Foliar Fireworks as a Fall Finale

Sorry it's taken us a while to get back to posting. Like most gardeners, there aren't enough hours in the summer to do everything, and it's been a busy, busy summer and autumn here at Baldwin's Nurseries. Things are quieting down now as we put away the stock for the winter and start thinking about next spring. We're still open in case you are looking for inspiration, gift ideas for family or friends, advice or one more plant to tuck in this autumn.

We've noticed some truly spectacular autumn colour this year, in many of the deciduous shrubs and trees. While Japanese maples are known for the dramatic colour display they put on each fall, they seem to be particularly fantastic this year, as well as late in dropping their leaves.

This red tipped gold leafed maple is one of ours grown from seed.

While this is an upright, green-leafed form that turns incredible shades of red, gold, pink and copper.

This beauty is the tricolour maple 'Butterfly', which is gorgeous from the the time its first leaf opens until the last leaf drops. 

It's not just the maples that have been putting on a show. The dawn redwoods, both the golden 'Ogon' and the regular green variety, turn wonder shades of copper, peach, gold before dropping their needles for another fall.

While the oak leaf hydrangea is marginally hardy for some parts of the province, if you can grow it, it's well worth nurturing a little just for the remarkable fall colour display. Even while pushing new, green leaves, the giant large leaves are richly tinged with burgundy, ruby, pink and bronze.

We are well known as being fond of ornamental grasses, many of which come into their own in autumn. The flower heads are wonderfully showy, but the foliage provides a great display as well--more subtle, perhaps, than the maples and sumacs and other brilliantly coloured showoffs, but lovely just the same.

Some of the magnolias are shimmering with buttery gold foliage. They don't all turn this rich shade, and sometimes the fall winds strip the leaves before they get a chance to change colour. Despite the winds we've all had this autumn, a clump of them have managed to dazzle visitors.

Visitors who have seen the foliage of the Cornus kousa in its luminescent fall finery are tempted to try a tree in their gardens next year. The flowers that come on in May and last for many weeks are showstoppers, but we think this end of season blaze of glory is pretty fantastic too, don't you?

What's Hot at the Nursery

Summer has certainly found us this July, as the temperatures were sweltering for a couple of weeks! The plants in the nursery and in our display beds have been thriving, however, and we'll show off a few of the popular choices in this post.

We keep a vase of cut echinacea flowers on hand every day, to showcase the unusual, wonderful colours that we have available, including some of the 'Big Sky' series (Sunrise, Sunset, Harvest Moon) and doubles Hot Papaya, Marmalade, and Coconut Lime.

For those who love hummingbirds--and who doesn't?--we have the irresistable beebalm in several different shades. We especially like 'Raspberry Wine', which is well named.

Hands down, our favourite echinacea other than the native is 'Hot Papaya'. Photos don't do it absolute justice, as the flowers go through so many colour changes as they mature. Truly a gem among all the new varieties that have emerged in recent years.

Want to cool things down a little in your plantings? How about Russian sage, with its blue-lavender flowers and deer-resistant foliage. This is a plant that likes good drainage over winter, and is drought resistant once established.

We have many different perennial grasses, some for the front of the border, others better suited for back of beds. Grasses are excellent choices for any garden, being easy care and offering fall and winter interest, too.

We carry a few different types of succulents, including sempervivums, also known as houseleeks and hen-and-chicks.

Our roses are grown on their own roots, and are all hardy for our tricky Nova Scotian climate. We are carrying some newer choices this year, including 'Rambling Red', and 'Emily Carr', from the Agriculture Canada Artists series.

In between tending the plants in our nursery, we are establishing more display gardens so that you can visualize what a particular new plant will look like in your garden. It's well worth walking around the nursery, as these beds are located here-and-there...

Pause by the fish pond to admire the waterlilies, and count fish and frogs--there's usually at least one frog basking on those huge leaves.

If you're looking for a dramatic plant, look no further than the Yucca, with its spiky foliage and tall stems of white flowers. Another heat and drought tolerant plant, it's sure to get noticed in your garden.

This is looking to be a fantastic year for hydrangeas, and ours are blooming in their containers at the nursery. Because of our soil mixture, even the blue-flowered ones are pink, but they'll come back around quickly in your garden. This is 'Blue Billows' in a pot...

And here it is, happy in a garden situation. The lacecaps are more reliably hardy for most Nova Scotians as compared to the mopheads, and they're gracefully beautiful.
We hope to see you soon, as high summer continues to shimmer on our gardens!