The Perfect Fit

Compact Korean Azalea

Last year, I needed a filler plant for a small area in the back garden.  I had extended a planting bed into the adjacent shady area where grass was too challenged to grow.  This bed is backed by a large Rhododendrons.  Since I liked how my native azaleas (Rhododendron viscosum) had grown into another large-leafed evergreen rhododendron nearby, I though adding a deciduous azalea here would work too.  But I also wanted spring color. (My native azaleas bloom in summer.) 


The new space was small.  So when I found a Korean azalea labeled "compact", I thought I'd give it a try.  Its mature size will only be four feet wide and two feet tall.  When I bought this small cultivar (Azalea poukhanense 'Compacta'), it was out of bloom, but the picture on the attached label showed a rosy-purple flower. 


When it bloomed this spring, it looked a bit more purple which I actually prefer.  Combined with a bright green hosta in front, this new addition really adds a bright punch to this once forgotten corner of my garden. 

More purple than pink blooms

Marriage of Convenience

HAMPTONS GARDEN has a new home.  Please find this post now at following link:

Marriage of Convenience

Paul's Glory Hosta

Charlie

No, that's not Paul pictured.   That's Charlie, the younger schnauzer, sitting in front of  a very colorful hosta named Paul's Glory.  The Paul in question is Paul Hofer who registered this award-winning hosta in 1987. 

I planted two of them to fill under a viburnum and to add a little contrasting color.  I bought them from a favorite mail-order source, Bluestone Perennials.  They arrived small,  but soon filled out the allotted area.

Mine have leaves with yellow centers and green margins.  The color is brighter with some sun which it doesn't seem to mind.  Centers are more chartreuse with less sun.  Flowers are white, but I sometimes cut them off, preferring the foliage to stand out.

With active voles and slugs, I usually shy away from hostas.  But near patios, I can better watch them before they become some pest's dinner.

Hosta Paul's Glory

Adding color to patio plantings