I took some time off from this blog to concentrate on some other stuff. It’s funny, but I missed it here and kept devising posts in my mind. Among other themes I badly want to pursue are “The Future” of design and of landscape design in particular. Paving alone has gained so many avenues of expression and design interest, it just blows the mind.

But for now, why not visit the plants I often speak of but so seldom show? I have to also face the fact that I tend to take abundant pictures of homes and businesses I have just completed and then stay away, to my detriment. I like to believe it is an attribute of not only giving good advice on maintenance but also in the fact that I have so few call backs for flaws or dying plants. To those who wonder, I adore plants and planting them, opting for the best locations and juxtaposing them with other items of interest.

Here’s green smoke tree (Cotinus). I have always liked those fluffy blooms. They look so airy and insubstantial yet they last for weeks. These are a mid summer treat and usually a real surprise.

And here is a close look at the “Cotinus Purpurea”:

Below, this “Gaura” blooms for months all through the summer. It begins incredibly tiny yet continues to produce long stems with the tiniest white or pink flowers on the end, producing a splash of color and interest in it’s own lacy sort of way. A perennial the red varieties of Gaura are famously used in dried flower arrangements. The often 3 foot long stems are amazingly thin but durable and they can be encouraged to become a dazzling crimson color by hanging upside down and drying. We’re talking ridiculously crimson.

To the rear are another couple of trees I often use. On the right is a Smaragd Cedar, (Thuja Occidentalis) – always dense and always a deep green, a water-loving plant with a tendency to be choosy about its owner. To the left is a Deadora Cedar, one of my all time favorite trees which grow to fairly immense sizes and which we have sort of Banzai’d here to keep it more compact.

The Cedars all trimmed in the topiaries below are Smaragd Cedars as well. They have many great qualities, one of which is a rapid regenerative style which quickly compensates for pruning errors.

We’ll finish with this Laburnum, otherwise known as a Golden Chain Tree, shown blooming here in early Spring with a style that doubles yearly until it gets to a more permanent condition. This one has a partner at the rear of this picture, providing an entire wall full of color as it grows.