It’s been a rough year over in Holland, where the business of flowers and bulbs is a huge component of the economy. Unprecedented heat followed by heavy rains and flooding, combined with labor shortages due to COVID, made the bulb harvest and export very difficult.
But our shipments of flower bulbs finally arrived and are out for sale! A few stragglers are in transit to us right now. We have a splendid assortment, including lots of exciting new offerings and plenty of classics. [Read More]
One of the earliest harbingers of spring are flowering bulbs, which people and bees all seem to welcome. One aspect of bulbs that may be underrated is their scent. Many bulbs are fragrant, bringing an added dimension to their enjoyment. Some of our most fragrant bulbs include:
Have you noticed that your daffodils and narcissus have been struggling and lost their vigor? Here are several possible reasons why and ways to address reviving them.
FERTILIZER ISSUES
As with perennials, many flowering bulbs do best with fertilizing when planted, as their leaves emerge, and as they bloom, with a slow-release organic fertilizer such as Root Rally, from Age Old. [Read More]
Species Crocus are the earliest Crocus to flower, at least two weeks before their Large Flowering siblings, and are the best for early spring lawn tapestries: hold off mowing the lawn until the foliage has died back. Drifts are also lovely in garden borders and rock gardens. Plant 4” deep and 3”- 4” apart, about nine bulbs per square foot for a dense planting. (Crocus are also good for forcing indoors over the winter. Pot them up in mid-October and pre-cool them at a consistent, dark 38 to 45 degrees F for eight to ten weeks with moderate watering. Bring them into the house ~ they will bloom about four weeks later.)
Narcissus (Daffodil) Culture
Narcissus are easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Best in organically rich, sandy to loams that drain well. Plant bulbs 4-6″ deep and 3-6” apart in fall. After the flowers have bloomed, the top portion of each flower stem may be removed, as practicable, to prevent seed formation, but foliage should not be cut back until it begins to yellow. Flowers usually face the sun, so bulbs should be grown with any shade areas at the rear of the planting. Bulbs can be left undisturbed for a number of years.
This fall Harlequin’s Gardens will be offering 80 varieties of spectacular fall and spring blooming bulbs, in addition to specialty holiday bulbs such as amaryllis and paperwhites! We are working hard to provide you with detailed descriptions and photos of each bulb. Check back often as our listing will continue to fill-out. Click on names for descriptions and photos, or scroll down past Eve’s “Bulb Tips” article for a comprehensive alpha display.
When our bulbs arrive, supplies will be limited, with some bulb selections selling out fast. So although it’s best to wait until mid-October to put most in the ground, plan your list and get them when they arrive!
ALLIUM
Cameleon – NEW!
Christophii (albopilosum)
Fluffy Dreams Blend – NEW!
Mixed – NEW!
Red Giant – NEW!
Dense, four-inch diameter globes of starry red-purple florets atop stems up to 24” to 36” tall. Very showy, and the earliest large-flowered ornamental onions, blooming in mid-spring. Thrives in full sun to part-shade, and naturalizes by self-sowing. Stunning, long-lasting cut-flower. The dry seed-heads are also highly ornamental in the garden and in flower arrangements.
Grow amid perennials that will mound over the foliage when it has dried, such as Saponaria ‘Max Frei’, or among tall, ‘architectural’ perennials such as ‘Moonshine’ Yarrow. Alliums are resistant to browsing by deer and rabbits.
Plant 6-8″ deep, 6-12″ apart. Zone 4. 18”-36” tall.
Circa 1857, this delicate-looking yet easy-growing North American native has composite 3″ globes of star-shaped, sparkling white flowers with pale lavender stamens tipped with purple anthers and sturdy stems.
Bloom time: May/June. 12″ to 16″ tall. Zone 4-8.
A lively mix of various hardy, medium size Allium blooms for the late spring garden. White and various shades of purple ball shaped blooms sit atop tall stems. Alliums offer wonderful nectar sources for bees of all kinds. Zone 5. For best results plant bulbs in groups of at least 6.
Allium Cameleon
Description coming soon!
