2021: The Second Year of the COVID Pandemic is Ending, but the pandemic isn't!

I was wrong.

In the summer of 2020, there seemed to be room for optimism about the trajectory of the pandemic - that’s reflected in my last post in July 2020 - which was emotional and hopeful and high-minded. Then the Delta variant came along and another COVID-19 wave started to spread through the country and the world. 2020 ended in the midst of a surge and in 2020 there had been more than 350,000 deaths in the US; close to 2 million deaths worldwide.

The year 2021 started with great hopes about the ability of the SARS-CoV2 vaccines to change the playing field. They were produced and tested in record time using cutting-edge technology. As the supplies rolled out, more and more people became eligible for the vaccine, finally including those 65 and older. Me. But the year 2021 also started with the January 6th insurrection at the US Capital. Armed, savage individuals over-ran the Capital Police, beating them with flagpoles and anything else that was at hand. Yelling, bulling and bashing their way in, moving through the halls trying to find House or Senate members whom they seemed ready to kill. Faces of hatred. Their goal was to stop the election from being certified. As the insurrection was investigated throughout the course of the year, it became clear how very close they came to doing just that.

Just before Thanksgiving, the Omicron variant came out of nowhere - it’s not a variant of Delta and has a lot of unexpected mutations. Its immune evasion is said to be unprecedented. Within weeks it had become the dominant variant in many parts of the country. It’s more highly transmissible than Delta, but its overall effects vis-a-vis serious illness and death seem to have been moderated by vaccination and booster shots. Both vaccinated and unvaccinated people are contracting the Omicron variant. People who are unvaccinated make up the majority of hospitalizations and deaths, but fewer seem to need ICU-level care.

People are still dying. As of December 10, 2021, there were an additional 405,769 deaths in the US, bringing the total number of US deaths since the start of the pandemic to 791,130.. More than 5 million deaths worldwide. Our society is more divided than ever. So much for my pollyanna-ish sentiments from the summer.

But this blog is not about politics, its about plants. There was a lot of interest in landscaping in 2021 because so many people had worked from home for so long that they needed their outdoor spaces to be “refreshed”. “Planting for pollinators” was included in what everyone had on their wish lists. Thank-you Doug Tallamy! I installed one garden that I then registered as a “Home Grown National Park” - embracing his concept wholeheartedly. Every garden I design going forward will (hopefully) have that as part of the “design intent” - or why else would they hire me?

The season was a bit of an uphill slog - labor shortage, stone shortage, wood shortage, paver shortage, plant shortage. Having to go to 5 different nurseries to collect plants for any given job. For quite a number of the fall jobs, we did the removals and masonry parts of the job and left the spaces “ready to plant” in hopes that in 2022 plants would be easier to find.

Here are some of the plants that I used for the first time in 2021 that I love:

Andropogon gerardii ‘Red October’

‘Red October’ fall color

Calycanthus floridus

Calycanthus fall foliage color

Penstemon digitalis ‘Pochahontas’ flowers

Salvia lyrata

Plant(s) of the Year 2020

2020 Perennial Plant of the Year™:  Aralia cordata 'Sun King' (Common name: Japanese Spikenard)

The Perennial Plant Association has chosen Aralia cordata 'Sun King' as its 2020 Perennial Plant of the Year™.  'Sun King' was introduced by famed plantsman Barry Yinger who found it in a department store in Japan and brought it back to the states.  It has become popular as something “unique and different” to plant in the shade garden.  It has tropical-looking compound leaves that can measure a few feet long.

 ‘Sun King’ emerges mid-spring with bright gold leaves held on nicely contrasting reddish brown stems.  If given at least a few hours of sun a day, the foliage will remain yellow all summer.  In heavier shade, the foliage ranges from chartreuse to lime green.  In spite of its name, too much sun will cause leaf burn.

‘Sun King’ typically dies back to the ground in winter in our area, but quickly re-emerges in spring to form a large shrub-like clump of foliage which resists deer browsing.  It grows about three feet tall and wide.

