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This nursery near Five Forks, SC had a wonderful display area. They adapted an old garden to show off their best stuff. This photo is one of the marvelous containers. It is a combination of bold purple Swiss chard, Autumn fern, pansies, and Tiarella in the front. The tall pale plant is a flowering Kale that has bolted! The blue pot stands out against the ground cover, mondo grass.
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This is black mondo grass (Ophiopogon). A truly unique ground cover, that spreads slowly from clumps. It does have a pale pink flower, but they are usually hidden in the foliage
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This is a Contorted Filbert (Corylus) displayed in a container along a pathway. Its flowers are catkins which you can see in the foreground. Its most unusual feature is the twisted stems, so effective in the winter.
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And then we saw the Dogwoods. There are many named varieties in white, pink, or almost red; some with variegated leaves, some with red or yellow stems. This photo shows the swelling buds of the flowering dogwood so prevalent in our landscapes and woodland
Three years ago I bought some dogwoods at a big box store labeled Dogwood, no variety name mentioned. They were such a bargain I had to have them. Well they have never blossomed, and this year only have a few tiny flower buds. Lesson Learned: go to reputable nursery and get a named variety. It's worth the extra cost.
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Then there were the Camellias! This spectacular one was an Heirloom variety.
And last of all we found this red variety that had been espaliered.
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