A most surprising, outrageous flower for xeriscapes! The giant globes, to 10” diameter or more, are held on fairly short stems, 8”-18” tall, blooming in mid-spring. The hundreds of starry, silver-lavender florets each have a green ‘eye’ are arranged so that their petal-tips touch to form a perfect sphere. This easy naturalizer has been highly successful in our xeriscape display gardens, eliciting lots of interest. Also spectacular in large flower arrangements, fresh or dried.
Deer and rabbit resistant, and very drought-tolerant. If you don’t want it to naturalize, dead-head before the seeds mature.
Zone 4. 14”- 24” tall. Plant 6”-8” deep and 8”-10” apart.
Description coming soon!
Photo and description coming soon!
In mid-August, Mikl and Eve had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful, newly created and planted Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens in central Lyons, CO. Envisioned and designed by herbalist, botanist, and educator Garima Fairfax (a beloved former Harlequin’s staffer!) and brought to fruition with a team of dedicated volunteers and grant money, the non-profit botanic garden is a delightful and educational display of native annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees. It is easily accessed along popular walking and cycling trails. [Read More]
We’re excited that the City of Boulder is gathering feedback from the community about how we use our yards, preferences for landscaping and interest in a citywide effort to create pollinator habitat patches and pathways. Pollinator pathways connect safe, pesticide-free native plant patches of habitat for bees, birds, butterflies, and other wildlife to provide food and nesting sites. Native pollinators are vital to our ecosystems and pathways support pollinator populations, as well as safe passage for movement across the city.
Basil is one of the great culinary pleasures of summer, and it’s definitely NOT TOO LATE to plant Basil and enjoy a good crop! Basil plants are beautiful, grow equally well in the ground or in pots, thrive in hot weather, provide a continuous, bounteous crop, and Basil’s many different flavors are essential to a variety of distinctive cuisines. It can be used fresh, dried, or frozen in oil or as pesto. Though basil leaves lose most of the aromatic oils when dried, we have still found that basil dried from your garden is so much more flavorful than commercial dried basil.
ALL of our Basil plants are organically grown! [Read More]
Sow Fall Crops and be ready for the 2022 growing season! We’re bringing in fresh seeds, packed for 2022, from our local Botanical Interests Seed Company, and should have them on display sometime this Thursday. Most of these seeds are certified organic.
Now is a great time to plant seeds for fall crops such as spinach, lettuce, mesclun, kale, swiss chard, arugula, mustard greens, and watermelon radish. Sow seeds this fall for mache, which will provide tasty salad greens in late winter, before the more conventional spring greens are ready. Fall sowing is also ideal for hardy, drought-tolerant annual flowers like borage, California poppies, cornflower, larkspur, love-in-a-mist, breadseed poppies, and Shirley poppies.[Read More]
Yes, you can still plant many vegetables and annual flowers, now at greatly reduced prices! If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse, you can grow most peppers, eggplants and tomatoes year-round. In the open garden, look for vegetable varieties that mature the fastest – cucumbers and summer squash, tomatoes, and peppers at 75 days or less. And Kale can still be planted in locations with afternoon shade.
The procession of spring flowering continues to unfold and is heading toward a glorious crescendo! It has been so exciting to witness the constant shifting of focus in the garden from one species or group of plants to the next. Hellebore, Daphne, Creeping Phlox, Golden Currant, and fruit trees, along with Crocus, Tulip, Narcissus, and other early bulbs give way to the first Penstemons, Basket-of-Gold, Catmint, Filigree Daisy, Sunrose, Evening Primrose, Blue Flax, hardy Geranium, and the dance goes on through the season! (Pictured left, Eve’s garden the week of May 24.)[Read More]
What a glorious spring! Having been blessed with generous snow and rain, the land is bursting with energy, greener than green, and flowering in kaleidoscopic exuberance! Migratory birds have been arriving or passing though our region this month, offering sightings of avian treasures like Lazuli Buntings and Western Tanagers, not to mention the hummingbirds. We do live in a wondrous world!
