Changing My Mind About Spirea

I've never been a fan of spirea. When I hear the name, what comes to mind is one of the big, sprawling bridal veil varieties (Spirea cantoniensis, S. prunifolia, or S. x vanhouttei). These plants produce masses of white flowers in spring that, to me, smell unpleasantly musty. I don't want to be around them.

But there is a mound form of spirea (Spirea japonica) that has won me over. There are several plants in this group, many of which stay below 3' tall, all with striking foliage. Cultivars such as 'Goldflame,' 'Goldmound,' and 'Limemound,' certainly live up to their names in the garden. I've been admiring some of these on my regular trips to the local PCC store, where they are planted in the dry stream bed garden out front.

Here you see examples of what I assume are either 'Goldmound' or 'Goldflame' in the PCC garden.

So it happened that yesterday I was working in a corner of my yard that I haven't been happy with for a while. Most of the plants work well together, but there's a spot where nothing has quite fit or been able to thrive. I took out the plants that weren't working and weeded the bed. While I worked, I thought about what might fill in that area and pull it all together. Then I headed up to West Seattle Nursery for more inspiration. Here's what I came home with:

This is Spirea japonica 'Magic Carpet,' a Pacific Northwest Great Plant Pick. It will hold this yellow/chartreuse color all season and will have pink flowers in summer. This vivid foliage, edged with bits of bronze, red and coral, appears to be lit from within. Mature size will be about 2' x 2'. 

I've planted it next to 'Red Fred' heather. We'll see how they get along. 

Hooked on Heuchera

Heuchera (pronounced HOO-ker-ah), also called coral bells, is a popular perennial in Seattle gardens. Each year, it seems, there are several new introductions to the collection available at nurseries, adding an ever wider selection of color and texture.

Some of the most familiar forms of this plant have purple leaves, as does this one above. Tiny, bell-shaped flowers are borne on tall slender stalks above the foliage in early summer. But it is the foliage that is the true star of the show, adding mounds of color nearly year around. In the purple range, look for varieties such as: 'Chocolate Ruffles,' 'Chocolate Veil,' and 'Garnet.'

Some varieties of Heuchera are noted for their veination patterns. I believe the variety shown above is called 'Pewter Moon.' Look also for 'Ruby Veil,' and 'Ring of Fire' to see other variations on the theme.

In recent years, Heuchera varieties with golden leaves have become very popular. Look for varieties such as 'Southern Comfort,' 'Peach Flambe,' and 'Caramel.'

Heuchera are easy to care for. Cut back ratty foliage in late winter, very early spring and a new flush of colorful growth will soon emerge. Because of the range of leaf colors and textures, these are good plants to keep in mind when you are designing a garden. Repeat the same plant 3 to 5 times throughout the garden, to draw the eye through the landscape, and to complement other colors in the garden. In Seattle, you often see Heuchera planted in mixed borders, containers and rockeries.

Designing Gardens with Foliage Color

If you want color in your garden all year around, I suggest that you think in terms of foliage colors first and then use flower colors as accents.

Why not plan around flower color? Because the flowers of perennials and woody plants don't last very long. You wait all year to see those beloved peonies or rhododendrons or daylilies open up. When they bloom, the flowers last anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks and then that's it for the year.

You can add color to the garden for a longer period using annuals, but replacing them every year and keeping them looking good can be an expensive and high maintenance project. 

To get ideas, look at gardens in your neighborhood. Here you see a lot of color and not a flower in sight! 

Visit public gardens, too. This photo was taken in the Coenosium Rock Garden at South Seattle Community College. The garden features an outstanding collection of conifers and look at all that color! There's the blue Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica), the kelly green of the dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea g. albertiana 'Conica'), yellow green of deodar cedar (Cedrus deodora), and pines (Pinus sp.) in various shades of green.

Foliage color may be deciduous like the purple smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria), or evergreen like the heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica 'Moon Bay') shown above. 

Look also for variegation in foliage, like this iris.
Many plants have colored edges on their leaves, like Daphne 'Carol Mackie' or Hebe 'Red Edge.'

And don't forget grasses. Here you see Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra) on the right and bronze leather leaf sedge (Carex buchananii) at the left. If you want more blue in your landscape, look for blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) or blue fescue (Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue').

Need more ideas? "Consider the Leaf: Foliage in Garden Design," by Judy Glattstein goes much more in depth. She writes in a comfortable, conversational style, making it enjoyable to learn from her about how to bring lots of color with less effort into your garden.