Beautiful landscape set about with owing plants . These awarding - success are perfectly suited to show off their charms in Kentucky garden .
Superior woody and herbaceous plants for Kentucky landscapes are the focus of the Theodore Klein Plant Awards . Started in 1995 , the program is name for superb horticulturist Theodore Klein . He and his wife spent more than 60 years evolve an keen secret acres in Crestwood , Kentucky , with an extensive collection of rare plants . It later became Yew Dell Botanical Gardens . Each year , award - winner are selected by a panel of flora professional person represent Yew Dell , the Kentucky Nursery & Landscape Association , the University of Kentucky Landscape and Nursery Program , and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture . The function is to promote exuberance and interest among Kentucky gardeners .
' Hummingbird ' summersweet ( Clethra alnifolia’Hummingbird')Sweet is right — in late summer , this bush will be covered in sweetly fragrant blanched flowers that pull in butterflies . The blossoms seem all the more beautiful thanks to a backdrop of glossy , cryptic green leaf . ' Hummingbird ' was pick out as an award winner because of its compact habit , growing just 2 - 4 feet tall and a little wide . It is minor enough for foundation plantings and looks terrific in groups . It ’s unparalleled in that it will still bloom in fairly recondite shade . ' Hummingbird ' summersweet has good chickenhearted fall color and a tidy appearance all yr long . The industrial plant opt part shade and consistentlymoist to wet acidulent soils . Zones 4 - 9
Fothergilla major’Mount Airy’This industrial plant is prise not only for its honey - scented blooms , but for its incredible , long - lasting fall vividness . Each springiness , just after the leaves unfurl , lovely bottlebrush - alike flowers bloom in white and yellow , enveloping the entire bush . The dingy green foliage is bluish gray-haired and looks straight all summertime , then turn shades of yellow , orange , and red - purple in pin . A various plant accomplish 3 - 5 foot tall and encompassing , this witch alder is great for manipulation in borders , foundation planting , hedgerow , and native planting . It favour full sun to part subtlety in moist , acidic soils with good drainage . zone ( 4 ) 5 - 8
' Henry ’s Garnet ' Virginia sweetspire ( Itea virginica’Henry ’s Garnet')This is a all right example of ashrub with three - time of year beauty . In spring , the dark unripened leaf appear on this compact shrub that grows 3 - 4 substructure marvelous . In early summertime , the fragrant , creamy white blossom bloom on 3- to 6 - inch steeple . As decline draws near , the leaves turn garnet bolshie and persist well after the first frost . Sweetspire is also valued for its flexibility — it will grow in sunshine or shadowiness and in moist to average out soil . The flowers and fall coloring material are extremely effective planted in groups or as a hedge . It will also naturalize and spread out in a timber garden . Zones 5 - 9 See sweetspire .
' Ivory Silk ' Nipponese Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree lilac ( Syringa reticulata’Ivory Silk')Imagine a lilac with 12 - in - long flowers . The ' Ivory Silk ' tree lilac grows 20 - 25 groundwork tall . It flowers in May or June , a niggling later than other lilacs . The flowers are creamy white , fragrant , and really can maturate up to a metrical foot long . The luscious blooms will pull in hummingbird and butterflies . This small , leisurely - to - grow tree is tolerant to powdery mildew and other uncouth lilac diseases . It ’s best grown in average , well - drain grime in full Lord’s Day . zone 3 - 7 See more about ' Ivory Silk’Japanese tree lilac .
variegate fragrant Solomon ’s seal ( Polygonatum odoratum’Variegatum')This shade - loving perennial is a must - have works for any shade garden . Solomon ’s cachet has lovely arching branches with creamy white and green variegated foliage . In natural spring , the fragrant , petty gong - shape flowers fall down in perfect pairs . The blossoms are followed by drear - calamitous yield in autumn , just before the foliage takes on a cleared yellow fall color . The root bet wonderful inflower arrangementseven when they ’re not in bloom . The white variegation convey light to louche boundary line and woodland gardens . Solomon ’s seal combines attractively with astilbe and fern . zone 3 - 8See more about Solomon ’s seal .
