in the first place.

Coral Bark Maple, Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’ has to be the grand champion for winter interest. An upright, deciduous tree that many, when they first learn it, deem to be the most shocking because of its electric red bark in the coldest months of the year. Here’s another though, Pacific Fire Vine Maple, Acer circinatum ‘Pacific Fire’ also has similar markings. This one, however, has more of an orange-red hue on its bark with a waxy sheen that leaps out at you in the winter. Paperbark Maple, Acer griseum has classic cinnamon or red-brown exfoliating bark. “Snow acts as a perfect foil for the bark and accentuates its qualities” Michael Dirr. Persian Parrotia, Parrotia persica, a tree native to Iran has exfoliating gray, green, white and brown patches on older specimens and is a personal favorite. Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides is the most widely distributed tree of North America! Younger trees express smooth, greenish-white to cream colored bark and landscape designers like the strong vertical white lines they offer as they come through mass plantings beneath them. Japanese Zelkova, Zelkova serrata is heavily lenticelled and usually depicted with a strong central trunk supporting a huge vase-like head. The bark, on older specimens, has gray-brown markings, often exfoliating, reminiscent of Chinese Elm, Ulmus parvifolia.

Perhaps my favorite, smaller deciduous shrub, for winter interest, is Japanese Kerria, Kerria japonica. Distinct yellowish green, and in many cases, bright neon- green stems in the winter are a beacon for many. Kerria, incidentally, looks infinitely better when mass planted. Common Winterberry, Ilex verticillata has bright red, sticky fruit, often in pairs, looking as though they are holding on for dear life through February. Tatarian Dogwood, Cornus alba is a deciduous dogwood shrub of medium stature, reaching heights of 6-10 feet. And while there are many with interesting foliage, the winter months punctuate the bark, often showing crimson reds or bright yellows. And who could forget Highbush Blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum; whose stem color in the winter is yellowish-green to red. Another superb deciduous plant for mass plantings!

Finally to the conifers! Albeit, the following plants are not deprived of their foliage in the winter, on the contrary, they maintain their winter coats and also have distinguishable marking that amplify their external jackets. A Lodgepole Pine drawing considerable attention is Pinus contorta ‘Chief Joseph’. A deep, rich, golden-yellow pine pulls itself away from the drab colors of winter and beckons to be touched to see if it’s real. Found in the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon by Doug Will, this tree transforms itself from green in the warmer months to extreme yellow in the colder months. A Canadian hemlock to note is Tsuga Canadensis ‘Albospica’. Cultivated since 1866, this hemlock has snowy-white tips that contrast dramatically against its interior dark-green needles. A dusting of fresh snow held over this shade garden plant will make you a believer that there is a God. Finally, a Himalayan Pine with incredible winter interest is Pinus wallichiana ‘Zebrina’. A variegated selection that has long, thin needles and bands of yellow held in and around powder blues. Formerly listed as Pinus griffithi, Himalayan pines are native to the high mountains of Afghanistan to Nepal.

Many plants devoid of their foliage offer outstanding attributes. My hope is that this article has you looking at landscapes this winter in a new light. While flowers, leaves and needles are nice to look at; it’s not the whole picture. Great gardens inspire us throughout the seasons and winter is where it all begins.

‘Gingerbread’ Is Not Just For The Holidays!

