Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Weigela florida 'Dark Horse' is my favorite plant in the garden, this week…

Oh those silly people who purchase only plants they have a place for, they don’t know what they’re missing out on! I happened to be at Means Nursery a couple of weeks ago and fell hard for these dark leaves with bright green venation, how could I not? Especially when the price tag said $5.99…

I didn’t have the foggiest idea where I’d plant it but those leaves at that price, how could I walk away? Weigela florida 'Dark Horse'

So it turns out this beautiful creature has pink flowers, that means it has to go in the front garden. Trouble is we’re at the time of the year where the water from the sky stops and things get hot and dry. Not ideal planting weather, especially in the minimally watered front garden.

This is when I remembered one of my favorite tricks!

Find an empty spot in a planting bed. Plant up the new purchase in a container and sink it into the spot…

Voila! (I know, some of you are thinking “that was an empty spot?” trust me it was worse in person)…

The best thing about this temporary location is there’s a Salvia discolor right at its base which will weave around the grevillea branches and bloom its fabulous dark blooms. Some might call that a color echo but I’m just going with sexy and so glad I went with my impulse to buy it, even though I had no idea where it would go.

Stats on the Weigela florida 'Dark Horse'…
  • hardy in USDA Zones 4-8
  • wants full sun and medium water, tolerates clay soils
  • low, spreading shrub to 3 ft tall and wide
  • pink blooms in the spring
  • deciduous

So are there any new "had to have" plants in your garden? Any foliage that makes you weak in the knees? Dramatic blooms? Come-on tell us about it...

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

24 comments:

  1. again, Danger you find the BEST plants. I'll just follow your lead and all will be good and fine in my plant universe.

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  2. You were right not to pass that up. Excellent purchase.

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    1. If it had been say $9.99 I might of had to think about it, but at $5.99...

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  3. I love the dark Weigelias and if I had a good spot I'd be planting that one in my front garden. Instead I have a nice Ninebark Diablo in the back garden for the gorgeous dark foliage.

    My favorite plant of the week this week is Asclepias tuberosa - a hot color for hot weather! Check it out at http://gardenontheedge.blogspot.com/

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  4. Love those dark leaves but I admire your impulse buying even more! Addicts love company.

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  5. That's a real beauty. I think I need that in my new shrub border. And yes, I'm a terrible impulse buyer. Sometimes the plants jump right into my cart when I'm, not looking, LOL

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    1. Sounds like you've been shopping with Peter.

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  6. Wow, those are some smokin' leaves. My had-to-haves included some super cheap/gorgeous Pittosporum tenuifoilium cultivars. Two 'Harley Botanica' and one 'Irene Patterson' to go with the 'Atropurpureum' I got at Cistus in March. They were the same price as your Weigela, and huge!!
    Also from the same place, Grevilleas 'Ruby Clusters' and 'Bonfire'. I'll have to kill something to find a spot!!

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    1. I want to shop where you're shopping Max!

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  7. that it is a brilliant trick. did you see anything else good there? so many annuals--and not the kind I just call annuals because they're not hardy here. I've gone away disappointed more often than not on my Means trips recently. good score.

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    1. My reason for going was to pick up a couple of those cheap agaves for a friend. Really those, this, and that colocasia you scored were all I saw worth having.

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  8. Means will do that to a person...even a person with a modicum of restraint. Aren't you glad you have none? Look how beautifully it turned out. I have 'Wine & Roses' and my best use of it is as a filler for bouquets...seems they could almost always use a dark element. Pink flowers are NOT my thing, but with the dark foliage it seems to work (and is brief).
    No time for faves this week. How do you do it?

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    1. I do see a lot of cuttings coming off this in the future, it really will be a perfect for vase. I agree about the pink flowers but I've ALMOST resigned myself to the fact most of the foliage I adore has those pesky pink blooms.

      As for my posts since over a week ago they were all done in advance. I'm starting to panic that I have to come up with something new...

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  9. I don't think I could have left that plant behind - even though it's unlikely it would grow in my area. (I've tried pushing my zone and growing Weigela before and failed). I'm glad you found a place to shoehorn - er, place - it. Here's my somewhat late contribution this week: http://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-favorite-plant-this-week-bulbine.html

    Best wishes for a wonderful Fling, Loree!

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    1. "Shoehorn gardening" I think you've just coined a new phrase.

      One of my few regrets about this Fling is that you weren't here Kris. I do hope to meet you someday soon.

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  10. I could see a void there begging for some dark, shadowy foliage. I'm really wishing I had signed up for the fling, even if at the time I had only been blogging for a few weeks. Ah, well, maybe I'll be able to make it to the next one, wherever it may be.

    My favorite is a spot of light rather than a shadow. http://practicalplantgeek.blogspot.com/2014/07/molinia-caerulea-variegata-is-my.html

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    1. Next year is Toronto, hope you'll be there Evan.

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  11. I love what you say about not knowing what you're missing. I tend to do the same thing, although sometimes the budget limits me a bit. But at $5.99--you're right! How could you pass it up! It looks great in that spot, and it will continue to look better and better as it settles in. Love it!

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  12. Hahaha. Why do pink flowers go in the front yard? And there was LOADS of space in that bed! Very nice foliage. The thing I hate about planting things so close together (in an already established area) is chopping off roots in the process. Sinking them in a container is a good idea, if only I had enough leafy foliage to hide it!
    My favourite: http://crmbsgrdn.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/my-favourite-plant-in-garden-this-week.html

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    1. Pink in the front because orange rules in the back and I don't like them together, crazy I know!

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