Romping with the Colours

Sammy, the Wonder Dog

I read the other day that clever researchers have concluded that both dogs and cats can see in color. Sammy, our wonder dog can distinguish red from blue after all, the little dickens. Color is a great feature, especially these days with autumn foliage blazing fantastically. Color is an interesting word, except that in Britain they have Frenchified it as colour since the Middle English times (before the 16^th century), because some words are borrowed from Anglo-Norman French. I like the extra "u" because it adds a richer texture to the seeing experience, and the same is true for flavour and savour for taste. Color or colour, whichever you use, originates from Latin colorare.

Ophiopogon planiscarpus 'Nigrescens'

Pinus thunbergii

Black is my favorite color, although many will say that black is not a color, but rather the absence of color. That is not at all true, for black is the very best complement for all other colors, such as white, grey, red, blue etc. Yep, orange too. The color-theme of our website, blog and all of our publications is black, and intentionally so. Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the original source of our modern language, and it existed from the 3^rd or 4^th millennium BC, and back then black was bhleg. It evolved to blakkaz in Proto-Germanic and blaek in Old English, although today we have schwarz in German, noir in French, dubh in Irish and nyeusi in Swahili. An example of a black plant is Ophiopogon planiscarpus 'Nigrescens', or the "Black Mondo Grass." Pinus thunbergii is commonly called the "Japanese black pine" as mature trees develop a black trunk and main branches. The Japanese name for black is kuro, but I can't explain why the dwarf maple, Acer palmatum 'Kuro hime' received its name, unless it was done so at night.

White clouds at Flora Farm

Acer palmatum 'Shiro'

Pinus parviflora 'Shiro janome'

Abies koreana 'Ice Breaker'

Kwintos meant “white” in PIE times, then to Old English as kwit, and to just wit for the Dutch. I am a “white” man and most Americans are white people, but in the future that might not be the case. The only truly white people are albinos, and the rest of us have an off-white to reddish skin color, especially when we are embarrassed or very angry. White is an achromatic color, which means a color without color. Fresh snow and Polar Bears are white, often lazy clouds are white and even the Popes have worn white since 1566. Ancient Romans had two words for white, albus for a plain white and candidus for a brighter white. The Japanese (I'm told) have six different words for white depending upon brilliance or dullness, with shiro being one of them. Acer palmatum 'Shiro' has green leaves in spring, but into summer a whiteness develops. Pinus parviflora 'Shiro janome' means “white dragon,” and as you can imagine it prefers PM shade. Abies koreana 'Ice Breaker's' curved silver-white needles prefer full sun, in fact they will be dull green and less curved if grown in shade. If you visit the White Pines Forest State Park near the town of Oregon, Illinois, the pines in question are Pinus strobus, but it's actually the inner wood that puts it into the “white pine” category.

Acer palmatum 'Red Dragon'

Rhododendron 'Ever Red'

Rhododendron 'Ever Red'

Rhododendron 'Taurus'

Ribes sanguinem 'Pulboro Scarlet'

Charlemagne

Red is an exciting color, with a mad bull charging at the bullfighter's red cape, then later leaking his own red blood...the bull's that is. Red is from Old English read, rood in Dutch, rot or ruber in German, eruthros in Greek and rudhira in Sanskrit. Again, the same old PIE language where red was known as rewd. In ancient Rome red symbolized blood and courage and the soldiers wore red tunics, while the generals wore a scarlet cloak. In the middle ages the Emperor Charlemagne painted his palace red and wore red shoes to demonstrate his authority. My Japanese wife abused herself by getting a red afro when in high school because she was the bongo player in a rock band. When her serious conservative father came home he said, “Good, now I won't worry about you having a boyfriend.” Red is found in abundance in the world of horticulture, at least among the cultivars, and with maples there's the old adage that “red outsells green.” Acer palmatum 'Red Dragon' is a nice compact laceleaf from New Zealand, and you would call its summer color maroon-red, and in autumn the foliage turns to an orange-red or a red-red. Rhododendron 'Taurus' is a fantastic plant that was bred by the late plantsman, Dr. Frank Mossman who was very generous to me with plant starts at the beginning of my career. Rhododendron 'Ever Red' was bred by the Coxes at Glendoick in Scotland. Not only does it have red flowers, but the foliage is reddish as well. Ribes sanguineum 'Pulboro Scarlet' has lush red flowers, and in fact the specific epithet sanguineum refers to the natural red flowers.