In mid to late summer, interesting racemes of tiny white flowers are produced followed by deep purplish black, inedible berries. Like most Aralias, the flowers attract honeybees and other pollinators.

I have to admit I’m not fully convinced as to whether we know if this plant will end up being invasive. I have shuddering thoughts of Japanese Knotweed - that was thought to be an ornamental at first too. I’ve planted it at one property - it’s true it does add bold leaves, a big presence and good color to the shade border. Also true that deer don’t seem to be interested in it. We’ll see.

A few other perennials to get to know in 2020

Clematis ‘Rain Dance’ (Common Name: Bush Clematis)

If you’re not familiar with non-vining clematis, its time to try one.  They “read” more like a shrub in the garden, are very floriferous, and can be a groundcover or waterfall over a wall.

‘Rain Dance’ was hybridized by Walters Gardens, and has flowers as large as what you'd see on a vine clematis (flowers on non-vining clematis are usually smaller than those of vining forms).  It has large (2.5-3"), outward facing indigo blue flowers with darker midribs and lighter margins.  

Bush clematis varieties bloom first on new growth beginning in midsummer, and then again on new shoots in early fall.  Although ‘Rain Dance’ is non-vining, the plant will benefit from support, either from staking, a garden obelisk, or from neighboring plants.  The growth habit of non-vining clematis makes them a little difficult to prune.  The upside is that there are no tendrils to get entangled with one another, so its easy to spread out individual stems without breaking them.

‘Rain Dance’ belongs to Clematis Group 3 - Late flowering cultivars – so you can prune them in late winter or early spring.  All shoots can be cut back to the previous year's wood, just above the base of the plant.  This pruning avoids getting bare stems, but spring flowers will be eliminated for that year; late summer flowers will still be produced.  Alternatively, if you don't want to cut the entire plant back all at once, pruning can be done in stages over a period of 3 years.  Each year, prune back 1/3 of the stems to 6-9 inches above a couple of well-developed buds.

That might sound like a bit of work, but bear in mind its positive qualities:

·       Deer & Rabbit resistant

·       Rebloomer

·       Attracts butterflies; bee-friendly

·       Not fussy about soil

The habit of non-vining clematis (though this is a different cultivar called ‘Sapphire Indigo’

Heuchera ‘Toffee Tart’ (Common Name: Coral Bells)

This new member of the Proven Winners® Heuchera collection displays differing shades of ginger caramel throughout the seasons.  In spring, the newest leaves emerge amber with a silver overlay.  Leaves take on a ginger color with silver overlay as they mature. Then in late summer, leaves mature to green.  This variety has an interesting color that blends easily with most other perennials.  It’s not as “loud” as purple-leaved varieties, “softer” than ‘Caramel’ and “reads” better than ‘Dale’s Strain’.  Since ‘Toffee Tart’ has a lighter leaf color, grow in partial shade (preferably afternoon shade) (do not plant in full sun).

Heucheras are semi-evergreen in our area.  Depending on winter conditions, the plants can look a little tattered by early spring.  In that case, just shear off any damaged leaves to make room for the vibrant new foliage which will fill in quickly.

Heucheras can be grown under Black Walnut trees because they are resistant to the toxin Juglone which the trees emit from their roots.  Heucheras are also salt tolerant. They are useful along pathways which are salted in winter or for people gardening in coastal regions.  

Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Blue Paradise’ (Common Name: Little Bluestem)

This variety of Little Bluestem was bred by Walters Gardens, Inc.  Its habit is very upright and columnar, and it maintains its upright habit through fall.  At 3½ feet tall, this grass can be the perfect backdrop to a garden.  ‘Blue Paradise’ has striking silvery blue stems in summer.  In the fall, this grass takes center stage as the leaves develop a deep wine purple color. 

Schizachyrium is a great choice if you are looking to restore an eroded site, or for a plant that will grow in hot, dry areas where other plants have a hard time surviving.

