Plant of the Week- Golden Spirit Smokebush

With colorful annuals and perennials in the height of their blooming period, shrubs can easily be lost in the landscape of summer. If you're looking for a shrub that will add as much interest to your garden as a cluster of black-eyed-susan then I got just the plant for you!

The almost neon green foliage of the Golden Spirit smokebush {Cotinus cogsygra 'Golden Spirit'} will add texture, color, and structure to your garden. The large, round chartreuse leaves contribute sharp contrast to an otherwise monotonously medium green landscape. Golden Spirit is perfect for hot, sunny locations and {once established} is both drought and heat tolerant. A vigorous grower, heavy pruning will be required in early spring/late winter. Trimming back branches to within three buds of the base of the plant will keep the size in check, as well as reduce thick hardwood from forming, keeping growth springy and fresh.

 

 

USDA Zones: 4-6
Height: 8-10'
With: 6-8'
Bloom Time: early summer
Exposure: full sun
Water Requirements: regular watering until established

 

Photo: everchanginggarden.ca

 

Posted with Blogsy

A Blossom Fell...

Don't you just love this time of year?  I do.  The re-birth of all things that have been sleeping rejuvenates me.  The tulips and daffodils seem to be yawning and stretching as they lift themselves from the once frozen earth. The budding and blossoming trees adorn themselves with fanciful colors of spring and beckon me, with outstretched arms, to come outside and breathe in their sweet fragrance and linger in their presence.
  Often I walk with a good friend.  The conversation is always lively as we traverse a favorite pathway that leads us to a path beside a nearby river.  Today was a spectacular show for Spring, as the blossoms danced in the slight breeze, each swaying branch vying for our attention.  As I walked under the branches of five cheery trees, the happy blossoms perched in clusters there dropped a single blossom that floated gently to the ground in front of my feet. It felt like my personal invitation to springtime.  Magic.

  It's a great time to grab a friend or loved one and take a walk.  Notice the whimsical colors that delight the eye and fill the heart.  Listen to what they say.  For me it's always the same and it sends me off to the garden center for a five gallon container of rejuvenation...