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!

See You at Saltscapes Expo!

Some days it sure feels like spring of late, other days...not so much. But this is the season of colour and fragrance, and plants seem to be mostly on schedule with other years. This photo of Rob with 'Ramapo' rhododendrons is from last year, and a little later in the spring, so don't panic--we're just trying to get you excited about this spring!

Things are hopping around the nursery as we get ready for the 7th annual Saltscapes Expo. Baldwin's Nursery has been attending since the second year, and we're happy to be at this uniquely Atlantic Canadian show again this year. We can't say for sure what we'll be bringing along for plants, but there could be a fragrant viburnum...

A Japanese maple or two...maybe some seedlings?

Perhaps a magnolia that's just ready to burst into flower...

Or one of the amazing tree peonies we're carrying...

Some of the hellebores, like 'Winter Jewel Apricot Shades'

Though we probably won't be bringing any along, we're carrying a variety of spring ephemerals this year, including the delicately lovely bloodroot (Sanguinaria).

Or this unusual dapple-leafed red trillium.

The Saltscapes Expo runs from Friday, April 29, 12 noon-9 pm; Saturday, 30 April, 9am-6 pm, and Sunday, 1 May, 10 am-5 pm. Please come and say hello to us, and have a look at some of the great plants we have for sale this year! We hope to see you this weekend. Now, back to working with the nursery.

Spring arrives at Baldwin Nurseries

After the spectacular moon of last night, spring has been ushered in today with cool temperatures and winds but sparkling blue skies and brilliant sunshine. We're all feeling pretty happy that the snow has mostly disappeared and while we're a ways from planting yet, we just had to tell you about some of the new and new-to-us plants we're carrying this year at Baldwin's Nurseries.

The daphne that grows around here is budded up and will be blooming soon, and don't we love its fragrance. This year, we're also carrying the variegated-foliage 'Carol Mackie' daphne, hardy to zone 5 and beautiful whether in bloom or simply in leaf.

Winter-weary gardeners always welcome the sight of spring blossoms, including those of Chaenomeles, or flowering quince. This year along with the red and salmon-coloured varieties we've carried, we're offering the cheery 'Pink Lady' for those who are more fond of rosy colours.

Hamamelis or witch hazels bloom even earlier when they're in containers than when they're planted out, but it's about time for 'Arnold Promise' to be blooming in much of Nova Scotia. The hamamelis is very important for early-waking pollinators to visit for nutrients, and they're pretty important for those of us who want flowers in March, too.

There are many different types of flowering viburnums, and we at Baldwin Nurseries carry a great selection of native and introduced species. Some are spring-flowering and very fragrant; others are later blooming and cherished more for their prodigious amounts of sparkling white flowers, like 'Summer Snowflake'.

We've talked about hellebores before, and for many of you, the flowers are stirring and beginning to open. We are carrying a wide selection of hellebores, which are deer resistant and easy care perennials once they are situated where they like to grow. Look for the double or waterlily-type hellebores as well as new introductions in striking new colours,

...Such as 'Metallic Blue Lady', from Fraser's Thimble Farms in British Columbia. We're looking forward to seeing this and other unusual-coloured varieties bloom this spring.

We've carried 'Tricolor' beech (Fagus sylvatica) for several years, and while it's a pricy tree, it's perfect for those looking for a unique, marvelous specimen tree.

Cratageus or hawthorn is a terrific small tree, with a number of species native to Nova Scotia. Birds love the fruit of these thorny shrubs or trees. We are carrying 'Paul's Scarlet' this year, a popular hybrid with good disease resistance.

The dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is sometimes called the dinosaur tree because for years its existence was only known through fossil records. In the 1940s living specimens were found and propagated, and today this marvelous tree is widely available. The dawn redwood is similar to larches (Larix) in that it drops its needles in the autumn, and produces a new crop in spring. We have carried the standard species for several years, and this year have added the brilliant yellow-foliaged 'Gold Rush' (also known as 'Ogon' ) to our inventory.

While not for the colder parts of Nova Scotia, the redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a terrific tree for early spring flowers. It covers itself with pink or white flowers in May, and has beautiful heart-shaped foliage to boot.

These are just a few of the new plants you'll find at Baldwin's this spring. Others include a number of new Japanese maples; 'Satomi' flowering dogwood as well as the beautiful native Pagoda dogwood; a hardy apricot for the fruit tree fanciers, the bald cypress (Taxodium), and more. Stay tuned for more new arrivals very soon.

