In these cold months, I often find myself dreaming of plants and things to do in the garden. What plants are on your wish list for 2021 plantings?
What an intriguing question! Thoughts of sugarplums will be supplanted in my dreams tonight as I consider my 2021 plant wish list - will let you know in the morning.
@Louis A Good morning Louise, Intriguing indeed as Margot says and I have asked this question on the Maples forum yesterday. But I would like to contribute to this thread by saying that my wife and I have already made a list of underplanting to our trees for 2021 and have submitted an order for 5 new Hostas already. They are :- Lemmon Lime, Wiggles and Squiggles, Hands Up, Fireworks and The British Are Coming. I will post photos in the Spring when they come up and I'm hoping they will be pretty and as much fun as their names imply.
They compliment our maples here perfectly and vice versa. And like maples there are so many varieties to choose from. Easy to become addicted Lol.
There is less and less space in my garden for foundation plants so I'm starting to turn my attention to fillers. I would like 2 or 3 more Japanese Maples to plant in the ground and have been keeping a list of smallish, sun-tolerant ones that I see on the UBC forums. I'm going to keep an eye out for lilies too because I think they'd be lovely interspersed with my many rhodos and also with Japanese maples. A dwarf Ginkgo caught my eye a few months ago which I now covet. Brugmansia with a peach-coloured flower. I promise myself I'll take better care of it this time. Last, I'm looking for Berberis darwinii but haven't found a local nursery that sells it or can bring it in for me.
@Margot I like the phrase 2 or 3 more maples Margot. And so it starts Lol. My wife also has her eye on a Ginko biloba variegata for next year. Great minds think alike from both sides of the Atlantic !!! We love the Lillies idea, we have a few and the scent fills our garden every Summer that foliage plants lack. Don't you find though that your eyes are bigger than your garden, like the old saying eyes are bigger than your stomach. Think it happens to us all, Lol.
I am sorely missing my hamamelis molis that would be blooming now in my old garden and scheming where I can put one in the current garden. Then of course there is the multitude of fuchsias I want
So now that we are 2 months further than original Louis post (above) — any commitments? I went and bought several small (with intention to grow bigger) sword ferns — a reliable native at the coast I am waiting to see what my various hostas on pots leaf out as (I am a lazy labeller :( I would like to buy a thyme and an oregano for cooking - any suggestion that lasts in a large pot thru winter weather cold blasts (I do well w Arp rosemary in pot next to house shelter)
I recommend common thyme (German thyme), Thymus vulgaris. Vary fragrant and virtually care free if planted in the right spot. Lots of sun, little moisture, preferably rocks or rocky soil, and you are set. It will last for many many years.
Here is mine at the end of May last year. I give it a good trimming after it flowers. I also have creeping thyme with lovely purple flowers, but it is just decorative, we never use it for cooking. I also recommend summer savory, it is an annual, grow it from seeds, very similar to oregano. In my opinion it is superior to oregano. Second picture below.
@Georgia Strait , this is how the thyme looks today. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to overwintering. I also noticed a seedling in a rock crack close by.
My English thyme is also Thymus vulgaris. For years I grew a different ??? culinary thyme which I've discovered since is not nearly as tasty as the T. vulgaris I have now. It's useful year round but dries beautifully too.
Oh it’s exciting! I have ordered a bunch of things. I’m most excited for my Anatoki, Takaka, kaiteri, and kakariki pineapple guavas. I currently grow a seedling variety and Nikita. Those should make a nice contribution. I’ve also purchased an agave Montana, and agave utahensis that need planting.
Louis A, where did you obtain the named varieties of Pineapple Guavas (Feijoas)? I've been looking for varieties available in Canada and have mostly found just seedling varieties. Thanks.
They are coming from the US. I’ve found it incredibly hard to find names varieties. Coolidge seems to be common but sells out quick around metro van. There was a time when mammoth was in local trade quite regularly too, but I have not seen it for a while.
Because we removed many large trees from our front yard last year, my list for this year involves decent size trees (and I plan to get them relatively large): 1. Metasequoia 2. Ginkgo 3. European larch That’s all. The rest is transplanting local species that are not quite in the right place and planting Japanese maple seedlings throughout the yard and see which ones survive the elements and the deer.
What a fantastic combination of colours, shapes and textures N. I also fully understand your comments about buying large.... it is so easy to see young and tbh cheap trees advertised and buy without taking time to think if we will ever see them look as they should in our life time. I know it is important to plant for the future, but it is important to enjoy life now, whilst thinking about the following generations that will enjoy our planting. Look forward to seeing photos that you will no doubt post of them being placed in your landscape.
Well, I've had this on order for a long time and this morning it was delivered. I also earned a lot of brownie points, lol. Yes it's small, but it will go very nicely near our Acer palmatum Katsura and over time the Autumn contrast should look amazing.
