Eco-chic – The Wright Scoop

The Beautiful Gardens Program

Gardens continue to burst forth with blooms, illustrating why as a nation we not only designate the month of May but June too as national Flower Month.

I am in awe of the splendor of year 2010 blooms. I’ve observed an unusual quantity, size, health and aesthetic beauty. Whether a fragile rose or hardy hydrangea, all peak in blossom. Still, typically, there are plants that over time acquire distinction.

As an advocate for sustainability, not simply a use of plants that work well in a region but those that contribute to regional economic sustainability - developed, grown and distributed within their community - I want to make you aware of a Virginia implemented plant introduction program: Beautiful Gardens®, www.BeautifulGardens.org.

 

Beautiful Gardens® focus is 'Plants of Distinction,' plants tested across varied climactic zones throughout the state of Virginia. To initiate the program, eleven underutilized plants which performed well in USDA hardiness/AHS heat zones 6a/2 to 8a/7, the range of state of Virginia plant zones, were identified and promoted. In 2010, the program added eight plants. Additional detail is available by linking to web site www.beautifulgardens.org, option Plants of Distinction10.

 

Gardening colleague Linda Pinkham, who has been involved in the development of this program since 2002, first opened her garden as a test site and recently as an activity for the 2010 Virginia Garden Week. Through experience, Linda found the foliage of Cercis canadensis ‘Hearts of Gold’ Eastern Redbud to hold up throughout the summer. She identified Buxus sempervirens ‘Dee Runk’ American Boxwood to provide vertical accents and work-well in sunny or shady situations. Corylopsis pauciflora ‘Goldleaf Buttercup’ Winterhazel was identified as a great plant that announced spring with its soft yellow "bells" blooms and Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’ Autumn Fern to work in almost any shaded area. Eucomis ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ Pineapple Lily Eucomis in Linda’s Tidewater region emerges in late spring and provides foliage during the hottest summer months. Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’, she found, was more versatile than expected providing linear lines that create design focal points. But it was Schizachyrium scoparium ‘The Blues’ Little Bluestem Grass, a native grass, which proved excellent for her region’s dry spots and Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ Coneflower that performed differently than any other form of Rudbeckias in her garden.

While I don’t have Linda’s varied experience with these plants, I can vouch for Virginia native plants - redbud and Rudbeckias, ‘black-eye Susans’. I’ve found these ‘plants of distinction’ to not only work-well but trigger memories of my grandparent’s farm, a site surrounded by colorful redbud woodland and golden bloom Rudbeckias meadows. As program spokesperson Neal Beasley says, “The Beautiful Gardens® program provides Virginians with a wide-range of choice supported by demonstrated sustainable use, an opportunity to identify – connect – with ‘living green’.”

Both in my book, From Eco-weak to Eco-chic: landscape green, and during ongoing eco-landscape activities, I advocate the installation and maintenance of sustainable landscapes. For, as urban/suburban Communities, we need to be aware of the eco-consequences of individual choices and insure Beautiful Gardens grow with confidence®.

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Picture - Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ Coneflower provided compliments of Beautiful Gardens®

About the author – Sylvia Hoehns Wright, recipient of the Turning America from Eco-weak to Eco-chic Award, specializes in eco-landscape/garden strategies. For details, see web site www.TheWrightScoop.com or to acquire assistance, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (804)672-6007.