Nepeta faasennii ‘Cat’s Meow’  (Common Name: Catmint)

‘Cat’s Meow’ has everything you’re looking for: a low maintenance, drought tolerant, deer resistant, long blooming perennial that looks great all season.  Unlike most Nepetas that have a bit of a wild, unkempt look, this first class selection keeps its tidy, dense, rounded shape all season long. 

Its small, grey-green, aromatic leaves are topped with well-branched stems carrying spikes of sky blue flowers with purple calyxes from early summer into early fall. 

Sedum X ‘Pure Joy’ (Common Name: Stonecrop; Ground Cover Sedum)

This plant is a relatively new introduction in the ROCK 'N GROW®  series (trademark is owned by Walters Gardens, Inc.).

In spring, small serrated leaves emerge in a cool shade of blue green.  They form a perfectly rounded, low mound perfect for edging the front of the border.  As the plant matures through the season, the leaves expand and turned lighter green, forming a short, semi-upright clump. 

When ‘Pure Joy’ flowers in late summer and early fall arrive, the flowers form a massive dome of bubblegum pink,  completely covering the foliage.  Deeper pink seed heads follow later in fall. 

Amsonia tabernaemontana ‘Storm Cloud’ (Common Name: Bluestar)

Amsonia is the classic North American perennial, and ‘Storm Cloud’ is an improved selection that is worth planting for its black-asparagus sprouting stems in spring, if for no other reason.

New stems emerge in spring that are near-black with leaves that are very dark green with silver veins.  The stems stay dark throughout spring.  Light periwinkle blue, star-shaped flowers completely cover the foliage in late spring, and rebloom for many weeks afterward. Although the main interest of this plant is in spring, it maintains a great garden presence throughout the summer and fall.  Its wide, mounded habit lends itself well to be used in place of shrubs in the landscape.  

In the fall, it puts on a memorable show with shades of bright gold, red and copper.  It is easy-care, heat and humidity-tolerant and deer-resistant.  What more could you ask?!

2017 Trial Garden Results - from Walters Gardens in Michigan Jeremy Windemuller Trial Garden Manager

Best drought tolerant perennial: Echinacea Lakota 'Santa Fe' (its grown from seed, so it has slight color variations) flowers profusely in shades of red and orange.  Its a good performer in both containers and landscape. Grows 12 - 16" tall.

Echinacea Lakota 'Santa Fe'

Best heat-tolerant perennial: Sedum Rock 'N Grow 'Popstar' - a low-profile sedum that doesn't open up as it grows.  It has blue-green foliage and salmon-pink flowers.  The trial gardens manager says it is "a definite improvement over S. cauticola".  It was un-phased in their trial gardens during an extra-hot and dry summer.

Sedum 'Popstar'

Best pollinator-friendly perennial:  Salvia nemorosa 'Bumbleberry'.  Its easy to maintain since it has a naturally compact habit, but its still a vigorous grower.  About 12" tall and will re-bloom if dead-headed. 

Salvia 'Bumbleberry'

Best overall performance: Heuchera PRIMO 'Black Pearl'  

"We were wowed right away by the visuals of this plant, and once we got it into production, we continued to be impressed….It truly lives up to the PRIMO name of larger, vigorous plants."  Glossy black foliage can make a container planting pop!  

Heuchera 'Black Pearl'

Roy Diblik - "They share the space unselfishly"

He had already inspired me with his book "Know Maintenance Perennials" but I had no idea how wise, cool, down-to-earth, innovative, knowledgeable, hilariously funny - shall I go on? - he is until he spoke at our NYBG LDSA meeting in December.  All thanks to Hanna Packer - shout-out to her expertise; visit her website www.hannapackerdesign.com

He talked to us about Plant Communities, and somehow it ended up being about human communities as well.  A plant community will thrive only if it has all the building blocks, including good soil and a diversity of plants to support a wide variety of insects.  Living and dying roots are what regenerates the soil.  "Remnant prairies" (untouched soil) have 18 - 24 species of plants per sq meter - all thriving and occupying their niches happily and benefitting each other.  They share the space unselfishly.  So it should be with human communities as well.