Thank you for your patronage in 2010

To all our valued customers, we'd like to offer our sincere thanks for your patronage this year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone, and we'll look forward to seeing you in 2011.

Nothing false about falsecypresses

To continue with the evergreen love, we turn now to one of the most diverse and excellent genera in the ornamental plant world: the Chamaecyparis, also known as falsecypress. Sure, the genus name is a bit tricky to say, but these are excellent garden and landscaping shrubs.

Some become tall, stately, graceful trees, like the weeping Nootka in this photo...

Some have truly fascinating capsule like cones, which take two years to develop.

For those with small spaces, there are the excellent dwarf varieties, like this sculptured golden Hinoki.

And as with other evergreens, there are falsecypresses with a great variety of autumn and winter colour. 'Heatherbun' is a fascinating variety, with bronze to plum winter foliage.

Threadleaf chamaecyparis make a striking display at the front of a border or as specimen shrubs. Make sure to match your plant's mature growth to the proper site, as you don't want it overgrowing its area. There are compact forms that don't grow more than 3 feet tall, and others with a much larger mature height.

For something choice and handsome, look for the golden fernleaf falsecypress, C. obtusa 'Tetragona Aurea'. Its brilliant yellow summer growth deepens to a more bronzed gold in winter.

The odd little charmer Golden Sawara Pincushion grows in a mound about three feet tall and wide. It's a good choice for an alpine garden or dwarf conifer collection.

Some more dwarf chamaecyparis in pots, waiting for their new owners to come and find them. They resemble the graceful sculpture of potted bonsai.

As we start to put things away for the winter months, there is more and more fall colour showing up in the conifers and broadleaf evergreens at Baldwin's Nurseries. We're working most days, weather permitting, so do stop in and have a look around, and let our fall colour display inspire your garden plans for next spring. Thanks as always for visiting!

We're going Crazy!

...Crazy for Coneflowers, that is. Echinaceas are pretty much irresistable, and they're in full bloom right now, both in the display beds and those in containers. We're out of a few varieties in cone-tainers right now, but we'll have more next spring. We do have lots of big, strong 'Magnus' echinaceas, as you can see in this photo of the nursery operator watching for butterflies.


Echinaceas like full sun and good drainage, but also need plenty of moisture while they're developing. Once established they're fairly drought tolerant, harkening back to their ancestry as prairie plants. Though no prairie ever saw anything like the doubles, including 'Coconut Lime'.

Here's Coconut Lime just starting out; you can see the double centre starting to fill out. It holds its green colour quite well until the flowers are quite mature, then it lightens to a greenish-yellow centre with white ray florets.

We carry a number of the 'Big Sky' series of cones, including 'Summer Sky', which was the first bicolour-rayed cone to be developed by the people at Itsaul Plants, home of the Big Sky series.

Want something that sizzles with the summer heat? 'Tiki Torch' is a brilliant orange, and works especially nicely with something complementary like the blue sea holly (Eryngium planum) in the background.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover that 'Mango Meadowbrite' echinacea came through another winter. Like others, we have found the 'Meadowbrite' series not particularly hardy here, but this one is doing very well. We haven't found any good explanation for why the Meadowbrites are cranky here, unless they prefer a winter that gets cold and stays cold, like winters do in Chicago, where they were developed.

For those with smaller gardens, this is a short cultivar only about 15-18 inches tall. At the moment we're not sure if it's 'Kim's Knee High' or 'Pixie Meadowbrite', but once the flowers open fully we hope to make a definite identity. Kim's Knee High's petals generall flex back as the flower matures, while Pixie Meadowbrite's stay relatively horizontal.

For those who like white cones, we have both 'Fragrant Angel' and 'White Swan', which offer a nice cooling effect to a bed brimming with hotter-coloured echinaceas.

We don't know about you, but when we see this one, we can hear Neil Young strumming his guitar and singing this variety's name...'Harvest Moon'. It holds its rich gold colour quite well, and flexes its petals back as you see here.

A red emperor butterfly lands on a white coneflower that is hiding behind 'Hope', the palest-pink of all the coneflowers. Echinaceas are terrific for enticing butterflies and bees to your garden, and excellent for later-season colour. When planting newly acquired cones, however, do yourself a favour: even though it's hard to do, cut off the flower buds. The plant will put its energy into developing new roots and leaves, which are crucial for getting it through that first winter. You may let your new coneflowers bloom later in the season; they will thank you for having given them that little extra attention at planting time, and you should have echinaceas for years to come.