We're on Facebook! Also, raptures of Rhododendrons

With the arrival of some warmth and sunlight, things are really popping around Baldwin's nurseries. The herb planters (some of which include three or four different types of basil) are loving the heat. We really like the purple basils for their deep colour and rich flavour.

So the big news around here, besides the return of spring and a house-building, is that Baldwin's Nurseries is now on Facebook. We have an open 'fan page' which we hope you'll 'like' and add to your favourites, and Robert also has his personal page up and running, for those who are personal friends. Of course, Robert is busy in the nursery and usually only has time in the evening or early morning to do Facebook stuff, so his handy garden gnome will continue to help with that as well as with this blog.

We are huge fans of handsome and exciting foliage on our shrubs and trees. Even if a plant doesn't or isn't in bloom, if it has lovely foliage it makes its own statement, adding its own colour, texture, form to a  garden or landscape. One of our favourites is the dawn redwood, Metasequoia, and this year we're thrilled to have a number of the 'Gold Rush' (also known as 'Ogon') gold-foliaged form for sale. The dawn redwood is a deciduous conifer, growing a fresh flush of new needles each spring, which change colour and drop in the autumn at the same time as the tamarack. As noted in Jodi DeLong's new book, the dawn redwood is a fast-growing tree that has a tough trunk resistant to damage from lawnmowers and trimmers. In case any of you have ever had such things happen in your yards.

The 'Tricolour' beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Roseo-marginata', also seen as 'Tricolor' and 'Purpurea Tricolor') is a favourite for those wanting something really special in their gardens. New foliage can be deep red and green, softening to pink, white and green as the leaves grow. We have some smaller trees this year if you're wanting to try a less expensive option, and this tree won't grow huge (usual maximum no more than 40 feet high, 30 feet wide, with a rounded pyramid shape).

We are very fond of viburnums, and usually have a number of species and cultivars available, including the lovely 'Popcorn' (V. plicatum 'Popcorn'. Others in our inventory include several fragrant species and cultivars, 'Onondaga' with its red new foliage and flowers, and 'Mariesii' the elegant doublefile viburnum.

The brilliant scarlet, red, or pink flowers of Chaenomeles, or Japanese quince, attract hummingbirds and other pollinators, providing an eyecatching display of colour in May.

Just as it's been quite a season for magnolia blooms, we're finding the rhododendrons to be spectacular this spring. 'Ken Janeck' has rich pink buds that open to a softer shade of pink, and lovely indumented foliage. (look on the underside of the leaves and you'll see a soft, fuzzy 'wool' like coating; this is the indumentum. Not all rhododendrons have this feature, but we think it's a real selling point.)

We have a wide variety of rhododendrons and azaleas, too many to show or list here, but there's a rhododendron or two or six for everyone's garden and budget.

We love the rhododendrons with the showy contrasting markings on their flowers, which we fondly refer to as 'bee landing strips'. Bees and other pollinators adore rhodos and their relatives.

For the garden who wants something stunning and lovely, we recommend the native Labrador Tea, Ledum groenlandicum (sometimes seen as Rhododendron groenlandicum). In 2007, on a plant hunting expedition with our mentor, the late Captain Steele, in Labrador, we collected seed of Labrador tea on a high, windswept cliff overlooking the Strait between Newfoundland and Labrador. These plants are now  a good size and have wonderful starry flowers and a rusty indumentum on the underside of the leaves.

Yellow rhododendrons are a delightful addition to the colour scheme, and we have several, including 'Capistrano', a fairly large plant, and the dainty 'Wren', a smaller variety. We find rhododendrons and azaleas are like potato chips--we can't have just one, and you can't either!

Curiosities for the Dr. Suess Garden

All the rain and heat this week is really making things grow, both in the nursery and in display beds. Baldwin Nurseries is open to serve you, of course, and this week we're enjoying some of the botanical curiosities that we grow here. If you're of a whimsical bent--and many gardeners are--perhaps you're like us, who are planning to create a Dr. Suess Garden of unusual and amusing plants.

Who doesn't love succulents? We sure do, especially when they extend their flowering spikes out of the centre of a rosettle, like this spiderweb houseleek is doing.

Many of you may not know this species, which is the only one IN its genus. This is Thujopsis dolobrata, sometimes called the Japanese elkhorn cypress. It's related to the thujas, or arbourvitae, although if you're familiar with them, you know their cones look nothing like these little fellows.

Another curious succulent is the Jovibarba, which on first glance looks like a sempervivum. They are sometimes called the 'other' hens and chicks, but to us they look like they're covered in tiny beachballs, which roll down off the parent plant and add to the cluster. They're great for containers.