Q: Can I plant now?
A: It depends!
Yay! For those of us gardening at about a mile high, the threat of frost is nearly gone! If you’re planting hardy perennials, shrubs, vines, grasses or trees, you’re good to go now (as long as your soil isn’t too wet to work), and we have a remarkable selection! Our stock of seeds and starts for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, summer & winter squash, melons, pumpkins, and watermelons are excellent. We also have plenty of seeds for beans – bush, pole, runner, and dry. A hint about bean seeds: white-seeded beans are more tolerant of cool soils, so they can be planted sooner. [Read More]
Our best selection of plants for the 2021 season is here now! Our selection of plants for shade and part shade has never been better, including Hosta (many kinds!), Ferns (5 kinds!), Bergenia, Hellebore, Foxglove, Geranium (many), Coral Bells (many), Monkshood, Persicaria, Pulmonaria, Golden Wood Poppy and Clematis (lots!), and some new selections, like Solomon’s Seal (2 kinds)!
Papaver ‘Lauren’s Grape’
Some customers wonder why we are selling starts of self-sowing hardy annuals like Larkspur, Rocky Mt. Beeplant, California Poppy, Peony-flowered Poppy, Pheasant’s Eye, Sweet Alyssum, Nodding Dragonshead, Bee’s Friend, and Desert Bluebell. Shouldn’t they be grown from seed sown directly in the garden? The answer is Yes, they certainly can be, and if you find a source for the seeds and sow them at the optimal time, usually in the fall, you can get great results. But some gardeners report having little or no success with direct sowing: their timing is off, the seeds are watered in and then dry up and are no longer viable, critters eat the seeds, etc. [Read More]
Just as we need to add another layer of clothing during these cold snaps, our warm-season veggie starts also need additional insulation as the spring season and soil slowly begin to warm up. This layering can come in several forms, each with their own advantages and applications: low-tech overturned plant pots, row cover anchored over metal frame (as illustrated in the “Hardening-Off” portion of this article), and Solar Caps.
Due to their versatility and re-usability, Solar Caps have been one of our favorite garden tools for over a decade. [Read More]
Some veggies seem to shy away from the limelight, flourishing underground to provide a surprising, beautiful, and nutritious surprise later in the season. Growing root vegetables is generally easy, and can be a fun way to engage children in gardening. In addition, mountain gardeners often find that root veggies thrive in their cooler conditions.
Once planted, root veggies do not like to be disturbed and therefore are best planted by seed. (We do sell Bull’s Blood Beets as a starts, but these are generally grown for their greens.) We have Botanical Interests, Masa, and Seed Savers Exchange seeds for many root veggies including: [Read More]
Do you have plants that you like, but that need to be moved to a different location in your garden? Or has your clump of Shasta Daisy, Daylily, Hardy Geranium, etc. become too wide and now needs to be divided? By dividing your mature perennials, you get free plants to expand your garden, to give to neighbors, or pot up and donate to a fund-raising event like KGNU FM Community Radio’s Spring Plant Sale! The next couple of weeks bring the very best opportunity to accomplish these moves without stressing your plants too much. Search the web for instructions from a trusted source for dividing the specific plant you’re working with.
Russian Hawthorn
Very tough and xeric, grows 15’ high and wide, white flowers and red berries, loves Colorado.
Rocky Mt. Maple
Native to our foothills, likes to grow in the protection of other trees, red fall color, 10’-15’.
Gambel Oak and Wavyleaf Oak
Both natives that grow 10’-15’, with little water and poor soil, support birds.
Hackberry
Good shade tree to replace an ash, a fast-growing hardwood, the most drought tolerant shade tree.
White Mulberry
The hardiest mulberry, 25-30’ tall and wide, very xeric, white fruit is tasty and does not stain.
Quercus turbinella
8’-12’ native oak with evergreen leaves that are leathery and sharp toothed, hardy.
Credit: CO Springs Utilities Xeriscaping
Golden Rain Tree
25′ xeric tree with golden flowers in July, lantern-like pods, seeds abundantly.
