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artful garden

Title: artful garden
I apologize -- I sent the incorrect release for the 2003 Artful Garden Design Selections a few weeks ago. Artful Garden Design Selections is an education initiative of the Horticultural Society of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, of which I am a vice president. The purpose is to let gardeners know about some great plants and how to use them in the landscape.

Below is the correct version of the news release. The previous one included a different ornamental grass. I apologize for any confusion.

jems
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Garden writer, speaker, photographer
Director, Region III Garden Writers Association
Phone: 317.251.3261
Fax: 317.251.8545
E-mail: hoosiergardener@earthlink.net



For immediate release: April 1, 2003
Contact: Sue Nord Peiffer, Greenhouse Supervisor, Indianapolis Museum of Art,
317-920-2652
   2003 Artful Garden Design Selections add movement, sound, texture to landscape
The 2003 Artful Garden Design Selections add grace, movement, fragrance and flowers to the landscape in a stunning three-season combination that thrives in full sun.
Artful Garden Design Selections is a public service program of the Horticultural Society of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The program introduces Indiana gardeners to design-worthy plant combinations that will thrive under local conditions and help them create beauty in their gardens.
Horticulturists, growers, retailers and gardeners approved the Artful Garden Design Selections, which will be supported in area garden centers with special signs, plant tags and other information.
The 2003 Artful Garden Design Selections:
… Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia), a shrubby plant with tiny blue flowers on silvery stems from mid-summer into fall.
… Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), a native perennial with upright pinkish-purple flowers that attract birds, bees and butterflies.
… Switch grass (Panicum virgatum), a native grass with flowers that form a purple haze atop mounded foliage.
… Leadwort (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides), a wiry, semi-woody, mat-forming perennial that lends electric blue flowers and maroon fall color to the combination.
"This combination highlights how plants compliment each other in color and textures over several seasons," said Anne Ripley, president of the Horticultural Society at the IMA. "Our goal is to show gardeners how to create artistic vignettes in their landscapes with plants that grow well together and look great."
The 2003 Artful Garden Design Selections will be introduced April 25 at the "Perennial Premiere," the IMA's annual salute to spring at the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse. Participating plant suppliers and details of the program are available by visiting www.ArtfulGarden.org or calling 920-2652.
The Horticultural Society supports the gardens and grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and educates the public in landscape design, horticulture and garden appreciation by sponsoring free public lectures throughout the year and maintaining a 2,000+ volume horticultural library.
* * * For logo art and more information, visit www.ArtfulGarden.org. * * *

 

Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Switch grass (Panicum virgatum)
Leadwort (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides)

The 2003 Artful Garden Design Selections create a colorful vignette through summer, fall, and winter. The color and texture of the switch grass complements the shrubby qualities of the Russian sage and the stiff, upright characteristics of the coneflower. The low-growing, wiry leadwort knits the ensemble together with leaf texture, electric blue flowers, and pleasing fall color. These rugged, durable plants are hardy in Indiana's Zones 5 and 6.

Plant Features
Native from Afghanistan to Tibet, Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) is a woody perennial that gets three to five feet tall and wide. From mid-summer into fall, its silvery stems carry tiny blue, sage-like flowers that give the impression of spikes of blue mist from a distance. The leaves are aromatic, especially when you brush against the plant, even in winter. The Perennial Plant Association named Russian sage the 1995 Perennial of the Year.
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a North American native perennial with upright pinkish-purple flowers from late early July until August or September and chocolate brown seed heads through the winter. An excellent cut flower, the stiff stems get three to four feet tall. Nectar-loving butterflies and bees feast on the flowers in summer. Goldfinches and other birds dine on the seed heads throughout the winter. The species and several cultivars are on the market. 'Magnus' was named the Perennial Plant of the Year in 1998 by the Perennial Plant Association.
Another native North American, switch grass (Panicum virgatum) is an upright-growing grass topped in summer with a purple haze of fine flowers. The grass turns a soft orange to yellow or buff in fall, and the seed heads persist through winter. 'Heavy Metal' is a popular cultivar.
The name leadwort (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) belies this low-growing, shrubby perennial's fine landscaping qualities. Also known as plumbago, leadwort emerges late in the spring and creates a low mat of green leaves studded with electric blue flowers that persist throughout the summer. In fall, the leaves turn maroon-purple, and the bristly seedheads persist through the winter.