Social medias are growing on me. Once apprehensive and skeptical about these viral outlets, I have grown to like them and find them purposeful and educational at times. I still feel that they are used as a popularity contest, by some, trying to acquire as many friends as they can on the likes of Facebook, however, I have come to find my groove with them, using social medias as an invaluable tool to educate and inform others about plants.
Last month I took a field trip with a fellow colleague, John Stella, and a customer of ours to our deciduous tree grower in the middle of Pennsylvania. The goal, that day, was to find and hand tag, as we do with all our plant material, two fastigiate trees that would frame the entranceway to our customer’s home. During our expedition we happened across a small grove of a more unusual, yet up and coming, deciduous tree named ‘Gingerbread’ Paperbark maple (Acer griseum x nikoense ‘Ginzam’). Here we were in the middle of a field, surrounded by some 800 acres of trees and I had the opportunity to film this exquisite tree. After filming the attributes and describing the tree in full detail I was able to upload the experience to our website and YouTube channel and offer the experience to the world. More specifically though to our customers and other plant enthusiasts.
Acer griseum x nikoense ‘Gingerbread’ is a four-season tree, having visible attributes in every season! What most have come to expect from Paperbark maple (Acer griseum) is the reliable exfoliating bark that seems to tear and fold over in sheets while maintaining a polished, smooth, copper-cinnamon color throughout the tree. A trait that is most notable in the winter when the tree is undressed, however clearly visible year round. Acer ‘Gingerbread’s’ bark, however, is visibly different. Here the bark is fissured, that is to say torn lengthwise with vertical furrows as it matures and this persists all the way through the head of the tree. However, during its adolescence unbelievable markings help identify and punctuate its impressive bark. Standing in the middle of Pennsylvania, that day, looking carefully at rows of ‘Gingerbread’, muscular, ripples were clearly evident along the trunk, even from a distance, whereas the bark seemed as though muscles were being flexed from within the tree creating an almost crosshatch pattern. ‘Gingerbread’ is a small to medium tree in stature, with mature specimens expected to grow 20-25 feet high and 10-15 feet wide. The overall habit is rounded to slightly oval, with trifoliate leaves that go from green to remarkable hues of red and orange in the autumn. Appreciating full sun to part shade, ‘Gingerbread’ is drought tolerant once established, however appreciates occasional attention. Expect less than 12 inches a year in annual growth from this deciduous wonder.
Mentioned earlier, ‘Gingerbread’ is a hybrid between Acer griseum and Acer maximowiczianum (formerly Acer nikoense). Both trees are indigenous to Central China with Nikko Maple being slightly more cold hardy than griseum. However, both trees, academically, will survive in zone 5 easily. Suitable for small yards, both trees have been used as specimens; however a grove of Acer griseum’s I once saw in Hoboken, New Jersey still remains with me. Relatively pest free, the stigma that both are fiscally unobtainable to most has been overshadowed, as availabilities have increased. So who is credited for finding this faster grower than the species? Well, kudos go out to Girard Nurseries in Geneva, Ohio. After a lengthy search to find out whose tree this actually was, I came across a garden forum that identified Girard Nurseries as the finder of the tree. A quick phone call to the nursery confirmed what I had found and I was introduced to Jeff Forinash, one of the owners of the nursery, who told me how the tree came about. Apparently seed was picked in Rochester, New York in the early 1960’s by Girard’s grandfather and the original tree, standing some 25 feet tall, is outside their facility still today.
Our field trip was successful by many accounts. We did manage to find and tag two Zelkova serrata ‘Musashino’s’ standing some 22 feet tall, with 5.5” caliper trunks, weighing in at 3,500 pounds fulfilling our customer’s request. And while that may seem impressive the “sleeper” of the trip was clearly the ‘Gingerbread’ block we happened across. A small block, albeit, those 5-6” caliper ‘Gingerbread’s’ will forever hold in my mind. A multi-season tree with outstanding bark, fall color, trifoliate leaves and a small stature, even a suitable bonsai candidate… you see, you can enjoy ‘Gingerbread’ all year long.