Chokecherry
Native, suckering tree to 15′-25′ with white flowers, edible fruit; great for birds and butterflies.
Sucker Punch Chokecherry
Leaves start green then turn red all season, non-suckering, white flowers, berries.
Silver Buffaloberry (Shepherdia)
10′ native tree with edible red fruit, silver leaves, very xeric, few thorns.
Mayday Tree (Prunus padus)
20′-30′ with clusters of white flowers, then bird fruit, fast screen.
Catalpa
40′-50′ with vertical habit, orchid-like flowers, huge round leaves, 12″ beans, xeric and special.
Arizona Cypress
20′-30′ evergreen, blue foliage is fragrant, not scratchy, quite fast growing, bird favorite.
Plus, Honeylocust, Crab Apples, Silver Maple, Bur Oak, Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn, Aspen, Ptelea.
Sulfur Flower–Kannah Creek
Mahogany fall color. Eriogonum allennii – 3′ wide, very xeric, yellow flowers, a winner. Eriogonum umbellatum – yellow blooms cover xeric native mat, feeds butterflies, bees.
Many Lavenders
Royal Velvet, Buena Vista, Grosso, Twickle Purple, Munstead, Hidcote.
Asclepias incarnata
1′-3′ Full Sun, Attracts butterflies, native and honeybees, hummingbirds.
Asclepias tuberosa
Butterfly Weed, orange flowers, 1’-2’ high, essential Monarch food and nectar.
Hairy Mountain Mint
Aromatic prairie native attracts all pollinators! White flowers. Zone 4.
Native Bee-Balm
Showy purple blooms bring bees, hummers, butterflies; deer resistant.
Penstemon palmeri
Large fragrant pink xeric native to 5’, bumblebees & hummingbirds. Many MORE Penstemons!
Ornamental Oregano
Kent’s Beauty, Amethyst Falls, Pilgrim etc., cascading groundcovers, long blooming, bee-loved.
Helianthemum Wisley Pink
1” wild rose-like flowers in pink with silver foliage, xeric. PLUS, Double Peach, Ben Heckla, Hartswood Ruby.
Purple Prairie Clover
Long lived xeric native loved by many bee species, bright purple-pink, nitrogen-fixing.
Many Agastaches
Anise Hyssop, Blue Fortune, Coronado, Black Adder, A. rupestris, Tutti Frutti.
Dianthus
Tuscan Honeymoon – grassy foliage, 2’-3’ stalks of pink flowers late summer. D. gratianopolitanus – very tough groundcover, very fragrant pink flowers, durable. D. Blue Hills – the bluest foliage, fragrant flowers, 12” diam. D. Firewitch – fragrant; D. petraeus noeanus – Jasmine Dianthus, powerfully fragrant.
Gaillardia-BlanketFlower
Native G. aristata, Arizona Sun, Arizona Apricot, Az. Red Shades, Amber Wheels
Chocolate Flower
12″ x 24″ wide, yellow daisies with chocolate fragrance, very xeric native.
Sage
Culinary, Purple, Tricolor, S. ictaria, Blue Hill, May Night, Caradonna, Furman’s Red, Mojave, S. azurea
Thymus citriodorus aureus
The best smelling lemon thyme, good for cooking too.
Scabiosa lucida
Fairy Pincushion. Sweet and tough, 12” plant 4” high, blooms long, xeric.
Hardy Geraniums
Biokovo, Splendens, St. Ola, Crystal Rose, Cambridge, G. macrorrhizum, Ballerina
Echinacea angustifolia
Strong medicinal Echinacea, narrow leaves, pink flowers, xeric. PLUS, E. purpurea, Magnus, E. paradoxa, E. pallida, E. tennesseensis.
Rosemary
Arp, Madeline Hill, Tuscan Blue, Prostrata.
Liatris
Gayfeathers: L. punctata-local native; L. ligulistylis, pycnostachya, spicata
Harlequin’s Silver Germander, T. rotundifolium, T. chamaedrys
Tough annuals
Snapdragon, Zinnia, Lauren’s Grape Poppy, Petunias, Datura, Pansies, and many more.