This is 'Goldrush' also known as 'Ogon', one of the gold-foliaged forms of the Metasequoia, or dawn redwood, species. Metasequoia was thought to be extinct until the early 1940s, when living specimens were discovered in China. The tree is still listed as being near extinction IN the wild, but is readily available in the landscape trade. Just as an aside, there is a type of computer modeling program called Metasequoia, used in video game development. You can thrill your neighbours with this bit of trivia at the next neighbourhood barbecue.

This is one of the best blue spruces on the market, for those who are as enamoured of these trees as we are. 'Hoopsii' has gorgeous powder-blue new growth, which deepens to a handsome steel blue-green as it ages.

Another botanical oddity is the ginkgo, which has been around since about 270 MILLION years ago. This is a deciduous conifer, dropping its leaves every fall., It's also dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers appear on separate plants, as with members of the holly genus. Popular in landscape trades for its durability, it's a marvelous tree, though slow growing until established.

You thought the azaleas and rhododendrons were over for the year? Not this one. Meet Azalea 'Millenium', which we think one of the most handsome and interesting of introductions. Not only is it a later-bloomer, even in containers, the foliage has a nice bluish tint to it, and the long stamens on the flowers just add a touch more whimsy to the gorgeous, deep pink and coral-flushed blooms.

We have plenty of other interesting candidates for your Dr. Suess garden, so please drop by when you're out looking for new plants. As our friend bloomingwriter says, "Just keep planting, just keep planting." We've certainly had enough rain that things planted now are settling in very nicely.

Rhodos...we've got rhodos...

May is certainly being the month of rhododendrons around Nova Scotia, and we at Baldwin Nurseries are no exception. Our nursery yard has rhododendrons and azaleas popping out with colour everywhere you look.
Rhodos come in every conceivable size and in a rainbow of colours, from pale yellow like this 'Capistrano' to the deep purple of 'Purple Passion', to the soft colours of special plants like 'Mist Maiden' to the jewel tones of the deciduous azaleas.

As you can imagine, the hummingbirds are attracted to the strong red of this beauty.

Digital cameras don't do the best justice to some of the rich colours of plants like 'Purple Passion', but we hope they whet your appetite to come and see them for yourselves.
Drop in any day of the week to Baldwin's...we're open seven days a week 9 am-5 pm, and our enthusiastic and helpful staff are here to help you find the perfect shrub, tree or perennial for your garden. We have a few other surprises to tell you about, so please keep checking back!

Tree giveaway continues all May!

The weather has been unsettled the past few days, with huge gales of wind, erratic showers, and downright chilly temperatures at times. Despite this, spring is charging ahead in Nova Scotia, including at our nursery. The early rhododendrons and deciduous azaleas are starting to bloom, which makes gardeners and bees very happy.

If you have a small property and want to try a tough little rhododendron that gives great colour and is attractive even after its bloom is past, one of our favourites is 'Ramapo.' It's hardy to zone 5 and likes moist, but well drained acidic soil with plenty of organic matter. You can grow this cultivar in sun to partial shade. Expect Ramapo to grow anywhere between 1-3 feet in height, and 2-4 feet wide.

One of the showstoppers at the recent Saltscapes East Coast Expo was the display of tree peonies we had at our booth. Many people could not believe that something this exotically gorgeous could thrive and bloom in Nova Scotia, but it can. Unlike our ordinary herbaceous peonies, this one develops woody branches and trunk and produces huge flowers the size of dinner plates. You have to protect it overwinter for the first couple of years as its roots get established; you do this by putting a large pot over the plant late in the autum, and removing it in early spring once the risk of serious frosts is past.We'll have more to say about these wonderful, exotic plants in a future post.


We have been enlarging our retail area with a few sitting areas and some unique garden art. These give your garden an air of mystery and yet tranquility; I want one home in my own garden but I guess I'll be negotiating a pay settlement. Plants and garden art make great currency to copy writers,Just saying.

Because the weather has been cranky the past few days and it hasn't been so nice for working outside, we've decided to extend Tree Giveaway until of the merry Month o' May. We like to do this to let our clients know we appreciate them. So come down and and visit Baldwin Nurseris, just about 6 kilmetres from the highway. So come on down and visit us to have a look at ourgreat looking nursery stock. We'r sure you'll find a few shrus, a handlfu of perennials, herb and tomato kitchen gardens maybe the perfect tree for your garden. While you're hear, chek out the trees, and ask for your tree donation. You never know what bonus plant might climb into your truck before you leave. It happpens a lot here at Baldwin's.

We have a special on every week here at the nursery:this year it inclues the 'Ramapo' rhododendrons as well as Japanese maple seedlings that Robert has grown on from seed. They're healthy and hardy and only 15.00, the perfect way to test your garden and try these marvelous jewel-toned foliage for yourself. There's plenty new to see every time you visit, and we hope to see you on a regular basis!