But lets move on to some of Roy Diblik's wisdom that I managed to capture:

You have to get to know the plants. It's not "fair" to the plant to ask it to do what you want it to do - you should find out what it wants to do and where it wants to be to thrive."

P.S. this is how we should treat people as well!

Pachysandra, vinca, euonymus etc are the "default landscape -

he grows 32,000 sedges in his nursery and uses a mixture of sedges as ground cover

Turf and boxwood" landscapes have no pollinators, no birds.

You don't need mulch, organic amendments, fish emulsion etc - Everything you need falls from the trees in autumn and all the soil needs is roots living and dying.

Thugs" are opportunistic - if you disturb an area they will take over - that's simply their nature

You have to put a plant community together in a way that eliminates agricultural weeds. If you can reduce the light reaching the soil to below 1000 ft-candles (or better, below 200 ft-candles) then weed seeds won't germinate.

Contractors are being paid to keep bad from getting worse

A plug will equal a 1G container in 5 weeks

Ornamental grasses sporobulus, seslaria, schizachyrium as the "grout" between the plants.  For example, Allium 'Summer Beauty' and seslaria live together fruitfully (not competitively)

He usually uses a balance of 60:40 grasses:flowering plants

Seen below: pictures of Roy Diblik's matrix plantings at the Chicago Art Institute, Chicago's Shedd Aquarium and the Lurie Garden

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Lurie Garden Chicago - the interplay of sun and shadow and the colors of the grasses, with the amsonia just beginning to turn its bright yellow autumn color, is mesmerizingly beautiful to me.

Roy Diblik at the birth of the Lurie Garden

Roy Diblik says: "Learn about 20 plants in depth, then gradually learn another 10 or 20 - that's all you'll need" 

He creates "quilt patterns" - each module is interchangeable and they can be mixed and matched

Tulip 'Golden Artist'

Salvia 'Wesuwe'

Euphorbia polychroma dark form

Geranium 'Magnificum' from Roy Diblik's Nursery

Monarda bradburiana

The composition of your design sets up the plant community but also creates spirit and emotion

Allium, Calamintha, Stachys and Echinacea

He gave us info about some of the plants he uses: (I mostly tried to capture his own words)

• Carex flacca ('Blue Zinger') is an example of a carex that quickly covers ground and can take some foot traffic, but when its crown touches another crown it stops spreading

• Monarda bradburiana prefers avg to dry soil (unlike some other monardas)

• Salvias love to mix with one another but they can't survisie getting watered 3 times per week

• Don't use Salvia 'May Night' because it doesn't rebloom. Instead use Salvia wesuwe that reblooms constantly

• A combo he likes: Geranium sanguineum, allium cernuum and ornamental oregano

• Covering the growing points of perennials with wood mulch kills them

• Northwind has an Echinacea tenneseensis hybrid that tolerates clay soil

• Sporobulus and sedges are very natural-looking in a woodland garden; also mixtures of sedge and Geranium macrorrhizum in shade

• Commercial prairies that are started from seed usually end up being 5 native plants living together. It will take 15 years to get a diverse/"real" prairie with 18-24 species per sq meter

Words of wisdom: "Sedges give you the opportunity to outsmart weeds"

One plant he mentioned that I hadn't known was Gillenia trifoliata (also Porteranthus trifoliatus).  Common name: Bowman's Root (Also known as Indian Physic or American Ipecac; sounds lovely!).  Bowman's Root is an easy-to-grow native for bright shade or partial sun and it tolerates tree root competition well as long at it has a nice layer of organic mulch.  Bowman's Root is lovely in a mass planting where its lacy white flowers can shimmer in a light breeze.  It makes a nice filler - think Gaura for shade!  A compact, rounded plant, it is topped in late spring with ethereal white flowers growing in a few loose terminal panicles, with red petioles and mahogany stems.  Clean, disease-free foliage often turns deep bronzy red in fall and contrasts beautifully with the more typical oranges and yellows in the perennial border.  Interesting form and unique seed heads persist into winter.  Great for cut flowers!

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