Picea pungens 'The Blues'

Rosa glauca

Ginkgo biloba 'Blue Cloud'

Blue came from Old French bleu, ultimately from a Germanic origin. “Roses are red my love, violets are blue...” Red and blue mixed together form the color violet, while blue and yellow combine to make green. In ancient Greece there was no single word for blue, but rather kyaneos for dark blue and glaucos (hence glauca) for a light blue. But kyaneos could also mean dark green, violet, black or brown, and glaucos could mean light green, gray or yellow. Japanese plant names (of color) can be confusing because they say the same word ao for both blue and green. How can they employ six different words for “white” but then utter the same word for blue and green? The sky is blue and the grass is green for heaven sakes. The Japanese can be vague, never wanting to state absolutes, and my theory is that characteristic develops because of their Buddhist upbringing. Let's face it: they beat around the bush, which can be irritating to my Germanic mind. But, the women can be quite loveable. Also lovely is the use of blue in the beguiling Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, a painting I have seen in the Maritshuis in Den Hague, The Netherlands. Anyway let's consider blue plants, and we'll start with Picea pungens 'The Blues', a great name for a great plant. It was discovered as a branch sport on a “Colorado spruce” host by Larry Stanley of Oregon 15-20 years ago, and I think it has a wonderful name. The beautiful blue branches droop elegantly, and it will grow only as tall as you stake it. The photo above, taken at Stanley's place, demonstrates that when you cease to stake the leader it will travel sideways. Rosa glauca has reddish flowers but the foliage is a pleasing gray-blue. Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Blue-isch' is a cultivar with foliage a light blue-gray but I don't have a photo of the Dutch selection; it doesn't matter as it is not that blue anyway. Recently we stirred up the world of horticulture with our introduction of Ginkgo biloba 'Blue Cloud' with its very blue leaves. Blue is a happy color and is selected by most Americans as their favorite.

Choisya x dimwitti 'Gold Fingers'

Dahlia 'Mystic Illusion'

Yellow rhymes with mellow, and why not? Yellow is a calming color as opposed to red, and I find it deliciously soothing. Sometimes it can shout, as in with members of the sunflower family, but most of the time a yellow plant adds a bright spot in the landscape. A little goes a long way – too much defeats the purpose – but on the other hand I don't even follow my own advice. Last week I bought a Choisya x 'Gold Fingers' because I saw one recently in my grandfather's garden, and it thrives beautifully in spite of our record-breaking summer heat. I recently got a Dahlia 'Mystic Illusion' from a retail source – well, it was given to me – and I admire the perennial that exudes yellow, especially since flowers glow on a plant with black foliage. In China yellow is seen as the color of happiness, harmony and wisdom. They believe there are five directions to the compass: north, south, east, west and middle, with yellow signifying the middle. China is at the middle of the world – hence Middle Kingdom – and the Emperor's palace is considered to be at the exact center of the world. The word yellow was originally gel in PIE, then to geolu in Old English. In Scotland they say yella, in German gelb and in Sweden gul. Yellow fever dates from 1748 in America as jaundice is a symptom, yellow-belly was a sailor's name for a half-cast (1867) and a Texan term for Mexican soldiers based on the color of their uniforms (1842).

C'mon now, orange is a sexy color, or at least frisky and exciting. Of course orange refers to the citrus fruit color, but the color was preceded by the fruit. It is thought that Old French borrowed from the Italian melarancio – “fruit of the orange tree” – but that was probably derived from Malayan naranna or Tamil naram via Sanskrit naragnah. In Spanish I have learned naranja means the orange fruit while anaranjado refers to the color. I favour the orange's delicious flavour, abundantly so, but it is remarkable that nothing rhymes with orange, not even one of the times. I remember a poem, but not by whom,

            “Eating an orange

              While making love

              Makes for bizarre enj-

              oyment thereof."