Uncommonly Good

Last December I wrote an article entitled “Bold Vision” which discussed an outstanding garden in Nutley, New Jersey done by an exceptional designer, Richard Hartlage. The article discusses, in some detail, the layers and principles of that garden and fine garden design. One plant, in particular, which I was enamored with, in that garden, was Rohdea japonica.
Why discuss an evergreen-perennial seldom seen in gardens this time of year? Because the potential of this uncommon plant lies beyond the footprint it can have in your garden. Rohdea japonica is the sole species in the genus Rohdea. Native to eastern Asia from southwestern China to Japan, the common names for this unique plant are Nippon Lily, Sacred Lily and Japanese Sacred Lily. A rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial with fibrous roots, Sacred Lily has broad, lanceolate, evergreen leaves. The flowers are produced in short, stout, dense spikes with pale yellow markings. However, the fruit is a deep red-orange berry held in tight clusters, nestled deep within the 15” foliage. Rohdea benefits from partial to full shade and appears to be deer resistant in our yard. An excellent choice for a limited spread groundcover, Rohdea is also drought tolerant once established. “Hardy” to zone 6a (-10 Fahrenheit) reports on the internet have the plant doing well in Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, Pennsylvania and of course New Jersey. The leaves and root of this plant are depurative, diuretic and febrifuge, used in the treatment of abscesses, boils and sore throat. Rohdea shows cardiac activity similar to another plant you may have heard of… Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. While these noted medicinal qualities appear often throughout Internet research, it is important to note that Rohdea is generally regarded as inedible and possibly toxic!
Having known of this plant for a number of years I was inspired to install a small grove of it in our own garden after a recent vacation on the Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship. On this ship Central Park was recreated and a mass planting of Janet Craig Compacta, Dracaena deremensis, reminded me of Rohdea. Sited on the west side of our property, behind a Ginkgo, recessed in an alcove, stands our grove of some 50 Rohdea and today, as I write this article, has some spectacular fruit set coming our way. The lush, thick, almost tropical looking, wide straps of this plant inspired me to also use this versatile perennial in raised applications. On its own, Rohdea looks fantastic in planters and window boxes for the holidays. Over the years we have used this evergreen perennial at restaurants and churches, in their outdoor planters, for holiday decorating.
As with most plants there are several cultivars to be on the look out for. ‘Chirimen Boshi’ has rounded, overlapping leaves with varying degrees of creamy edging. ‘Mure Suzume’ translates to “flock of sparrows” and again offers overlapping leaves, however, this time on a very dwarf plant. White streaks along the rim of its tapered foliage are notable. ‘White Canoe’ has white bands and fills out to a frothy mound of green and white. ‘Yattazu Yan Jaku’ has very distinct upright foliage splashed with creamy markings. Finally, ‘Galle’ seems most closely related to Rohdea japonica with the exception of more polished green leaves that are narrower. Whatever variety you decide on, know that this plant is usually a bit more costly than your other, more easily recognizable, perennials. Not one to equate plants merely to dollars and cents, this perennial is exceptional and the added cost to produce such a plant will more than return its initial cost in your garden.
Richard Hartlage said it best, “It’s not about what is rare, but rather what will work”! In a time when dwarf Alberta spruce seem so prevalent and pedestrian in outdoor planters, flanking the entrance ways to many homes, consider filling your pots with this rugged, perennial-evergreen. Thick, straps of green foliage with red fruit embedded in its interior, what could be more timely than that for the holiday season?

Vegas Baby

Vegas Baby… a phrase that my wife taught our three-year-old daughter on a recent vacation to Las Vegas. Right smack in the middle of August we decided it would be a great idea to visit a desert, 110-degree dry heat by the way, to celebrate my mother in law’s milestone birthday. Vegas has come along way since the vision Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel had, an American gangster who was a driving force behind the large-scale development, of the now metropolitan Las Vegas. A city where anything seems possible and most is unbelievable, Vegas has long caught our attention and afforded our family many fond memories.
My nephew, a landscape architecture student at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, has told me time and time again that the built form of architecture must go hand in hand with the plant form and land form in order to achieve the best design solution. Subscribing to this philosophical view, and I do, then Las Vegas is achieving great design. My passions have always been held within the forms of great geometric design, thus one of our reasons for staying at the Venetian Hotel. Italian architecture littered with statuary, columns, belvederes and pergolas all contributed to, and softened, the hard geometric shapes of the pools and landscape beds. Wisteria engulfed archways, ficus trees, Sago palms and olive trees erupting through landscaped beds while nandina, boxwood, pittosporum and liriope helped frame their edges. And who could forget those beautiful Italian cypresses that anchored and solidified the Italian theme? Adding to the thoughtful design were huge stone planters filled with asparagus fern and spiral junipers. Walls of Noble privet, podocarpus and southern magnolia helped soften walls and hide utility boxes. Finally, vinca flower and pentas seemed unaffected by the incredible heat and begged to be noticed as they were in full flower.
Heading south down Las Vegas Boulevard, to the Bellagio Hotel, proved to be just as rewarding. Here is where you can begin to understand the importance of sculpture in the garden. Entering through the front doors and into the lobby, the Fiori di Como, is suspended, inside a coffer, some 18 feet above your head. What is the Fiori Di Como? A chandelier, by the renowned glass artisan Dale Chihuly, which is comprised of 2,000 hand blown, glass blossoms. This is the precursor to Bellagio’s conservatory and botanical gardens. Here, in August, waves of a bromeliad, Aechmea Del Mar and Tillandsia cyanea, an epiphyte from Ecuador, helped provide a bedding floor to support gigantic ant sculptures. A huge, toppled clay pot had flowers spilling out from it. Equal in size was a gardeners spade dimpled into the soil. It all seemed to be left behind by the giant in the English fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk. Couple this architecture with the largest, sculpted, European Sevillana olive tree collection in the world, open to the public, and you can begin to admire the detail and efforts made by the 140 expert horticulturists the Bellagio employs. Gazebos, bridges and water features helped support this theatrical garden and experiences like this change seasonally.
Finally, CITYCENTER!! The Architectural Record referred to this 8.5 billion dollar project, on its front cover, as a sand castle. 18 million-square feet, 6,000 hotel rooms, 2,400 condominiums, 38 restaurants and bars, a convention center, shopping mall, 150,000 square-foot casino and an Elvis themed Cirque du Soleil show all on 76 acres with LEED certification…WOW! The largest privately funded construction project in the history of the United States surely did not disappoint. The approach is magnanimous and as our taxi let us out under Aria’s porte- cochere, fountains and the “Focus” were within sight. “Focus” is an expansive, curved water wall made of textured stone measuring 250 feet long and 24 feet high. Programmable, both the speed and direction of the water wall can be controlled as it pulses and soothes your soul. Prominent artists have galleries just outside the outer entrance circle. Most impressive was the Richard MacDonald studio. Today’s, Anguste Rodin, here is genius that creates “dynamic, sensitive works”. Introduced to his work, I was most impressed with his sculpture of Rudolf Nureyev, a Russian Tatar dancer from the Soviet Union, who was known for his work in ballet. I imagined the piece sitting in our backyard held within our garden walls and it is here that I fully grasped the importance of art in the garden.
Vegas offers some of the greatest architectural feats done today. Land forms, plant forms and architecture all meld so creatively with independent themes running up and down the strip. Vegas… a city that is a true oasis, inspires imagination, holds dreams and continually proves that the impossible is certainly possible.