About the Combination
This sun-loving combination waits demurly for the parade of spring bulbs and May-June blooming perennials to be over before coming into its own. All four plants are slow to emerge but make up for it by rising to great heights in summer, sustaining the show with fall color, and lending both volume and texture to the landscape through the winter.
The summer show consists of several shades of green, with pink, blue, reddish-purple, and silvery highlights. Positioned at the back of the planting, the tall, fine textured switch grass and Russian sage look their best against a fence or evergreen backdrop. In front of them, the purple coneflower stems arise out of a mound of coarse dark green leaves and are topped with large pink daisy-like blooms with bristly dark centers. Around the feet of the combo, leadwort spreads its medium green leaves dotted with small blue flowers whose reddish-purple highlights echo those of the coneflower.

Planting and Care
Plant this combination in well-drained, lightly to moderately fertile soil in full sun. Position the switch grass at the back and the purple coneflower and leadwort in front. Water the planting regularly during the first year to get it established. After that it should need water only under drought conditions.
Leave the entire ensemble standing through the winter. In late winter (March), cut down the foliage and stems; cut the Russian sage back to 10- or 12-inches, the switch grass to 4 inches, and the coneflower and leadwort to 2 inches.
Expect any of these plants to self-sow. Pull the volunteers and either compost them or pot them up to give to friends.
To make this a four-season combination, try underplanting the leadwort with minor bulbs (crocus, snowdrops, scilla, anemone blanda) or plant early tulips in the spaces between the plants to provide a spring show.

Cultivars Available
Russian sage is available as hybrids such as 'Blue Spire,' 'Blue Haze,' 'Filigran' and 'Longen.'
Echinacea 'Magus' has good landscape qualities. Other cultivars to consider are 'Crimson Star' and'Bravado.' 'White Swan' and 'Alba' have white flowers, but the white varieties seem to be less winter hardy and have fewer flowers.
Switchgrass 'Heavy Metal' is widely available. Other cultivars to consider are 'Dallas Blues,' which gets about 60 inches tall and has layers of reddish-purple flowers above bluish foliage from late summer into winter; and 'Cloud Nine,' which gets about six feet tall, has gray-green or bluish-green foliage and large, frothy, reddish-brown flowers. If using these taller cultivars, double the quantities of coneflower, Russian sage, and leadwort to keep the planting in scale.
 
Purpose
Artful Garden' Design Selections is a public service of the IMA Horticultural Society. We believe gardening is not just about nurturing growing things-it is also about good design. Combining plants to create effects of color, texture, and shape is the gardener's art. The reward is joy and harmony in the experience of the garden.
With Artful Garden' Design Selections, we aim to help less experienced gardeners fill their beds with plants that grow lush under local conditions and look pleasing together. We aim to help Indiana gardeners grow plants successfully and know the enjoyment of creating beauty in their gardens.

Guidelines for Plant Combinations
Artful Garden Design Selections are chosen by a panel of respected landscape designers, growers, and horticulturists based on the following guidelines. Nominations are accepted from the public. For further information, visit www.ArtfulGarden.org.
A Combinations will consist of two to five plants that form a vignette in the landscape.
A Plants can be all one type-trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, bulbs-or any combination of types, whatever works from a design standpoint.
A Combinations are not limited to specific seasons or timing. They may have serial design interest, such as spring bulbs followed by summer perennials and/or annuals. Compositions may peak at a specific time of year, such as a Labor Day vignette for the last picnic of summer. Or, they may offer three- or four-season interest, such as a tree/shrub combination for spring blooms, fall color, and winter berries.
A Plants must grow in zone 5 and survive Indiana conditions without undue coddling. They should thrive under similar cultural conditions (soil, moisture, light) so as to be grown together.
A We encourage compositions incorporating unfamiliar or underused plants that are available in the nursery trade. We especially welcome the inclusion of plants native to Indiana.
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