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The Impatient Gardener

Garden

When plants become a collection

February 8, 2012

'Mrs. N. Thompson' clematis

Creating a garden starts out as an innocent pursuit. You just want a pretty patch of flower or vegetables that flows and looks beautiful at least three seasons out of four. But there is that one plant that outshines the others. It outperforms them by looking great or by being the big, bold bright spot that everyone comments on. And you start doing a little bit of research on what it really wants, because let’s be honest, you got lucky by plunking it in the right place. And the next year it is even more beautiful. And you want more. More. More. More.
You are hooked.
This is how plant collections start. At least this is how mine have started and most of them have snuck up on me. I don’t set out to have a “collection” of a specific plant, I just really like them and suddenly have a whole bunch of them (and often, a lot less money in my bank account).
My first plant collection was clematis. The very first clematis I planted was Mrs. N. Thompson and I didn’t plant it right. But she defied the odds and was still a looker. The second one was Ken Donson and he was like the crack dealer on the corner: gave me just enough to get me totally hooked.
Clematis 1
Mrs. N. Thompson was my first clematis.
 
Collection2
Guernsey Cream is a favorite that does well for me in a good amount of shade (note the fern and hosta friends it has).


Collection7
Ken Donson was the clematis that really sucked me in.
 
Once you decide you love a plant you start searching out different cultivars: the usual suspects you can find in your neighbor’s garden just won’t do. You search out specialty nurseries who will sell those unusual cultivars and, you hope, send you better plants than you can pick up at a local nursery. You’re really in trouble when you start buying books on a specific plant and scope out plant-specific online forums.
Since Ken Donson came into my life I’ve added 12 more clematis. Fourteen plants is a drop in the bucket to collectors of some kinds of plants (talk to the host people who often have more than 1,000 cultivars growing in their yards) but I still think of clematis as my first real fascination. And oh yeah, I have five more ordered for delivery this spring.
The only thing that keeps me from seriously collecting Japanese maples is cost and the fact that many of them are marginally hardy here (see the sad tale of my lovely Kamagata maple). I only have two (Orangeola and Acontifolium), but that doesn’t mean I don’t scope them out every time I look.
Collection1
Acer japonicum ‘Acontifolium’
 
I probably have more different varieties of heucheras and heucherallas than any other plant, but that’s probably more because I just really like trying new ones (and there are a lot available through the Yahoo co-op). I have a lot of hostas for the same reason, a handful of roses (which I should just give up on because I don’t do roses well), and I’ve tried just about every new echinancea that comes on the market (with limited success, by the way; they just seem to lack longevity here).
Collection6
Echinacea ‘Summer Sky’
Collection3
I might have gotten just a bit carried away with the hostas a few years ago when I had 50-some of them growing out in pots waiting to be planted in the garden.
 
I’m not sure hydrangeas qualify as a collection or fascination for me, but as you know, I do love them. Limelights are, of course, the star here, but I also love my climbing hydrangea, my new Little Limes, Incrediball and even my old-fashioned Annabelle. Oakleaf hydrangeas are stunning shrubs, but not one I’ve had a great deal of luck with. I also have a Nikko Blue which is a full-on zone 6 plant but she’s bloomed for me in the past and I won’t give up on her.
Collection4
Nikko Blue hydrangea
 
I feel the pull of new collections, too. I’ve recently developed a fascination with tree peonies (again, a plant that requires a great deal of patience. What is with me?) The world of conifers is amazing, but it’s one I feel I really need to study before delving into because in many cases it requires a healthy space requirement (and even on 1.3 acres space is a precious commodity). And the charming little Ginko ‘Gnome’ that I ordered on a whim last year got me totally excited about Gingkos as well. Plus, there’s that whole toad lily thing that I learned last week I’m totally missing out on. We’ll just have to wait and see where my wandering obsessions lead me to next.
Do you have any plant collections? How did you get started with them?
 
 

co-op echinacea garden hosta hostas hydrangea japanese maple kamagata Mrs. N. Thompson perennials tree peonies
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Pen These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Penhill Watermelon (first picture) and Penhill Dark Monarch are the best two HUGE dahlias that I grow. They share slightly twisty petals (Watermelon more so) and, when you look closely, subtle striations that add a beautiful depth of color. Watermelon grows taller than Dark Monarch (7 feet tall or more sometimes) and they both need serious staking, but it’s worth it because they produce a lot of flowers for a large-flowering dahlia. 

I like them both but if I was forced to choose (and who would make me do that?) I’d give the edge to Dark Monarch because it’s a little easier to manage size-wise, produces more flowers and has a bigger variation in flower color so it’s always interesting. 

Which do you like better?
I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But w I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But when there’s only one tool that does that one thing really well, I’m here for it. This pottery/container knife from Sneeboer makes it possible to actually get plants out of pots without breaking or damaging the pot. It’s also really expensive. 😀
A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zi A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zinnias, pycnanthemum muticum and bronze fennel shown here.
My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love tryi My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love trying out new varieties and I feel like they just work so well in my garden from both a design standpoint and a cultural standpoint (they are happy here). Because I grow so many, the ones that self sow can be surprises. 

All of these self-sown Nicotiana are probably at least partly the children of the F1 hybrid Perfume series, which grow to be about 24” tall or so. Last year I grew purple, pink, white and lime versions and these are likely new variations on those. 

Picture 3 is, in my opinion, a good example of how these self sown second-year hybrids can go wrong. I’ll probably rip that one out. 😀

And the last photo is of my favorite colorway, lime, popping up amongst the Zinnias. I find these self-sown Nicotiana popping up all summer, so there’s always a fresh-blooming supply. 

Are you as enamored with Nicotinana as I am?
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