Sweeter Than His Chocolate

Milton Hershey, I imagine, was one of those people who, if you were lucky enough to meet, would have had a profound impact on your life. Not because of his fame or money, but rather because of his honest, wholesome outlook on life. Everyone knows about his famous chocolate bars, but how many know of his life’s work that also included a school he founded for orphans or the city he created to improve his workers’ lives. A man, whose ambitions took him from poverty to philanthropy also, along the way, developed a love for gardening.

Hershey, it is said, closely supervised the landscaping of his grounds. His wife, Catherine Hershey, “shared her husband’s passion for gardens, making a lasting contribution to the town of Hershey through her interest in landscaping and the preservation of trees.” I had not been to Hershey Park in the last 25 years and remembered very little. However, a family vacation to the park gave my wife and I a chance to relive our childhood again through our daughter’s eyes. While her interpretation of the park was similar to mine at her age, enamored with the rides and chocolate factory, my views were now focused at the plants, which help frame the park and chocolate factory. Immediately outside the famous chocolate factory is a standing grove of Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). A genus, which seems to have been around since time began, has attributes which are attractive year round and is an obvious choice to help provide shade in a short period of time. Another standout for me, close to the “Kissing Tower” was my sought after Ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba). I knew Mr. Hershey would show good taste and incorporate a Ginkgo somewhere on his grounds. He did not disappoint! And while his amusement park is littered with some outstanding deciduous trees and conifers, his real genius was to be found across the street in the Hershey Gardens.

The Hershey Gardens were opened in 1937 and in time grew to 23 spectacular acres. In lieu of sponsoring a national rosarium in Washington D.C., Hershey opted to create a garden in Hershey, Pennsylvania where the community could enjoy themselves. Once you pay your admission, the Children’s Garden is just one of the many “Theme Gardens” you will encounter. Truly an educational garden, the 30 smaller gardens that comprise the Children’s Garden simply make learning fun. The human sundial, the Butterfly House, the ABC Border and Chocolate Lane all help with colors, counting and the ABC’s. Combine this with whimsical names like Chocolate Vine (Fiveleaf Akebia), White Chocolate Crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia ‘White Chocolate’) and a Poppy named ‘Royal Chocolate’ and you can begin to feel the emersion going on here. Other theme gardens include a perennial, herb, rock, ornamental grass, Bill Bowman (dedicated to the former Hershey Gardens director), Japanese and Rose garden to name most. I must admit, not being a rosarian myself, there was still an admiration for witnessing 5,600 roses representing some 275 varieties that were in bloom the day of my visit. Not to mention the fragrance of such a spectacle! However, I found most of my time well spent divvied up between the Japanese, Arboretum and rock gardens. Each of these gardens, and for that matter every theme garden at Hershey, could be the subject for an article having their own highlights for me. The arboretum was host to some magnificent specimens, but the beehive embedded in the monstrous Common Horsechestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) will forever be remembered. The rock garden was home to a Japanese cedar that adorns our house and whose origin I was unaware. Cryptomeria japonica ‘Rein’s Dense Jade’ entombs our backyard, some 54 to be exact, and I have J. Vermeulen and Sons Inc. of Neshanic Station, New Jersey to thank. It seems the “Mother Tree” first discovered in the late 1960’s was dedicated to Hershey Gardens in May 2007 and for this I am extremely grateful. Finally, the Japanese garden! Let me just leave you with this. There are a few of these types of gardens in the United States that you could visit, put this one at the top of your list. A grove of China Fir (Cunninghamia), a California-Nutmeg (Torreya californica) and a sweep of Himalayan Sweetbox (Sarcococca) framing some Dawn Redwoods is enough to fill your day.

