New Zealand holly (Olearia macrodonta) features greyish evergreen toothed leaves and masses of daisy-like flowers in July and August.

Spring Thoughts about Fall

by Vonnie Kovacic
Images © Vonnie Kovacic

Garden Centres and nurseries draw gardeners like a magnet and with good reason. The lure of the perfect landscape beckons every gardener. And oh, those temptations! Who can resist?

Spring is the perfect season to plant some new shrubs. At this time, too, the nurseries are bursting at the seams with azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons - displaying spectacular blossoms. So what do we buy? Yup, the plants that are in bloom!

Thus we end up with gardens that are beautiful in the spring but rather drab and uninteresting in the fall and winter months.

One could easily design a whole garden based on shrubs: a blend of different forms, colours, foliage and flowers that require little maintenance, aside from some pruning. But to do so one has to consider the appearance of the yard throughout the whole year.

Think about those dull days later in the season. Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus), Smoke Tree (Cotinus coggygria) Cranberry bush (Viburnum opulus) and Laceleaf Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum dissectum) are examples of a few shrubs that look pretty blah in May when compared to a rhodo in full bloom. By September the tables are reversed and the foliage of these shrubs will be a blaze of red, orange, yellow and bronze - a fantastic autumn display. And don't forget about the wonderful cotoneaster family that will provide a feast of berries for the birds over the cold winter months.

Beautyberry (Callicarpa bodinieri giraldii) really shines in the autumn garden, with its gracefully arched branches laden with small purple fruit.

Choose each shrub with care. The plant should be well anchored in the container but not to the point of being root bound. Check for roots growing out of the bottom of the pot or showing on the surface of the soil. Yellow leaves may also indicate that the shrub has outgrown its container. Plants that that have been in a pot too long may suffer growth retardation and never thrive properly.

Shrubs are commonly planted in 1 or 5 gallon containers. The gardener has to make a big decision - buy the smaller size and wait longer for the shrub to grow, or pay quite a bit more money for a larger plant. Did you know that it takes about 1 1/2 to 2 years for a 1 gallon sized shrub to reach the 5 gallon size plant... but after 2 1/2 to 3 years, shrubs starting out in both the 1 and 5 gallon container will have attained the same amount of growth? So, if you have more time than money opt for the 1 gallon size!

And please, purchase some plants for fall and winter this spring.

Roberts Creek resident Vonnie Kovacic has a passion for propagating plants from seed and cuttings. She is a contributing writer to GardenWise magazine.