Very pretty cocoa brown leaves have fine hairs on them that give them a kind of metallic sheen. Everything about this plant is the same uniform cocoa color save for the dime sized white flowers which appear continuously as long as its warm and provide welcome contrast. Mounding evergreen plant to 6″ tall and 20″ wide. Full sun and rich,well drained soil with regular summer water. Takes less water in richer soil. A very pretty and durable New Zealand native Geranium. Not bothered by slugs and snails.
Foliage Color: Purple/Black
Geranium x ‘Stanhoe’
Cute little spreading New Zealand Geranium with pewter brown leaves with silver sheen and small off white/pink flowers all summer long. To 4″ tall but spreading to 11/2′ wide. Great in containers where the foliage provides contrast and the trailing stems clad in flowers arch over the edge of the pot. Very easy to grow and may self sow a bit. Easy to identify the seedlings to dispatch, transplant, or give away. Full sun to part shade and rich, well drained soil with regular summer water. Not bothered by slugs and snails.
Hebe (Veronica) x ‘Chehalem Purple’
One of our very wonderful customers gave this plant to us. She’s been a loyal customer for years and in that time I’ve known her to be keen with observation and details. Which is why I immediately accepted this plant. It was seedling in her garden and it had thrived for many years with nary a scratch from cold or disease. The uniform deep green foliage has an underside of madder red and the stems share that hue as well. When cold weather arrives the entire plant takes on maroon/burgundy tints. Very pretty. In August-November a prolonged show of vibrant purple flowers appear all along the tips. These cones of flowers are vibrant and are set perfectly against the deeply colored foliage. To 30″ x 30″ in 5 years. Full sun and soil that drains. Light consistent summer water ensures health. It has survived temperatures slightly below 10ºF so far with no incident. Handsome, showy Hebe for our gardens with a proven track record. Remarkable local Hebe selection.
Xera Plants Introduction
Helleborus x ‘Black Diamond’ Winter Jewels ®
The darkest black flowers on a Hellebore that we have encountered. Jet black flowers have a sheen. Great in combination with the deep maroon/purple new foliage. To 2′ x 2′ blooming from January-April. Light, consistent summer water in part shade to shade. Completely deer resistant.
Helleborus x ‘Ruby Wine’ Winter Jewels ®
We’ve fallen in love with this richly colored strain of Hellebores. Vivid and intense true wine red flowers are effective both up close and at a distance. Paired with the maroon new growth and you get a good looking total perennial. Hellebores bloom non-stop from February to April The large flowers of this strain do not fade with age. To 2′ x 2′ for part shade and rich, well composted soil. Light but consistent summer water.
Hosackia pinnata
Bog deer vetch is a beautiful native perennial found in wet to seasonally wet sites throughout Oregon, but primarily Western Oregon. This rhizomatous perennial erupts from the ground in early spring with pinnate leaves that are deep purple. As the plant extends it changes to dark green and begins to bloom in crowns of pea flowers that are yellow and white. Very pretty. The symmetry of the flowers is especially attractive. To 2′ tall x 3′ wide. Blooms April to June. Lovely native perennial for boggy sites. Amenable to average culture in rich soil with regular H20 in summer. Easy to grow long lived perennial for meadows, swales, vernally wet sites. Excellent perennial for a rain garden. Takes dry conditions when established and goes deciduous with summer heat. Competes well with invasive grasses. Possibly deer resistant. Often seen along streams in NW Oregon. Riparian perennial. Oregon native plant.
Jasminum officinale ‘Affine’
I’m still astounded that very few gardeners are familiar with this vine. This is the improved form of Poet’s Jasmine. Poet’s Jasmine is a vine that is native from the middle east to China. Its a COLD HARDY, deciduous, vigorous twining vine with powerfully sweet scented flowers in June and then all summer. The sweet perfume is intense in the evening and morning and is conspicuous many feet away. This vine has been cultivated since antiquity and has been grown and loved in England since the 12th century. Its possible this vine returned to the British Isles via the crusades. But historians are vague. It is certain that it is featured heavily in Shakespeares time and the master himself included it in the details of his plays. Very fast growing, large, twining vine that require substantial support. To 15′ tall but it can spread laterally 30′ when excited. Provide #4 copper wire and eye hooks to give it ascent to any pergola, or fence. Do not grow it on that rickety stapled lattice from big box stores. It will kill it as sure as a boa constricts a gazelle. Fall color is often pink/coral and more effective in cold gardens. It has an initial huge display of pink buds that open to masses of white 3/4″ wide flower in June then they continue on new growth in a lesser show until September. New growth on this cultivar is a conspicuous maroon before settling to a refreshing grass green. Often the August flush of flowers yields the largest individual blossoms and that opulent display is accentuated by regular irrigation. Average soil with regular H20 to establish, then only light occasional water required. I prune mine back a bit after the first flush of flowers in June and that ensures a new round of flowers. Otherwise, it can be pruned in early spring. Perfect companion for climbing roses and it competes admirably with vigorous Clematis montana ‘rubens’. Moderately deer resistant. VERY long lived cold hardy classic vine that should be everywhere. In time the twining trunks become bare but develops a handsome cork-like bark.
Lagerstroemia indica Black Diamond Red®
Striking crape myrtle with jet BLACK foliage that would be cool all by itself. The real kicker is intense true red flowers that smolder with the leaves. A naturally and reliably early blooming almost fastigiate tree. To 9′ tall but just 3′ wide in 7 years. Full hot sun and rich soil with regular summer irrigation for the best results. So far it has been completely mildew free as well. Imagine the late summer combinations? Blooms first appear in early August in urban areas- later in cooler hinterlands. If it never bloomed it would be a cool thing but that red. Wow. Fall color is non-existent.
One of our smaller Crape myrtle introductions that produces masses of extra-frilly lavender/purple flowers from early July to September. This is a dense and compact shrub and will slowly achieve 6′ x 3′ wide in 5 years, progressively larger after that . Dark foliage is small and resistant to powdery mildew. This Crape myrtle has lower heating requirements to bloom and willl be in massive bloom by mid July. In autumn this compact shrub turns red and orange before losing its leaves . Full all day sun in a hot position. Rich soil with regular irrigation ,about one good soak per week in summer is ideal and will lead to flowering and re-flowering for months . Crape myrtles produce such a display of flowers for so long they are one of our best summer pollinator trees/shrubs. Very easy to grow, ideal hedge row or specimen shrub. Excellent in very hot locations and excels in frying, reflected heat. Cold hardy and mildew resistant. Pruning is seldom needed. Very long lived. The smaller stems exfoliate to a glossy tan with time.
Xera Plants Introduction
Leptinella squalida ‘Platt’s Black’
Its important that a ground cover be successful. They are meant after all to cover the ground, block weeds, discourage erosion, provide a uniform look. After trying many ground covers and the famed “squashables” as we call them (plants don’t like to be stepped on- that why we play football on grass and not Corsican Mint). This is a vigorous evergreen (black) dense growing plant that literally crowds out the competition rather than obscuring it. Tiny, ferny foliage takes on dramatic black tones when mature or the lightest bit stressed. It prefers non-compacted loose friable soil to roam with regular summer water. Full sun creates the darkest foliage and creates the densest plant. If planting in between pavers know that repeat stepping on the stones will compact the soil around them- not many plants especially ground covers like this. To combat this spread a layer of compost right over the plant in early spring. it will quickly grow through it and love the nutrients and oxygen in the soil that it provides. Little inconspicuous button flowers are easy to miss. To 1j/2″ tall and several feet wide.