Poncirus trifoliata var. montrosa 'Flying Dragon'

Sorbus sargentiana

Sorbus sargentiana

Plants with orange coloration include the fruits of Poncirus trifoliata, especially on the cultivar 'Flying Dragon'. The species trifoliata is the preferred understock – the root portion – of today's commercial orange tree crops because it is hardy to at least USDA zone 6, or minus 10 degrees F. It is native to China and Korea where it is known as the “Chinese bitter orange,” and before I knew the common name, I sampled the first fruit to develop on my first tree. Yuck! The fruits of Sorbus sargentiana are orange when ripe, and the species is native to Yunnan, China where it is known as wan xiu hua qiu, but I don't have a clue what that means. Of course the specific epithet honors the American dendrologist Charles Sprague Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum, for it was first collected by E.H. Wilson when he was plant hunting for the Arnold. More than the berries I love its lush-red new growth in spring.

Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck Purple'

Fagus sylvatica 'Tricolor'

Callicarpa bodinieri 'Profusion'

I cannot neglect the color purple, a word that is derived from Old English purpre, that from Latin purpura, and that from Greek porphura. Originally it was named for the dye from a shellfish. Purple was the color worn by the rulers of the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, and later by Catholic bishops. But remember that for hundreds of years the Pope has been putting on white robes. Purple is a royal color, and in fact when Elizabeth II ascended to the throne, a purple ticket was used for the coronation. Purple is a combination of red and blue, and as such there is no wavelength of purple light, only with the individuals of the combination. There is a Purple Mountain in Jiangsu Province, China, so named because the peak is often covered with purple clouds at dawn and dusk, but then Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Colorado all have a Purple Mountain as well. Some plants with purple foliage include many cultivars such as Acers palmatum 'Bloodgood', 'Moonfire', 'Red Emperor' and 'Murasaki kiyohime', where murasaki is the Japanese word for purple. There are a number of Fagus sylvatica cultivars with purple foliage such as 'Ansorgei', 'Black Swan', 'Dawyck Purple', 'Purple Fountain', 'Purpurea Pendula' and 'Red Obelisk', while 'Tricolor' is a striking combination of red and purple. When one sees the fruits of Callicarpa bodinieri 'Profusion' in October, the temptation is to cut off a branch to bring it into the house.

Acer palmatum 'Spring Delight'

Colobanthus quitensis

Ginkgo biloba

Giuseppe Verdi

I'll finish our romp with colors with green as a good portion of our planet is covered with it. Ghre is the word in PIE that meant "grow." Later ghre evolved to graenn in Old Norse, grown in Dutch and grene in Old English. Everybody loves green, especially in spring, and we all know that Tennessee is the "greenest state in the land of the free." Obviously the largest contributor to green in Tennessee is chlorophyll, the chemical by which plants photosynthesize and convert sunlight into chemical energy. Oregon is pretty green too. The color in America is associated with spring, nature and youth, but also with envy. In China green is the symbol of fertility. The Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi's name would translate as "Joe Green," and Giuseppe is the most common of all Italian names. There are thousands of plants I have grown that are green, and I never tire of the color for there are a myriad of shades. Acer palmatum 'Spring Delight' is basically green, but leaves contain a pretty reddish margin. Colobanthus quitensis, one of only two flowering species from Antarctica, has a delightful green color, and there might be more of it in my nursery than anywhere else in the world outside of Antarctica. Everybody can recognize a Ginkgo leaf – my children could at age two – and what a splendid green color it is in spring; then we are treated to delicious yellow in fall. Thank god I'm not colorblind!

Green means go, as in a green light, so now the blog will end and I'll head for the refrigerator.

Fun with the Gossler Farms Nursery Catalog

I re-entered the nursery just as Eric Gossler was leaving with his order for Gossler Farms Nursery. He tossed me his 2015-2016 retail catalog and I didn't have to pay $2.00 like it says on the cover. I shoved everything to the side on my desk and sat down. The first two pages contain the introduction, a folksy recap of their past year, and it is signed by Eric, Roger and mother Marj Gossler, the latter with impeccable cursive. Then follows 35 pages of offerings. I read the descriptions of everything, even some that are my own introductions, because I'm interested in their take on them.