Amorpha, Manzanitas, Mt. Mahoganies, Big Sage, Fringed Sage, Lilacs, Butterfly Bushes, Pea Shrub, Viburnams, Spireas, Potentillas, Sand Cherry, Rabbitbrush, Fernbush, Mountain Ninebark, Lewis Mockorange, Boulder Raspberry, Boxwoods, Cotoneasters, New Mexican Privet Flowering Quince, Ephedra, Euonymus, Sumacs, Currants, Yuccas and Honeysuckle, Trumpet Vine, Wisteria, Clematis, and MORE!
In 2019, wind, solar and hydroelectric power produced more electricity than coal for the first time.
Union of Concerned Scientists
We are known far and wide for our selection of sustainable roses and for our expertise in helping people choose the best varieties for their gardens and landscapes. We sell roses on their own roots not grafted, which makes them more cold hardy, longer lived, with more flowers. This year we will have more Austin English roses and more patio roses.
And we have many other great roses including: Bill Reid, Marie Pavie, The Gift, John Cabot, Seafoam, Stanwell Perpetual, The Fawn, Abraham Darby, Applejack, Darlow’s Enigma, Henry Kelsey, John Davis, Golden Wings, Victorian Memory, Fairmont Proserpine, Joann’s Pink Perpetual, Golden Celebration, Champlain, Morden Snowbeauty, Henry Kelsey, Robusta, etc.
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time.
Scott Fitzgerald
One of our specialties is fruiting plants that are adapted to Colorado conditions. All the apples we carry are resistant to fireblight and good tasting. And the cherries we sell are all proven successful in Colorado. Our grapes are the hardiest of any you will find, delicious fresh, in juice and a few are good for wine. And we have productive & good tasting currants, gooseberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries including:
Crandall Clove Currant and Gwen’s Buffalo Currant
Both are 5’x4’ with very fragrant yellow flowers in spring and annual bearing of sweet-tart berries full of healthy phytonutrients and reddish fall color; these are native currants selected for better fruit.
Triple Crown Thornless Blackberry
Late blooming so avoids late frosts, medium to large sweet berries, semi-trailing, best pruned to 8’.
Orient Nanking Cherry
Selected for flavor; it’s good; same 6’ height, xeric, red cherries.
Johns, York and Adams Elderberries
Larger berries, 8’, better edible elderberry, need two to pollinate, beautiful white flowers, berries are high in nutrition, loved by the birds.
Hinnomaki Red Gooseberry
Excellent flavor, tangy skin, sweet flesh, 3′, productive.
Invicta Gooseberry
Very large greenish white sweet fruit, very productive, vigorous.
Imperial White Currant
Clusters of white fruit with rich flavor, early ripening, from 1895.
Alagan Black Currant
Sweet and strong flavored European, culinary and medicinal, need 2.
Niwot primocane Black Raspberry
Bred in Longmont, fruits on new wood, excellent flavor.
Also, Anne yellow raspberry, and Heritage and Polana red raspberries.
Bali Cherry
Semi-sweet cherry, very hardy to -54F, good for fresh eating and baking.
North Star
A natural dwarf 6-8′, good tasting fruit, dependable, good ornamental too.
Also, Montmorency, Mesabi, Carmine Jewel, Juliet, Romeo, Crimson Passion.
We will have a wonderful selection of Colorado-adapted strawberries with REAL Strawberry Flavor.
Ogallala
Finally found this old-time favorite cross between wild Rocky Mt. strawberry and garden varieties. Okay with less-than-ideal soil, everbearing, productive.
Fort Laramie
Everbearing, large, sweet, aromatic fruits, heat & cold tolerant.
Mara des Bois
Intense flavor, June-October.
EarliGlow
June-bearing, some say THE best tasting.
Alexandria Alpine and Yellow Wonder Alpine
Runnerless, small intense fruit.
PLUMSMount Royal
Deep blue sweet, juicy flesh, mid-late Aug, self-fertile, tough.
