Feb. 1-8

This weeks picks highlight "winter interest" in the garden as snow provides a dramatic backdrop for many plants.

In the Show Garden- South you will find:

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aureovariegata' (Sawara false cypress); this variegated thread-leaf form of Sawara cypress has excellent green and golden yellow foliage making it an an instant eye-catcher in the winter garden

In the Show Garden- South:
Pinus mugo 'Aurea Fastigiata' (Mountain pine); this cultivar of mugo pine is distinguished by its relatively upright growth and golden-yellow winter foliage.

In the Knot Garden:

Fagus sylvatica forma purpurea 'Cuprea' (Purple/Copper beech); these beautiful slow-growing trees with attractive ,smooth silver bark will hold their leaves through the winter.

In the Entry Garden:

Sedum spectabile (now Hylotelephium spectabile) (Stonecrop); this clump forming perennial known for its succulent-like fleshy leaves and stems, holds up well in Canadian winters with flattened flower heads held until chopped down in spring

In the Entry Garden:

Liatris spicata (Blazing star) with Echinacea 'Sunrise' (Big Sky series) (Purple coneflower); Liatris is a native prairie flower, here with the hybrid coneflower Sunrise; these two plants will hold their seed heads up under a blanket of snow until we gardeners cut them back in spring

In the Entry Garden:

Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' (Switch grass); valued for its red-tipped foliage in summer, turning deep burgundy by fall, this native prairie grass stands up well through winter - bring on the snow!