Hershey proved to be a wholesome experience entertaining all of us. It brought us back to a more simple time where we could lose ourselves from the pressures of everyday. Experiences built by an honest, hardworking man free of scandals and committed to bettering his world. We should all aspire to be so great!

The High Line

Last year my nephew Donovan, a student studying landscape architecture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, told me of his experience at the High Line. A university that emphasizes a “Learn by Doing” educational experience, my nephew’s description of the High Line was insightful and clearly passionate melded with academic integrity. He suggested that I adopt his schools motto and join him on a summer day trip. Together, with my wife and daughter, the four of us visited this horticultural wonder in lower Manhattan.

The High Line is located on Manhattan’s West Side and runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34^th Street between 10^th and 11^th Avenues. Section 1 of the High Line, which opened to the public on June 9^th, 2009, runs from Gansevoort Street to 20^th Street. The High Line was originally constructed as part of the West Side Improvement project, in the 1930’s, to remove heavy freight trains from the streets of Manhattan and move this dangerous traffic to an elevated position, some 30 feet in the air. Today’s green project, using the same space, upon completion, will run a mile-and-a-half long through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen. Interesting to me is the Meatpacking District. Much of the 1^st section of the High Line is located here and around 1900 this district was home to more than 250 slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants. Prior to the High Lines development, trains, barges and ships brought goods directly to this district for processing from the Hudson River. After the High Line’s development, freight trains full of meat and other provisions were able to carry such goods directly to the upper floors of these buildings.

April 2006 marked the groundbreaking of the High Line. James Corner Field Operations, a landscape architecture and urban design firm, Diller Scofidio & Renfro, an architecture firm, along with the consultation of planting designer Piet Oudolf, designed this monumental landscape. The plantings of the High Line are inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew on the out-of-use elevated rail tracks during the 25 years after the trains stopped running. Incidentally, the last train to run on the High line was in 1980. Some 210 species of perennials, grasses, trees and shrubs were chosen for section 1 because of their unique textures, colors and “hardiness.” Cognizant of bloom times in the plant selections, you can be sure to see something in bloom almost any day of the year. Native plants are at the forefront of the design and many of the plants chosen originally grew on the High Line’s rail bed.

Growing within the meandering, concrete pathways is, by far, my favorite plant selection of the project. Huge waves of Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) were in their glory, the day of our visit. A graceful and delicate, very fine textured ornamental grass which grows in a dense fountain-like clump complete with wiry culms made the biggest impact for me. Notable trees include white fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), smokebush (Cotinus coggygria ‘Grace’) and sassafras (Sassafras albidum), a nostalgic favorite as I had these in my backyard growing up as a child. Perennials that I enjoyed were goatsbeard (Aruncus ‘Horatio’), coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Vintage Wine’), sneezeweed (Helenium x ‘Rubinzwerg’) and catmint (Nepeta sibirica) to name a few. The use of plant material along with fixed and movable seating helps contribute to the overall experience. Lounge chairs that slide back and forth on rails and a special vantage point complete with ascending seating and a glass wall felt like a mini amphitheatre. Peering down the avenue, holding our serene experiences inside the glass wall, away from the outer concrete jungle, is a quantum design component.

Plants are not the only reason for visiting the High Line. There is free Fitness and Movement Classes, Pilates Fusion Classes and Stargazing with the Amateur Astronomers Association weekly. Membership to the High Line also has its privileges. As a supporter or friend to the High Line you can shop along the historic cobblestone streets of the meatpacking district, enjoying restaurants, design and photography studios and fashion boutiques and be guaranteed a 10% discount to most.

