Spirited Lady Gardening

Tinkerbelle? Lilac, Syringa 'Bailbelle' (PP12,294), is one of the Fairytale? Series and has an upright shape with incredible wine red flower buds. They open to single, bright pink blooms, with a spicy fragrance, in late spring. Tinkerbelle lilac is an excellent choice for foundation plantings or as a specimen. This lilac tolerates light shade, but best bloom quality and disease resistance occur in full sun. It prefers rich, moist, neutral soils. It should be pruned as needed immediately after flowering. This upright lilac forms a wonderful small tree, with rosy-lilac buds that are wonderfully fragrant. It grows 5-6 feet in height and 4-5 feet in width. It is a rounded, upright, non-suckering, deciduous shrub, and is perhaps best noted for its compact shape.

The Twist-n-Shout, the latest release from the Endless Summer? Collection, is a hydrangea lovers dream come true. The first reblooming lacecap hydrangea can be in your garden next summer. A true re-bloomer that is hardy to Zone 4 and heat tolerant to Zone 9 makes this adaptable hydrangea a natural choice for your garden or outdoor focal point.

Afterglow Winterberry, Ilex verticillata 'Afterglow', is a compact growing, female selection that has abundant bright orange-red fruit in the fall. The glossy, deep green summer foliage turns yellow to purple-bronze in fall. Winterberries are the "queens" of the fruiting shrub world when ranked for ornamental value. The fruiting branches are great for decoration in the garden or in the house. The leaves drop off the plant in late fall to expose the beautiful berries. You'll need both male and female plants to produce fruits, and Afterglow requires Ilex 'Jim Dandy' as a pollinator for berries. Plant in sun or part shade. They like moist to wet, slightly acid soils.

The Korean Wintergreen Boxwood shrub, Microphylla koreana, is also known as the liffleleaf boxwood. It is a broadleaf evergreen upright shrub with medium green to dark green foilage. It is a formal or tightly informal shrub, usually reserved for shady conditions and commonly used as a hedge, foundation planting, edger, or facer shrub.

Taunton Spreading Yew, taxus x media 'Tauntoni', is a spreading evergreen that has short dark green needles and is very hardy. Taunton has a low graceful and lovely form, tolerant of summer heat, and excellent resistance to winter burn. It grows well in both sun or shade and is very popular as an accent, specimen, or foundation plant. It grows 3-4 tall and 4-6 feet wide. Yews are widely used landscape plants because of their rich, dark green evergreen foliage and versatility. They are maintainable at various heights and spreads. Remove 1/2 to 3/4 of the new growth each year with hand pruners; you can control the size and maintain a healthier shrub with a more natural form.

Dark Green Yew, taxus x media 'Dark Green', is an excellent evergreen with beautiful dark green foliage for the shade garden or shady side of the home. It is has a spreading compact habit, and its forest-green foliage does not burn in winter. It exhibits a small wide spreading form, with soft textures, and rich green short needles that are easily pruned into various shapes. This yew can be used as a low hedge or specimen plant and requires good drainage and prefers a shady location with loamy soil. It grows 3-5 feet tall and 6-8 feet wide. Yews are widely used landscape plants because of their rich, dark green evergreen foliage and versatility. They are maintainable at various heights and spreads. Remove 1/2 to 3/4 of the new growth each year with hand pruners; you can control the size and maintain a healthier shrub with a more natural form.

Golden Vicary Privet, Ligustrum x vicaryi, is a compact vase shaped shrub with long slender leaves that hold their golden color through the summer if grown in full sun. Excellent plant for hedges or as a contrast plant in the landscape. Prefers a moist, well-drained soil. This lovely golden-leafed privet grows 8-12 feet high by 6-8 feet wide and has a vase-like or oval shape. Upright stems are covered with bright golden leaves in full sun, light green in shade. It is valued for its golden leaves. Tolerates dry soil and looks its best when not pruned. Golden Vicary Privet prefers sun to partial shade; best appearance for leaf color is in full sun. Use as a specimen shrub or small tree in a sunny spot to best display the golden foliage. This makes a handsome foil for darker green material planted in front.

Dappled Dawn Lilac, Syringa vulgaris 'Dappled Dawn', has deep red-purple buds that open to fragrant, magenta blossoms. The leaves have an irregular yellow variegation, as if they were splashed with yellow. This variegated foliage is the unique feature of this lilac and adds summer color to the shrub border. This lilac is easily grown in average, medium moist, well-drained soil in full sun. Dappled Dawn Lilac tolerates light shade, but best bloom is in full sun. It prefers organically rich, slightly acidic soils with good drainage. It grows 8-10 feet tall and 6-8 feet wide which makes a very colorful border or screen.

Maney Juniper, Juniperus chinensis 'Maneyi', is a semi-erect juniper that has an attractive blue cast to its foliage, along with gray-green berries in summer. It has a horizontal layered, irregular habit. This is one of the hardiest medium-sized evergreen

Buffalo Juniper, Juniperus sabina 'Buffalo', has soft, feathery, bright green foliage on low spreading branches that produces an interesting form, and it is an excellent groundcover plant for borders or mass plantings. Buffalo Juniper's feathery branches

Blue Forest Juniper, Juniperus sabina 'Blue Forest', is a distinctive groundcover-type evergreen that has very attractive silvery-blue foliage. The upright growing branches present the "look" of a miniature "blue forest". Looks great when planted above a

Arcadia Juniper, Juniperus sabina 'Arcadia', is a popular evergreen that exhibits rich green, lacy-textured foliage and a semi-spreading growth habit. It is a grass-green selection with a mature height of one to one and a half feet, and it has good resist