Acer palmatum 'Geisha Gone Wild'

I read that Acer palmatum 'Geisha Gone Wild' "Has rich pink variegated leaves. Especially in spring the leaves are a bright color. In summer the color is lighter, more subdued but still striking."

Acer palmatum 'Japanese Princess'

For Acer palmatum 'Japanese Princess, "Discovered by Talon Buchholz. This addition to his other beautiful maples is a smaller version of A. 'Mikawa yatsubusa' (the plant and leaves are smaller). The new growth is a startling pinkish, later changing to light green. In fall the foliage turns to brilliant orange. Makes a great container plant for the patio." And so on...

Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Boyd's Dwarf'

Not wanting to come across as braggadocious, I'll discuss other plants in the Gossler catalog, plants that I had nothing to do with their introduction. And by the way it is Roger who provides the catalog descriptions for he is the plant geek of the company. Consider Cercidiphyllum 'Boyd's Dwarf' which is a japonicum species. "We got our plant from Jim Fox in a 2 gal 5-6 years ago and it is about 6' tall. The small leaves cover this bushy shrub. In fall, the color will turn soft yellow." I don't really know this Jim Fox guy, except that he is the author of How to Buy the Right Plants, Tools, and Garden Supplies. He addresses such topics as, "Are you confused by all the choices when you visit a nursery? Do you get sticker shock when you see how much that nice little shade tree costs? Let Jim Fox, a nursery professional with over twenty years of experience, show you blah blah blah..." And, I don't know who Boyd is/was; perhaps he was involved with this European selection. Thank you Roger to give one to me, but I can already see that it will not be a "dwarf," not at all. Esveld Company in Holland says that it will grow to 4 meters in 10 years and I suspect half-again more at Buchholz Nursery. But I am happy to have it and I'll give it adequate room when planting out. As you can see from the photo above, my tree is not "soft-yellow" in autumn, but rather a peachy pink.

Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Morioka Weeping'

Shortly after 'Boyd's Dwarf', Gossler lists Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Pendula' (Marioka Weeping): "Our original tree is 40' x 15'. There are several vertical leaders with all the rest of the growth cascading. Looks like a large fountain. One of the glories of our garden." Indeed it is a glory to behold, but get out your tape measure, Roger, for the behemoth in your garden is nearly as wide as tall. Also it should be spelled with an "o," as in Morioka, the name of the city in Japan with a population of over 300,000 souls. Its origin is said to be a tree in the grounds of a monastery in or near the city, and sign me up for a trip to see the original! Hillier reports that "Incredibly, this tree itself originated as a sucker in 1824 from the stump of a previous large tree." I was once given a 'Morioka Weeping' that was propagated by tissue culture, but it never did weep. I would suggest that if you have nothing better to do than read this blog, you should soon plan an excursion to Gossler's to see their impressive specimen and buy one if your garden has the space for it. Then stand next to it in autumn and smell the fallen leaves as they give off a burnt-sugar fragrance.

Camellia x williamsii 'Water Lily'

Buchholz Nursery had never contained a Camellia for over thirty years, until I saw a Camellia x williamsii 'Water Lily' – fell in love with the flowers – and Roger shoved one into my car. My initial aversion was due to youthful encounters with the boring red-flowering specimens planted in front of my parent's house with leaves that harbored a crappy black soot – aphid shit, or what?, I never knew. 'Water Lily' is beyond "lovely" or "pristine," it is down-right sexy. Roger says, "Is an upright growing camellia with deep pink flowers. The individual flowers are different than any other camellia we've seen. The center petals hold together so we don't see the stamens. The cup-shaped semi-double petals make an interesting looking flower."

Camellia 'Black Opal'

Camellia japonica 'Kujaku tsubaki'

After falling for 'Water Lily', I later encountered Camellia 'Black Opal' and 'Kujaku tsubaki', and both of them found their way into my collection thanks to Roger. This evangelist of plants has certainly stirred up a lot of commotion in my life, and his "garden coaching" service has aided other erstwhile gardeners in improving their 'scapes. Anyway, Roger is a true guru of plants, or how else would you explain grumpy ol' Buchholz finally falling for Camellias?

