variety of beautiful blooms that come at a time when
very few other plants are in bloom.”
Spring is a wonderful time to visit gardens and nurseries.
“So often, most people miss great plants because
they don’t visit in winter,” The Transplanted Garden
owner Tom Ericson says.
He favors the exotics like Farfugium (Farfugium
japonicum), also known as the Leopard Plant, and especially
likes the varieties Giganteum, Aureomaculatum
and Cristata.
“Farfugium is evergreen around here in the winter; it
can tolerate drier shade than, say, a Hosta or Ligularia,
and it makes a great tropical statement. It’s almost like
having an evergreen Hosta,” Ericson says.
Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles) is
another of Ericson’s favorites for its early,
long-lasting blooms.
“Flowering Quince works great with
Camellias in sunny areas,” he says. “I love
that fresh touch of green,” he says, in
varieties like Oyashima with its upright,
double-white, flowers fringed in green, and
Chojuraku, with its double-salmon blooms.
Tony Parker, landscape designer and
owner of Classic Landscapes, has a very
practical approach to choosing his favorite
plants.
“I don’t really have favorite plants as
much as I have appropriates. Any plant
that is thriving in tough site conditions
is my favorite,” he says. “One plant I do
like is Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), or
false bamboo. This plant is a spreader so it
needs some form of restraint.”
The spines provide strong vertical line
quality and striking visual richness to a contemporary
composition, Parker says, and the bonus is that
Horsetail thrives in wet, poorly drained soils — always a
challenge for landscapers.
The popular Wintergreen Boxwood (Buxus
microphylla var. koreana “Wintergreen”) is a favorite of
Wrightsville Beach Landscaping’s Michael and Karen
Carter.
“We use this variety as a foundation plant and to
accent gardens. We like it for its reliability, hardiness
and versatility,” Karen Carter says.
The Carters choose a range of plants for year-round
landscape interest.
“Michael and I both agree — these are some of our
Farfugium
Flowering Quince
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WBM may 2012