The High Line is open from 7:00AM to 10:00PM daily with its last entrance to the park is 9:45PM. There are several access points, however, if you decide to visit and are carrying a stroller, like we did, consider 14^th Street and 16^th Street as these have elevator access. I can’t wait for section 2 (20^th Street to 30^th Street) to open, projected for sometime in 2011.

Lord of the Tree

Part of what makes horticulture so exciting for me is the history of a plant. Years ago I was given a book, Legends In The Garden, Who In The World Is Nellie Stevens written by Linda L. Copeland and Allan M. Armitage. A generous gift given to me by my friend Jay Jansen who works for Monrovia Growers. The book answers questions about how plants were found and for whom they were named. Among those talked about in the book are Ilex x ‘Nellie R. Stevens’, Clematis viticella ‘Betty Corning’, Itea virginica ‘Henry’s Garnet’ and Hosta sieboldiana ‘Frances Williams’ to name a few. However, one historical, dwarf conifer, not found in this book, that has caught my attention for the better part of the last decade is named after a Lord.

Picea abies ‘Clanbrassiliana’ is one of the oldest and more distinctive dwarf conifer selections known. Introduced in 1836, this tree is named after Lord Clanbrassil of Ireland, whose horticultural prowess is responsible for the naming of several Norway spruce (Picea abies) cultivars during the late 18^th century. Discovered as a witch’s broom on a Norway spruce in Northern Ireland, somewhere around 1780, Lord Clanbrassil was said to have planted the original tree, which is still growing, in Tollymore Park, County Down, now standing over 10 feet tall. Often I am asked in retail sales just how big a plant will grow. My first response is usually over what period of time. Plants don’t have a textbook in front of them telling them how big they are supposed to grow. Given enough time and proper attention, plants can and will exceed the suggestive wording found on most nursery tags. This tree is no exception! A handsome, dwarf conifer, ‘Clanbrassiliana’ slowly makes a broad mound of dark green, short needles with cinnamon-brown winter buds. The congested branches grow in layers creating a more globose form in its younger adolescence. A full sun plant whose ability to push new growth is usually held to only ½-1” per year. Given that Lord Clanbrassil’s tree is over ten feet tall should give us all an appreciation for the tenacity of plants. A side note about the culture of Norway spruce, there seems to be a popular misconception that Norway spruce are suitable conifers for the shade. For those who practice this or are advised to do so I respectfully offer, as a quick read, page 813 of Michael Dirr’s Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, Sixth Edition, whose concise wording advocates the siting of Norway spruce and its cultivars in “full sun or perhaps very light shade in South but plants become thin and ragged in heavy shade.” Somewhat confusing to some is the introduction of another, very closely related, dwarf conifer, Picea abies ‘Clanbrassiliana Stricta’. This cultivar matures slowly into a beautiful, broad, pyramidal plant. Again, dark green needles adorn this stately, conical form with ascending branching suggesting an ideal shape for a dwarf Christmas tree.

Always appreciative of customers who share their landscapes with me, I have to mention a foundation planting years in the making. Going back more years than I can remember I have had the privilege of selling ‘Clanbrassiliana’s’. Without fail, I have a customer who has purchased nearly every one of these magnificent plants for all of that time. Last summer I was invited to their home in Far Hills, New Jersey and what I saw was a patient landscape that definitely has horticultural thinking “out of the box”. While most would be happy with one ‘Clanbrassiliana’ in their landscape, here is a landscape that has 14 in total. Planted the way most would plant Green Velvet Boxwoods (Buxus x ‘Green Velvet’) in a row, here is a staggered row of Picea abies ‘Clanbrassiliana’s’ running the length of their Amdega greenhouse. Now almost 30 inches tall, these dwarf conifers flank either side of the entrance and help support large, elegant urns dripping with seasonal color. A simple, yet classical formal design that had my full appreciation and gratitude for the experience. Imagine all this and a deer resistant planting to boot.

There are so many places around the world where large plant specimens exist. I imagine myself, one day, walking through the Barbican Gate (the entrance for public visiting Tollymore Forest Park), a castle-like structure whose archways and decorative features come complete with trefoils, standing among some of Lord Clanbrassil’s treasures, appreciating his efforts and the tenaciousness of those remarkable dwarf conifers.