Choisya x dewitteana 'Gold Fingers'

...further into the catalog we come to Choisya x dewitteana 'Gold Fingers', a plant I don't have, but one which is exuberantly growing in my "grandfather's" garden. Roger says about 'Gold Fingers' that, "This hybrid of C. 'Aztec Pearl' and C. 'Sundance' has narrow foliage that is bright yellow all year. The flowers are orange scented in the spring." I remember first discovering 'Sundance' at the originator's Liss Forest Nursery in southern England in 2002 (or there-abouts),  but I think I prefer 'Gold Fingers'. The remarkable thing is that it can be grown in full sun without any scorch, and this has been a record-breaking brutally hot summer.

Cornus kousa 'Mandarin Jewel'

Gossler offers Cornus kousa 'Mandarin Jewel' and says "This plant was named for its mandarin orange fruit in the fall. The green foliage makes a pretty background for the white bracts in June. In fall, the foliage turns lovely yellow-orange-red." The orange fruits are now appearing on my trees, and with nearby Cornus kousa 'Big Apple' I just might make a fruit salad. You really can ingest the fruits – I have – but you have to pick them at the right time just like with wine grapes. Too old, too young = not so good; you learn what's just the right time. Soon I will present to my busy wife yet another project: kousa jam. The word mandarin arose in the late 16^th century and referred to a Chinese official, and that was derived from Hindi mantri for "counselor." Citrus nobilis is the tangerine or mandarin orange or satsuma that originated in southwestern China or northeastern India, and maybe I'll throw them into the salad as well.

Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca'

Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca Prostrata'

I was surprised to see Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca' in their catalog – a tree I used to raise – and I wonder who is supplying them. 'Glauca' can be produced via hardwood cuttings in winter, but we gave up on it because the propagules would grow branch-like and it took forever to form a strong leader. I imagine the "China fir" species is hardy to USDA zone 6, but after a harsh winter the older needles would brown and persist forever, so it would take two or three happy years of new growth to cover the bad. I'm not saying that you should steer away from Cunninghamia, but rather that it is dubiously profitable for the grower. I once saw a sprawling specimen at Arrowhead Alpines in Michigan, and maybe its survival was due to the fact that it was buried under snow each winter; I was given a start of their "prostrate" 'Glauca' form, but it immediately assumed a leader in Oregon. Roger describes 'Glauca' as "the blue Chinese fir. This 30' tree has fairly broad needles that are pretty blue. The plant has a graceful arching form. We haven't seen any plants available for several years, so pick one up if you have a chance." The Cunninghamia conifer is considered a member of the Cupressaceae family and is native to China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Laos and its name honors Dr. James Cunningham, a British doctor who introduced the species into cultivation in 1702.

Gardenia jasminoides 'Kleim's Hardy'

If you're looking for a hardy Gardenia – well, at least hardy to 0 degrees F – Roger would love to sell you 'Kleim's Hardy', a selection from Don Kleim from the Henderson Experimental Garden in Clovis, California. Roger says "This gardenia has single, white flowers sporadically during summer. The flowers have a wonderful scent." 'Kleim's Hardy' is the jasminoides species from southern China and Japan, and is commonly known as the "common gardenia" or the "cape jasmine." The genus name honors Dr. Alexander Garden (1730-1791), a Scottish physician, botanist and zoologist who resided for many years in Charleston, South Carolina. When Garden discovered Linnaean classification, he happily sent specimens to Linnaeus in Sweden, and birds, fish, reptiles, insects etc. to others in Europe. The poor doctor was somewhat lonely in America, writing that "there is not a living soul who knows the least iota of Natural History," and so his botanical conversations were carried on by correspondence. Interestingly, Garden never saw or had anything to do with the Gardenia genus.

