Regional Picks: Plant This With That—Northeast

1. Golden winter hazel

Name:Corylopsis spicata‘Aurea’

USDA Hardiness Zones:5–8

Size:6 foundation tall and up to 8 feet wide ; sluggish uprise than the mintage

condition : shining tint ( too much sun , particularly if grime is ironic , might decolorize folio ) ; moisture - retentive soil

Forsythia is a familiar face of outflow , but wintertime hazel has more to offer . Sheaves of papery , lemon yellow - toned flower petal appear at each bend of the naked zigzagging stems in early springtime . As the dangling racemes fade , they give elbow room to good-looking , pleated , blue - green leave , which remain attractive until autumn . The bush is shapely left as is or can be easily pruned to carry a lovely architecture . fortunate wintertime hazel is specially delight ; its pleasing Burgundy wine - blush yellow - to - piano - yellowish green foliage glows in bright spook .

2. Winter Thriller™Red Racer hellebore

Name:Helleborus‘Red Racer’

Zones:4–9

Size:18 inches tall and 2 feet wide

status : Bright to full shade ; moist , well - debilitate land with hatful of constituent matter

Winter Thriller ™ Red Racer hellebore is a late introduction . Its deep claret bloom face outward rather than nod , as most hellebore do , and I find its dusky tones mesmerizing . cut back off the persistent leathery farewell as it comes into flower in early leap ; new ones come after in full-bodied clod . The blooms stay coloured for at least eight weeks : first , against the diffused yellow flowers of the gilded winter hazel tree , then against its transmuted foliation , which is demurely blushed in getting even .

3. Red epimedium

Name:Epimedium×rubrum

Zones:4–8

Size:15 inch tall and 2 feet wide

Conditions : fond to full shade ; moist to dry soil ( once show )

Hybridizers and plant Explorer have produced a bounty of young Epimedium in late yr , yet I still rely on this older hybrid , which has proven itself as a durable and long - lived perennial . Though the arching atomiser of cerise - red - and - white flowers from April into May are charming , the foliage of red-faced genus Epimedium is equally valued . The new growth is mottled profligate red , resound the vividness of the hellebore . The leaves flush red again in the coolness of surrender and persist through winter . dispatch them in early outpouring to make manner for the emerging efflorescence stalks . Red epimedium is rhizomatous , becoming an effective yet nonaggressive ground cover .

4. Brunnera

Name:Brunnera macrophylla

Zones:3–7

Size:12 to 15 inches tall and 2 foot encompassing

Conditions : undimmed to full specter ; moist , well - drained grime

gold winter hazel requires bold , contrasting leafage to stand against it , and brunnera has what it take : declamatory heart - influence folio in weed - smother mounds from leap until hard frost . For several calendar week in outflow , its airy clusters of sky depressed flowers float above the leafy clump ; if go out to ripen , consequent seedlings will meet in any planting gap . Many variegated forms exist , but their preferred use is that of direct actor rather than as a member of the supporting mould ; give them their own caper elsewhere .

Doug Gagne , APLD , is the atomic number 27 - owner of The Mixed Border Nursery and Gardens in Hollis , New Hampshire .

Photos , except where mention : Jennifer Benner ; # 1 , Dave Zubraski / gapphotos.com ; # 2 , courtesy of Chris Hansen . Illustration : Elara Tanguy .

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Regional Picks: Plant This With That - Northwest

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