Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Feature Shrub: Spirea Double Play 'Big Bang'

Double Play® Big Bang Spirea
Spirea japonica 'Tracy' P.P.A.F.
 
There is a new flowering shrub for your garden and its name is Spirea Double Play 'Big Bang'.   Massive pink blooms against glowing red spring foliage and bright yellow summer foliage make this plant a must have in the garden.   'Double Play' Spirea exhibit both colorful foliage and large robust flowers that are larger than any spirea flower I have ever seen.  Massive pink blooms reach up to three inches across as compared to one and a half inch blooms of traditional spirea.
Double Play®Big Bang Spirea Mid-Spring Foliage
Spirea 'Double Play' is a deciduous low mounding shrub hardy to zones 4-9. It prefers to be grown in part to full sun in a slightly acidic well drained soil. Spirea 'Double Play' grows to a height and width of 24-36 inches and exhibits a low compact mounding habit. Blooms emerge from new growth in spring so spirea can be pruned in late winter before flowering or after flowering in late summer. Once established this shrub is relatively low maintenance and is also drought tolerant.
Double Play®Big Bang Spirea Early Spring Foliage
Spirea 'Double Play' Big Bang displays bright orange foliage in early spring...
Double Play®Big Bang Spirea Late Spring Foliage
 
followed by bright yellow foliage in late spring...followed by beautiful pink blooms in summer.
      Double Play®Big Bang Spirea Summer Foliage     

As an added bonus Spirea 'Double Play' is both 'deer resistant' and
attracts hummingbirds. It is an ideal shrub for foundation plantings, mixed
borders and mass plantings.  In my opinion I would have called this plant " triple play"
for its beautiful foliage, extraordinarily large blooms and outstanding performance!
  It is sure to be a hit in your garden!
  
 As Always...Happy Gardening!

Author: Lee@A Guide To Northeastern Gardening, Copyright 2013. All rights reserved 
 
 



Saturday, June 15, 2013

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day June 2013

June Garden
Welcome to my June garden!  There is much to see this spring with lots of blooms everywhere.   With a slow start this year there was even more anticipation than ever and now the gardens are alive with color.  Come along and walk with me.
Salvia May Night
Here is the local bumble bee enjoying the nectar of the May Night Salvia.  It took me a while to get this photo for bumble bees do not pose but I got it!
Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake'
 The 'Summer Snowflake' Viburnum are starting to flower and will continue to do so throughout the season. 
Daylily 'Stella D Oro'
 The Daylilies are late opening this year but this lone flower popped open just in time for Bloom Day.  I am enjoying my newest camera with a 45x zoom lens to get these close ups.
Garden Love!
  The tour wouldn't be the same without a visit to the garden gal and boy. The Sedum ground cover should be blooming in front of them soon.
Double Knock Out Rose (Pink)
The Pink Knock Out Roses are blooming all at once after the heavy rains we have been getting recently...

Hosta, Salvia May Night and Lamb's Ear
and the Salvia 'Maynight' and Stachys (Lamb's Ear) is flourishing as well.
Double Knock Out Rose (Pink) and Nepeta
Here are my Red Double Knock Outs along with Nepeta 'Walkers Low'.
Poolscape with Western Arborvitae in Backdrop
After the storm (Hurricane Sandy) we lost the White Pines behind the pool waterfall and had to replace them.  I went with 12-14 foot Western Arborvitae which gave us an instant screening and we are happy that the garden is now restored.  It was heartbreaking to have to rip out those majestic trees but they had been declining for some time and the winds and salts had wiped them out.  After quite the day getting the new trees in all is good and the garden is back to normal again.
Poolscape in June
Spirea 'Limemound' Bloom
Here is my Spirea 'Limemound'.  I love it for its colorful foliage all summer and for its delicate pink blooms.
Hosta 'Patriot'
Around the side of the property is this 'Patriot' Hosta. Apparently it is very happy in its location.  I have always thought of 'Patriots' as being slow growing...but not this one! 
Perennial Garden
Back around to the patio area by the house is the perennial garden.  The Lamb's Ear and Salvia are blooming with the Astilbe and Daylilies close behind.
Lampost Garden
The Nepeta 'Walker's Low' are doing very well this year with all the spring showers we have been getting.  You can see it here in the backdrop on the right.

'Yaku Jima' Maiden Grasses in Sunny Section of Garden 
The grasses are Sedum are flourishing as well due to the extra rain we have been getting. 
Hakonechloa Macra (Golden Japanese Forest Grass)
Gold Lace Juniper and Heuchera
Back around to the front yard gardens there is a huge Blue Atlas Cedar surrounded by Juniperus 'Gold Lace' and a combination of Heuchera-'Palace Purple' and 'Caramel'. New cultivars of Heuchera keep coming out and I am enjoying having them in the gardens, especially the 'Caramel' which even takes the sun.
Driveway Garden Planting Full View
 Here is another view of the lamppost garden with Golden Oriental Spruce, Barberry and Nepeta. 
Spirea Double Play 'Big Bang' Bloom
New to the garden this year is a new cultivar of Spirea called Double Play 'Big Bang' and it certainly lives up to its name!  I am so thrilled with this new plant with both its foliage and robust blooms unlike any Spirea I have ever seen.  It is like a light show of color. 
Spirea Double Play 'Big Bang' June Foliage
 Thank you for visiting my June garden. I will be sure to visit you as well. After a long and difficult winter the garden is alive and I am enjoying it every moment I can.  It has been a busy time for my husband and I but after this post I will be retiring from 32 years of teaching (and he from 31 years).  We are both looking forward to enjoying more quiet time in the solitude of our gardens and I will have more time to keep up on the garden tasks which I love.  Please stop by and visit our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what others have blooming in their gardens. Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.

 
And As Always...Happy Gardening!
 

Author: Lee@A Guide To Northeastern Gardening, Copyright 2013. All rights reserved
 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Long Island June Garden in Bloom


It is June and my Long Island garden is at its prime with blooms of peony, roses and salvia alongside colorful evergreen shrubs in shades of blue and gold. The peony are displaying the largest blooms I have ever seen and the roses are blooming profusely and it all seems to have happened almost overnight. The gardens were set back later than I have ever experienced with the occurrence of Hurricane Sandy in November of 2012 followed by a nor'easter a week later and a winter blizzard in 2013. The gardens seemed like they would never recover but as the temperatures finally started to warm into the 70's and the rains came down in May rather than April the gardens have come to life once more and are doing just fine.
 
June Perennial Garden

Paeony 'Karl Rosenfeld'
Evergreen and Perennial Garden
Raised Garden Berm
Roses and Chives
Siberian Iris
Double Knock Out Rose Red
Peony and Salvia
Salvia 'May Night'
Double Knock Out Rose and Nepeta
Paeony 'Karl Rosenfeld'

I hope the gardens continue on this track for the remainder of the summer and into the fall.  It's funny how "Mother Nature" works.  They seem to have re-adjusted themselves and are now back on schedule to this gardener's delight.  I am looking forward to what is yet to come.

As Always...Happy Gardening!

Author: Lee@A Guide To Northeastern Gardening, Copyright 2013. All rights reserved