Botanical Name:  Exochorda x racemosa

Although Pearl Bush has been seen in Garden Centres for a while, it has not been utilized nearly as much as other early spring blooming shrubs such as forsythia, azalea, spirea and even deutzia. Probably because early varieties of Exochorda can grow to be 12 to 15 feet tall! Newer more compact varieties such as ‘The Bride’, ‘Snow Mountain, and ‘Blizzard’ are so much smaller (topping out at about 5 feet) and will fit extremely well in our more compact urban landscapes. The flower buds swell before opening, appearing as strings of pearls along the stems. Once open the pure white flowers smother the entire shrub and remain as an awesome show throughout the month of May, looking for all the world like a late spring snow fall! Exochorda will flower best when planted in full sun, but will still perform well in partial shade. It is not too fussy about soil but seems to do best in a well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Planted in a warm sunny spot the ‘Blizzard’ of pure white flowers of the Pearl Bush can be a perfect fit for our Kootenay Gardens.

Botanical Name:     Cotinus coggygria

Known for its large ‘clouds’ of fluffy, smoke- like puffs of blooms, (actually billowy ‘hairs’ attached to the elongated spent flowers) the Smoke Bush is an upright, multi-stemmed deciduous shrub native from Southern Europe to China. Most familiar to us is the ‘Royal Purple’ Smoke Bush with its rich deep purple leaves and its spectacular blooms of hazy, smoky purplish pink! There are several new introductions and all will perform well in moist, moderately fertile soil – in full sun or part shade. ‘Grace’ Smoke Bush is a gem in the garden, it has iridescent spring foliage of green overlaid with red. Its large pink clouds of blooms in summer give way to brilliant fall colours that range from red to orange. ‘Young Lady’ Smoke Bush is a beauty that lives to bloom! Even as a small plant every terminal bud results in an airy pink bloom, with its fresh green foliage as a backdrop to the blooms, she is a real show off. The Smoke Bush has been around for a very, very long time – fossils have been found in in Western Georgia that date to the early Pliocene epoch!  Give it a place pf pride in your landscape and your very own Smoke Bush will be around a long time!

Botanical Name:      Hamamelis intermedia

This week’s subject is a rather interesting large shrub that blooms in late winter or very early spring. In our nursery they often bloom in mid February! Depending on the variety, they bloom with unique yellow, gold, orange or red flowers. As fall approaches, the dark green leaves turn yellow with hints of purple and red. Witch Hazels make outstanding landscape plants that grow in the sun or even part shade, and once established require little care to keep it healthy and beautiful – just give it plenty of room. Witch Hazels produce a delightful spicy scent and birds will love snacking on the seed.

Although not really hazels they are probably called ‘hazel’ because of the leaf shape, which resembles that of true hazels and ‘witch’ comes from the use of its branches as divining rods! A leaf and bark extract of the Witch Hazel is used for its astringent and soothing properties. They are very easy to grow, and I think they should be more widely used in our Kootenay landscape.

Botanical Name:      Clematis

The word clematis comes from ancient Greece and translated means ‘climbing plant’ – a pretty obvious choice to say the least. There are now over 250 known species and cultivars of this most astounding vine. Such a large variety enable the gardener to have masses of blooms from late winter to late fall, by simply planting varieties with different bloom times. Two of my all time favorites are ‘Jackmanii’ with extra large purple blooms and ‘Nellie Moser’ with a star of lavender on white! Both are vigorous and easy to grow and can be completely pruned to the ground in late fall – making clean up a snap. At our nursery we have dozens of truly unique cultivars to select from, most are scented, although no clematis is strongly perfumed. Clematis fall into 5 rather specific pruning types, and you will need to look at the lable to find the correct method for your selection.  They love full sun, but you should plant the roots in deep, rich, moist soil – shading the roots will really make them happy. A light trellis is all they need to grow on and display their incredibly beautiful blooms.

Botanical Name:      Acer pseudoplatanus ‘Esk Sunset’

The Latin word for this group of maples –pseudoplatanus, translates as False Plane Tree, I guess since the leaves resemble those of the common Plane Tree (who is in charge of this stuff?) The common name actually comes from the Esk Valley in New Zealand, and someone, I guess, changed the spelling to Eskimo (again, who is in charge of this stuff?) Eskimo Sunset is a stunning new introduction, with incredible leaf colour. Leaves emerge a radiant pink, transforming to a mottled blend of cream, dark and light green and pink. The tree has a very attractive oval form and its small stature will allow it to be planted in smaller urban gardens. It will grow to 12’ to 15’ and should be planted where it gets a bit of afternoon shade to prevent leaf scorch. Eskimo Sunset is deciduous and the fall colour are an unusual velvety brown, and the truck has a nicely textured gray bark. It should not require much pruning to keep it in shape, but if you need to do any remedial pruning I would suggest you do it in late summer to avoid excess loss of sap. If you have the right spot I highly recommend this hardy dwarf maple, which should do very well in our Kootenay gardens.