Toka
Rosy-red, freestone, spicy & sweet, ripens Aug/Sept, very productive, needs pollinator.
Also, Stanley, Italian, Red Haven, Superior, Toka, Green Gage, Alderman.
PEACHESReliance, Contender, Red Haven.
Cortland
Crisp, juicy, delicious fruit, for fresh eating, baking, cider; successful.
Sweet 16
Sweet and juicy, aromatic, stores well, Zone 3, successful.
Dakota Gold
Large, yellow fruit is good fresh, for sauce and pies. Zone 2-3, keeps for 1 week.
Also, Liberty, Haralson, Honeycrisp, Hazen, Macfree, Mandan, Zestar, Freedom, Honeygold, Red Baron, Zestar, Snow Sweet, Haralred, Rhuby, Sharon, etc.
PEARSSummercrisp, Parker Pear, Nova and Loma.
St. Theresa
Zone 4, purple with excellent flavor, seedless, fresh eating & raisins.
Swenson’s Red
Zone 4, red, seeded grape, high sugar content, delicious flavor, superior.
Also, Swenson’s White, Trollhaugen, Valiant, Lacross, Concord, and Marquette.
One hundred million people now live in towns, cities and states committed to 100 percent clean energy.
The Sierra Club
Even though we are about to receive our biggest snowstorm of this winter thus far, you can still make great progress on your garden by starting seeds indoors or even outside if your garden is prepared and you’re quick and can sow them tomorrow morning! You can also plant our hardy perennials, vines, shrubs and trees that have overwintered outdoors ahead of the storm. And our Onion plants – they’re very cold-hardy, and the earlier they’re planted, the larger their bulbs at harvest time! And, if you can plant in a cold-frame, or under a low tunnel of sheet plastic or Row Cover Fabric, you can plant our spring vegetable starts! Heading varieties like Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower will give you [Read More]
Historically February is one of Colorado’s snowiest months, and finally we’re beginning to see evidence of that this year! Additionally, the forecast indicates more to come. It remains to be seen how some of our marginally hardy garden plants have suffered from the below zero temperatures.
Many of us may have the tops of ornamental grasses and various perennials peeking out of the blanket of the snow, which provides habitat for overwintering beneficial insects and it helps to keep the plant roots and crowns warmer. But very soon it will be time to cut back Cool-Season ornamental grasses before their active growth begins, which will allow light to penetrate the entire clump. See Eve’s instructions, below. [Read More]
Despite the access we have right now to our snow-free gardens, in general it’s not time to begin garden clean up. Undoubtedly (hopefully!) we will receive more snowfall in February and March and it is beneficial to keep leaves on the ground and last-year’s stalks on our perennials because this cover provides habitat for overwintering beneficial insects and it helps to keep the plant roots and crowns warmer.
In late February and early March it will be time to cut back certain Clematis vines, depending on their category. Here is an in-depth guide to the three Clematis Pruning Groups. [Read More]
Attractive Evergreens for Colorado Gardens
At the time of the Winter Solstice, we can be grateful for the evergreens in our Colorado gardens. Not every region of the temperate northern hemisphere can grow so many different beautiful plants with year-round presence.
There are so many evergreen (and eversilver, everblue, red and purple) hardy perennials, groundcovers, shrubs, herbs, and trees (and not just conifers!) we can grow here. They go above and beyond in their service as ornamental plants in all four seasons. [Read More]
NEW 2019!
A lovely multi-colored mix of smaller, cold-hardy Flowering Onions producing sprays of dainty nectar-rich bell flowers. Includes such spring and early-summer-blooming favorites as Allium moly, A. oreophilum, A. roseum. You and the bees will love them!
Allium Red Giant
Description coming soon!
An enchanting, early-blooming member of the Buttercup family that grows from a tuber. Where happy, it spreads to form a carpet-like groundcover with ferny deep green foliage and 1”- wide open-faced sky-blue daisy flowers with yellow eyes. Provides a long-lasting display in early spring.
Works well under daffodils and tulips, in rock gardens, or in masses under deciduous shrubs and trees. Prefers a humus-rich soil, average moisture and good drainage in a sunny or partly shaded location.
