Kiwis against the sky

Here is a picture of my kiwi vine heavy laden with unharvested fruit that is no longer edible due to the lousy weather but none the less very decorative.

frozen garden

They claim that it is going to get warmer but so far every morning it has been the same. Here at the nursery it has stayed around 14 degrees in the morning. Several customers have told me they got down into single digits in parts of Marysville. I do truly believe that it will be warmer by this time next week. In the mean time stay off the lawn and just let things lie where they are until they thaw out. You will need to water containers just as soon as you can get water through the hoses again. Good luck and stay warm.
Steve

Leaves on the lawn

I was coming back from the Y this morning and couldn't help notice the carpet of maple leaves on the lawn all nicely dancing above the grass blades. It looked so natural and dare I say normal compared to leaves on the sidewalks and streets which feel more like trash. I guess it's all about the presentation or to put it another way: location, location, location.

The photo is in my back yard where my large and old European Weeping Birch has littered my little (but just the right size) lawn.

Sunnyside Nursery

Sunnyside Nursery

Structure--It's what you need for winter containers

Arranging containers for winter interest can be a challange. There really isn't much color except for pansies and ornamental kale and cabbage if you want to call them color. So structure is extremely important and the easiest way to achieve structure is with the use of evergreens. In this photo I have arranged three containers into a vignette with a thriller being the spiralled juniper, the filler the single ball arborvitae and the spiller the weeping deodor cedar. It's just that simple and this arrangement will look fab all winter long.

Ginko biloba has the absolute best yellow fall color of any tree I know. And the foliage is so unique that it is a must have for any garden. This picture was taken today as the last of the leaves were falling onto the ground. You can plant Ginkos now and they will be fabulous next year and you too will have this wonderful beacon in your garden come next October.

Check out the attached photo of a Beauty Berry from my back yard. This is a fabulous shrub that comes into its own in the fall with these incredible purple pearl-like berries that hang on for several months. The fall color will improve as well. It likes full sun and is very easy to grow. I think everyone should have one in their yard.