pitch-dark gum or tupelo tree ( Nyssa sylvatica)In the fall sunlight , this tree ’s leave seem to glow in warm shades of yellow , orangish , red , and purpleness . Its beauty will block up you in your raceway . This is a impenetrable nectar producer , of import for the production of tupelo honey . Sour , glum blue fruit mature in tardy summer , providing nutrient for a number of bird species . The tree prefers moist , well - enfeeble , acid soil in full sun . Give it batch of elbow room to arise , as it will eventually reach 30 - 50 substructure tall and 20 - 30 feet broad . prove planting it with yellow - branchlet dogwood tree , Carolina allspice , or swamp Jasminum officinale . Nyssarefers to a mythological water nymph , alluding to the tree ’s preference for moist sites . Zones ( 4 ) 5 - 9
' Raydon ’s Favorite ' aromatic aster ( Aster oblongifolius ' Raydon ’s Favorite')In autumn , when most flora are winding down and everything is search a little commonplace , Raydon ’s Favorite will brighten up the garden with hundreds of lavender - grim flowers . The cumulation of gray - immature foliation look great all time of year but really fix off the flower colouring material in fall . This showy perennial is low - maturate , contact 2 - 3 foot tall , and search particularly pretty combined with decorative grasses , sedum , catmint , bluebeard , and recurrent sunflowers . Like most asters , it makes a howling cut flower and pull in butterfly . Maybe best of all , deer do n’t seem to bother it . Note : This plant is also known asSymphyotrichum oblongifolium’Raydon ’s Favorite ' . zona 3 - 8
Dixie wood fern ( Dryopterisxaustralis)Dixie woodwind instrument fern is an telling natural loanblend . It ’s deciduous in northern Zones , but will remain evergreen in warmer region . It grows up to 4 ft tall , so it ’s good to plant the perennial near the back of the boundary line and give it some elbow room . The flora will appeal care as a perpendicular accent and it construct a lovely background for other shadowiness - loving perennials . It will tolerate a range of Lord’s Day and stain types , but will really flourish when implant in partial shade with a moist , acidic grease . zone 5 - 9
Magnoliaxloebneri’Leonard Messel’Even before the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ’s foliage is out , enceinte purple bud hold the promise of springiness . The buds unfastened to reveal fragrant , star - shaped white blossoms with 12 narrow-minded flower petal . The contrasting coloring material of the bud and efflorescence , present on the tree at the same time , is genuinely divine . It ’s best to embed this 15- to 20 - foot - marvelous magnolia in a somewhat sheltered spot so the cold wind of natural spring wo n’t damage the valued flowers . magnolia have a shallow ancestor system and will apprize alayer of mulchto help keep the soil cool and moist . zone ( 4 ) 5 - 9
' Gibraltar ' bush trefoil ( Lespedeza thunbergii’Gibraltar')Discovered at the historical Gibraltar Estate in Wilmington , Delaware , this bush trefoil is all about flower force . Long , arching arm can grow 4 - 5 base tall and up to 10 feet wide . The show starts in August or September , when bunch of purple - pink prime efflorescence on 2 - foot - long stems . ' Gibraltar ' bush clover would be lovely implant in a repeated border where it has room to ramble . It is perhaps even more spectacular when allowed to cascade down over a bulwark or down a James Jerome Hill . Prune the stems back in late wintertime to encourage newfangled growth and more blossoms . zone ( 4 ) 5 - 8
Raulston Allspice ( xSinocalycalycanthus raulstonii’Hartlage Wine')This shrub is a special cross between native Carolina allspice and a very rarefied Chinese twin . All you have to remember is that the flowers are drop - dead gorgeous . It wait like aboriginal Carolina pimento tree on steroids . The springtime flowers are a deep Burgundy wine - red , and they have a pleasant fragrance . This is a vigorous grower that will reach 6 - 9 foot tall with glossy , thick green leafage and a golden - yellow fall color . fond shade is best . Zones ( 6 ) 7 - 9Image good manners of Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs
' Blue Ice ' bluestar ( Amsonia’Blue Ice')The color of this perennial ’s bloom is spectacular – obscure Amytal with a touch of reddish blue . bloom sit on the tops of the fore like little stars . Even when the plant is n’t in bloom , it has a corking , just , thickset riding habit . The narrow , willowlike leaf give this bluestar a wonderful texture . It ’s perfect in molding , rock gardens , and bungalow gardens . Growing to just a ft or so , this plant is also perfect for edge . It even has a clear yellow fall color . It ’s proficient in Dominicus or light shade . Zones 4 - 9
Lacebark Pine ( Pinus bungeana)The is an cosmetic tree that grows 20 - 30 feet tall in a pyramidical shape . It often has multiple stems , but is easily trained to have a single one . The needle are long , sheeny , and bright greenish . The bark is highly strange , particularly as the tree diagram matures . It begins exfoliating , bear witness irregular rule of tan and cream and is very showy . Lacebark pines are slow - produce , and they prefer full Sunday and well - drain soil . Zones 5 - 7
' Cloud Nine ' Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum’Cloud Nine')Ornamental grasses are gaining in popularity , with good cause . ' Cloud Nine ' is an especially good - look switchgrass that develop 6 metrical foot marvellous . The foliage is metallic blue , top out in summer by tiny halcyon bloom that seem to float over the tall , square stems like a cloud . This switchgrass is made of tough stuff . It ’s heat and drouth large-minded , and can hold up frigid temperature . ' Cloud Nine ' tolerates a wide of the mark image of soils , include dry ones , but it prefers moist , sandy or clay stain in full sun or light shade . cervid do not seem to favor this tasty stunner . Zones 5 - 9 See more about’Cloud Nine ' switchgrass .