Hardy to Zone 5, 3-4” tall.
Description coming soon!
Blue Glory of the Snow is a deer proof bulb with compact 6-8” spikes of cheerful, white eyed, bright blue flowers in early spring. Chionodoxa is very attractive when planted in large drifts of many bulbs, and naturalizes readily.
Plant in full sun or morning sun, 2-4” deep, 16 bulbs per sq. ft. or 4” apart. Cold hardy to Zone 3.
This wild “snow” crocus bears sweetly fragrant, bright golden yellow goblet-formed flowers with striking deep purple stripes on the outer petals. The blooms appear in February/March. Fuscotinctus grows well in gritty, poor to moderately fertile, well-drained soil, dry to moderately moist. Perfect for naturalizing in any sunny or partly sunny location or lawn, and are also charming in pots. 3-4″ tall. Plant 4″ deep. Hardy to Zone 3.
A cheerful mix of many colors and forms of super-early ‘snow crocus’!
Hardy to Zone 3.
Photo and description coming soon!
Photo and description coming soon!
Crocus tommasinianus Ruby Giant
Description coming soon!
Description coming soon!
Spring Beauty is an elegant and hard-to-find variety with bright lavender blue flowers marked with striking deep violet flames on the outer petals, a paler lavender-purple interior, pale yellow anthers and grass-like foliage with narrow, median silvery stripes.
Outstanding whether planted in large drifts or small clumps in the rockery. Late winter/early spring blooming. A bit shorter than other Species Crocus, Spring Beauty stands about 3-4″ tall with graceful six-petaled flowers that open and close on sunny days.
Deer-resistant, they naturalize readily in well-draining soil and in full to partial sunlight. Hardy to Zone 4
This fall-blooming crocus emerges as a cheery surprise in October or November with bright violet-purple open cupped petals and brilliant orange stigmas, the source of the precious spice, saffron. The blooms are accompanied by short blades of dark green, grass-like foliage which elongates after the flowers have finished and may re-appear in spring.
Wonderful in the sunny rock garden, and among low, xeric groundcovers such as Turkish Veronica or ‘Tough-as-Nails’ (Paronychia kapela). Saffron Crocus prefers a location that is warm, sunny and dry, with very good drainage and only wants moisture when it is in flower and active growth.
PLANT THESE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE to enjoy flowers this fall! Plant 2-4″ deep, 3″ apart. Zone 6. 4”-5” tall
The superb blue Autumn Crocus, blooms in early to mid-autumn, arriving to brighten the garden at a time when many other plants have finished blooming. Autumn Crocus has large, sky-blue to purple flowers with golden-orange stigmas and anthers. They stand 4” tall and emerge without the narrow grassy foliage that will follow bloom. They will naturalize, and over the years, the clumps increase in size and duration of bloom.
Autumn Crocus provides a stunning surprise rising out of a mass of perennial groundcover such as Plumbago, Evergreen Candytuft, ‘Harlequin’s Silver’ Teucrium, or any of the Geranium x cantabrigiense selections!
Average soil and moisture, full to part sun, most soils except heavy clay, cold hardy to Zone 4.
PLANT THESE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE to enjoy flowers this fall! For drifts, plant 10 bulbs per square foot.
NEW for 2019!
A natural hybrid between C. tomasinianus (usually tiny) and a cultivar of C. vernus (the largest blooms), Yalta readily pushes its large, striking bicolor blooms up through snow to decorate the landscape as early as February. Grown in sunny or partly-shaded sites, its silvery outer petals shimmer and shine when the sun hits them. Inside, rich blue-violet petals give the blooms a dynamic appearance that really pops when planted in groups or mass plantings. As with other crocus cultivars, ‘Yalta’ looks great as an early-season border, walkway accent or between evergreen shrubs and deciduous trees, and in bulb-lawns. For an informal, carefree look, gently toss handfuls of bulbs and plant them where they lay. Spring blooming. 4-5” tall, hardy to zone 4.
