Northern looks for Southern climates

Holy moly it's been a long time since I posted! Please forgive me! I know many people get busy around the holidays, and I feel like I got wrapped up in the whirlwind earlier than most. Plus there hasn't been much going on in my own garden worth blogging about. But I'm back and I have some cool new plants to share with you.

Y'all may remember that I was in love with the phormiums that I saw in Portland. However, my friend and garden coach Erin told me that they won't grow here since our humid weather falls in the summer rather than the winter. Boo.

But Athens Select has introduced great phormium alternatives that they say are guaranteed to take the heat, humidity, and general punishment that the South serves up. Meet Pennisetum purpureum 'Prince' and P. purpureum 'Princess.' They're a cute couple, don't you think? (Zones 8-11, full sun, 2-6' tall)

Athens Select also has some great hibiscus varieties that look like Japanese maple--another plant that Northerners whine about not being able to grow once they relocate to Florida. Check out Hibiscus acetosella 'Panama Bronze' and H. acetosella 'Panama Red'. (Zones 8-11, full sun, 3-4' tall)

You can read more about these plants here (click on the links in the left sidebar once the page loads).

A few of my favorite things, Part II

It's no wonder that Kniphofia is commonly called red hot poker. It is definitely a hot plant! I included a shot of one variety in my last post, and this post will have even more.

We saw several varieties of Kniphofia--as well as oodles of other great plants--at Joy Creek Nursery while in Portland for the Garden Writers Association conference.

Kniphofia, variety #1



Kniphofia, variety #2



I don't claim to know what varieties these are, but you can check the Joy Creek Nursery online catalog for all of the varieties they offer for sale.

They also had a great selection of ornamental grasses.

Japanese Blood Grass (I think)
If this is what I think it is, it's supposed to grow in Zones 5-9. I don't know about its heat zone tolerance.



Miscanthus sinensis 'Gold Bar'
This plant was amazing and I am definitely making room for it in my garden. It should grow fine here in North Central Florida, from what I've heard.



Variegated Yucca
This looks a bit like an ornamental grass, but it's actually a yucca. I liked it so much that I might have to find a spot for it in my garden. I think it would look nice next to one of my 'Queen Emma' crinums.



Trachelospermum asiaticum'Ogon Nishiki'
And speaking of variegation, this variegated Asiatic jasmine was unlike any I've seen. I wonder if it would do well here in Florida?



Apple tree



I couldn't resist taking a shot of this beautiful apple tree that was spilling its bounty onto the ground. It made me nostalgic for the apples that Jenny and I would buy at the farmers' market in Northampton when we were in college. Sure, we have apples at the supermarkets here in Florida, but we just don't get the diversity that I used to see at the farmers' market there. The only northern apples we ever see here at the markets are 'Rome' and 'McIntosh'. Oh well. I guess it's the trade-off I pay for living in an otherwise blissful place where I don't have to shovel snow.

Red Wind

Here's another hot plant that was featured on the National Gardening Association's regional electronic newsletter. It's called 'Red Wind' Japanese Hakone Grass, or Hakonechloa macra 'Beni-Kaze'.

This striking ornamental grass is favored for it foliage, which develops reddish tips, especially as fall approaches. It grows in Zones 5-9, reaching 24"-36" in both height and width.

It apparently looks striking cascading down a bank, since it has a slight weeping habit. I don't have any banks that need a cascade, but I'd still consider adding this beauty to my landscape!

For more information, visit Klehm's Song Sparrow Farms.