Gladiolus dalenii 'Bolivian Peach'

Roger describes Gladiolus dalenii 'Bolivian Peach' as "a 2' gladiolus with gorgeous peachy-pink (light colored) flowers in August. This larger grower than G. 'Boone' is a looser form but will be hardy and beautiful. Our plants have been to 5 degrees F." Gladiolus is a South African bulb-like corm with strap-shaped foliage, and the name is Latin meaning "small sword." The specific name dalenii honors the Dutch botanist Cornelius Dalen who was director of the Rotterdam Botanic Garden. The reader can see the peach color above, but what does 'Bolivian Peach' have to do with Bolivia? The answer is that it was found by Plant Delights Nursery on a roadside bank near the town of Bolivia in Brunswick Co., NC, a community of 148 at the 2000 census, but down to 143 in 2010.

Ophiopogon japonicus 'Nana'

Ophiopogon japonicus 'Nana' is a cheerful little plant, and Gossler says, "This tiny Ophiopogon only gets 2-3" tall. This plant makes a nice in filler between rocks or small plants. This cute little plant can also make a tiny container plant. Flowers are white 2-3" tall." Hardy to -20 degrees F, the dwarf mondo grass can also be used instead of a lawn and would never need mowing. In Japan it is known as ryu no hige, or "dragon's beard," not that I've ever imagined a dragon with a beard.* Surprisingly Ophiopogon is in the Asparagus family, Asparagaceae, and it is occasionally sold as a decorative plant for use in an aquarium where it will live for a couple of months before dying. In China the mondo's tuber, known as mai men dong, is the herb of choice to treat yin deficiency. The medicine enters the heart, lungs and stomach and supplies nourishment to these organs. It would probably be very useful for me as it also quiets irritability.

The genetic name is derived from Greek ophio for serpent or snake, and pogon is Greek for "beard," an interesting example where ancient Greece and the Orient concur.

Parthenocissus tricuspidata 'Fenway Park'

A fantastic plant is Parthenocissus tricuspidata 'Fenway Park', and Roger says, "This beautiful plant obviously comes to us from Boston. The small golden foliage makes a nice light screen on a trellis. Our plant is in full south facing sun and thrives. The new growth in spring will be larger leaves with very small leaves later in summer." I was initially impressed with the "golden Boston ivy" at Shadow Nursery in Tennessee where it covered an entire building. I had seen it before in containers at retail nurseries but never thought much of it, but Shadow's covered building did the trick. It was discovered as a sport on the normally green ivy in 1988 by Peter Del Tredici of the Arnold Arboretum. Some suggest that it was actually in Fenway Park*, but the truth is that it was found on an apartment building near Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox. The botanic name is a mouthful, but comes from Greek parthenos meaning a "virgin" and kissos meaning "ivy." Tricuspidata means "three-toothed" in reference to the leaves. Again, another Greece-Orient connection is due to the fact that the Boston ivy is actually native to China and Japan.

There is no ivy in Fenway Park. The famous Green Monster is painted every season. However, Wrigley Field in Chicago is covered with Parthenocissus.

Podocarpus macrophyllus

Podocarpus macrophyllus is listed in the Gossler catalog, and described as "A plant out of the past! This evergreen shrub was planted in black (dark) entryways in the '50's-60's, but has disappeared since. Sad, since this is a pretty conifer with deep green needles." It is hardy to only USDA zone 7, our zone in Oregon. Roger is correct that you seldom see it in Oregon, but I've seen plenty of them in California. Podocarpus macrophyllus is native to southern Japan and eastern China, and is commonly called (in the West) the "Buddhist pine," but of course it is not a true pine. In Japan it is known as "Kusamaki" or "Inumaki."

Rhododendron 'Coastal Spice'

Rodgersia 'Bronze Peacock'

Salix magnifica

Tsuga mertensiana 'Bump's Blue'

Rhododendron 'Coastal Spice', Rodgersia 'Bronze Peacock', Salix magnifica, Tsuga mertensiana 'Bump's Blue' – I could go on and on. Like I said at the beginning, 35 pages of fantastic plants, all affordably priced. Besides, the Gosslers are good people or I wouldn't be bragging about them.

P.S. I recommend that you buy The Gossler Guide to the Best Hardy Shrubs which features over 350 expert choices for your garden.