Japanese Maples - a few of the green ones

Autumn Moon Japanese Maple's
foliage emerges chartreuse
in the spring. In the fall the
foliage turns orange and red.
It has an upright form, maturing
8-12' tall.

Full Moon Maple has large leaves
that turn orange and red in the
fall. It has an upright form.

Lion's Head has a narrow upright form.
The crinkled foliage is dark green - it has great texture.
The late season fall color is yellow, orange-red.

Viridis is a laceleaf maple
with a weeping form. It is
a smaller maturing maple,
6x8', with wonderful fall color.

Sango Kaku is a coral bark
maple. The red branches brighten
up the winter landscape.
Sango Kaku has an upright form
with colorful foliage.

Here's a series of articles on a Japanese garden:
Creating a Japanese Garden - An interior designer takes her inspiration outdoors
Plants for a Japanese Garden - A trip to the nursery to find the plants
Installing a Japanese Garden - Fine tuning the design on a very hot day

Nebraska Field Day

The East Campus of the University of Nebraska was the site of the field day last Friday. We toured the Maxwell Arboretum with Tim McDonnell and Jeff Culbertson. Over fifty years ago, Earl G. Maxwell began planting many of the trees we learned about during our tour of the five acre arboretum. As we came around a corner, the view opened up to a majestic cottonwood. Its shadows stretched across the lawn.

Catalpa is just
one of the many flowering trees on the campus. Paw paw, magnolias, fringetrees, crabapples, dogwoods and
horsechestnuts are also included.

During the afternoon
break, I hurried from
the air conditioned
meeting room and went
for a quick walk.

On the walk I came across a large mass of sculpted steel. Around the base is Blue Gramma Grass. I love the contrast of the modern art sculpture with a native grass.

The highlight of the field day for me was Tim McDonnell's presentation on the Regreening of Greensburg. Tim McDonnell is the Community Forestry Coordinator for the Kansas Forest Service. I'll have a posting on it in the near future.

Drifts of Roses

Have you tried Drift Roses?

Popular with landscapers and designers since their introduction, Drift Roses add color to the garden in the heat of summer.




The small dark green foliage is similar to that of a miniature rose. Their smaller mature size is 2 x 2' and can be trimmed in early spring to maintain form if necessary. Drift Roses are a cold hardy groundcover useful for filling gaps in the front of the border. They really make a statement when used in large groupings.

These everblooming roses, flowering from spring until frost, are available at KAT Nurseries in ivory, pink, red, peach and coral in a #2 container.

Here's an article with more ideas for adding color to the summer landscape:
Summer Flowering Shrubs

Summer at the Monet Garden

The Lenexa Garden Club recently toured the Monet Garden at the Overland Park Arboretum.








The evening started with a brief light shower; once the sun came out the temperature soared. Our tour guides were three of the Johnson County Extension Master Gardeners who help plan and maintain the gardens.

The garden was full of visitors and photographers enjoying the colorful show provided by the annuals. The first image is looking down from the arbor in the Sunset Garden towards the Monet Pond. Hibiscus rosa sinensis 'Cherie' is in a large container under the arbor. Throughout the garden are Cosmos; my favorite is Sonata White.





The Dahlias are just magnificent. The striped one, in the Allee, is Bristol Stripe.

Admission to the Overland Park Arboretum is free.



Here's an article on annuals for Kansas City conditions:
Annuals in the Trial Garden

Not another Stella

Stella De Oro, introduced in the mid 1970's, became a top seller for both residential and commercial properties since it is a repeat bloomer. Plus, the smaller size allows it to be used in the front of borders. However, many landscapers are looking for other repeat blooming options. Here are a few of our favorites:

Pardon Me, shown in the photo, is a nice alternative to Stella. The cranberry red flowers with a yellow throat measure 3" across. It matures 18" tall.

The softer flower color of Mini Pearl makes it easy to work in the landscape and blend with other flowers. It has melon pink flowers (3" across) with a yellow throat. Mini Pearl matures 16" tall.

Jolyene Nichole's pink flowers have ruffled edges with a bright yellow green throat. The flowers measure 6" across and it matures 14" tall.

While these options work well in the front of the border, there are also many repeat blooming daylilies that mature much larger. We have several that mature 24" plus. Joan Senior has white flowers with petals that curve back. Pandora's Box has white flowers with a purple eye and yellow throat. Chicago Orchid's fragrant lavender flowers have a darker purple eye and yellow green throat. Strawberry Candy has pink flowers with ruffled edges, rose red eye, and yellow throat.


Here's an article on a tour of a local garden with 800 varieties of daylilies:
It's Daylily Season

Tropics at the Kansas City Zoo

Bryn Takle of the Kansas City Zoo shared with the members of the Hort NetWORK "The Trials, Tribulations & Joys of Zoo Horticulture." Bryn and his staff do an amazing job keeping up with 200+ acres at the zoo.

This planter greets guests at the entrance to the zoo.

We toured the zoo's newest exhibit - Tropics, an indoor rain forest. The wildlife is great. But, we all loved the tropical plants.

Hort NetWORK's next gathering is August 26 at Powell Gardens for Field Day.