Among the thousands of seedlings that we are propagating is a special new Plant Select® addition: Guernsey Green Juniper, WINDWALKER® Series (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Guernsey Green’).
Submitted to Plant Select® by our friend, and owner of Cold Hardy Cactus, Kelly Grummons, this ground-hugging juniper (only 3” tall!) spreads to a manageable width of 5-10’. It hales from the windy prairies of Eastern Wyoming. Its high desert pedigree ensures the Guernsey Green’s drought tolerant nature. This evergreen groundcover shrub is equally happy in the shade and full sun and provides a living mulch (ideal for dry shade) around other xeric shrubs, perennials, and grasses. Its shiny green foliage sports silver to black berries in the fall and winter. We will bring it out as soon as it reaches a saleable size.
Photo Credit: Plant Select®
By popular demand we’re also growing one of our favorite native staples, Salvia azurea (Pitcher Sage). This salvia is a tall, multi-stemmed perennial that matures into a beautiful clump 3-5’ tall with a slightly narrower width of 2-4’. From mid-summer into fall, the Pitcher Sage sports elegant sky-blue flower spikes above gray-green leaves. The heaviness of these flowers often bows the sage into neighboring plants, but you can cut back the plant by half in the late spring to keep the sage bushier and less sprawling. The 2-lipped flowers provide an abundant source of pollen for butterflies, bumblebees, hummingbirds, and other important pollinators while being ignored by deer. Pitcher Sage thrives in full sun and appreciates medium-dry, well-drained soils.
