Shrubs and Roses
In our outdoor sales area, you will find a selection of hardy shrubs and roses, all grown in Ontario and carefully selected by Katie for their outstanding qualities. We carry many of the newer varieties included in the Proven Winner shrub collection.
Shrubs are important to have in your garden for many reasons. Firstly, from a design perspective, they help create a permanent framework in your garden and unlike perennials and annuals will provide year round interest. Taller shrubs can also help provide privacy. Planting shrubs also encourages birds to visit your garden and provides habitat for small mammals and insects. Butterflies and Hummingbirds will be frequent visitors to gardens with plenty of shrubs. Easy to care for, shrubs often require only a simple pruning to keep them looking good. Many will also produce showy flowers and berries. We have a good range of shrubs suited to both sunny and shady locations, in a range of height, foliage and flower colours.
Newsletter Articles
The following plant information about our Annual Flowers and Foliage is taken from back issues of our E newsletters. If you are not yet signed up to receive our regular e-newsletters throughout the season, you can subscribe here.
Cornus Arctic Fire
Red twigs a gem in the garden!
June 2014
Red Twig Dogwood is a common shrub that is found in natural areas and roadside ditches, being native, tough and resilient to pests and diseases. Arctic Fire is a lovely compact form of the regular Red Twig Dogwood but with all the same great qualities as the larger variety. It is a wonderful addition to any garden. Bushes grow only 3-4 feet tall and wide, suiting most gardens better than the taller variety. They flower briefly in the spring, and grow a thick bush full of greenery in the summer and fall.
The real beauty of Arctic Fire though is the red stems which provide bright winter interest against the snow in the winter and early spring. Arctic Fire Dogwood will grow in full sun or partial shade, making it quite versatile. When creating a new garden, I like to make a loose framework of shrubs, in front of which I plant perennials in groups. Try planting Arctic Fire either singly or in groups of three, in gardens or in a naturalized area. They are easy, no fuss shrubs!
Arctic Fire is a lovely compact form of the regular Red Twig Dogwood
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Hydrangea Incrediball
Huge blooms for sun or shade
May 2013
Hydrangea Incrediball is a terrific, hardy, long blooming shrub for sun or shade. Bred by Proven Winners, Incrediball is an improvement on the standard white Hydrangea Annabelle. Very large white globe shaped flowers bloom in summer and turn a beautiful lime green towards the end of summer and into fall. They will continue to provide great colour and interest until well after the first frost. Flowers are formed on the current season’s growth, so just cut back to about a foot high in late winter or early spring and watch your Incrediball grow back to 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. The white flowers will brighten a shady spot or grow just as well in the sun. Try planting in groups for a massing effect or as a hedge down a pathway. Looks fabulous with fall flowering Black Eyed Susan!
Serviceberry
Native shrub provides year round interest
June 2012
Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) is a native shrub that you will find growing in our countryside. It is also a wonderful large shrub for the garden, growing to about 20’ height and 10’ wide. Each plant is multi stemmed and as the plant grows it develops into a beautiful airy architectural shape. Leaves are small and silvery green. In the spring for a week, or two at the most you will be treated to a covering of small white flowers. Birds love the fruit which ripens in the summer. In the fall, foliage turns brilliant gold. Serviceberry can look good planted singly as a specimen or in small groups. Next time you come into the farm, check out our Serviceberry in our entrance beds. They are the largest shrubs in the bed and look like bushy trees, anchoring the beds and providing year round interest.
Hydrangea Endless Summer
Continuous blooms all summer long
June 2011
I love these Hydrangeas! I have a patch of them in my own garden and they are gorgeous! Plant in a spot with at least 6 hours of sun and some dappled shade in the afternoon. I have mine planted where they receive some shade from trees. Large, rounded flowers are pink in alkaline soil and blue in acid, which means that they will be mainly pink in this area, although sometimes you can get a lovely mix of the two colours. The name Endless Summer is very apt as they flower continuously all summer, turning papery in the fall. They will likely grow about 3feet and spread that wide too. The only care required, other than watering is to protect for the first two winters. Just cover the base of the plant with a 4" layer of mulch after the leaves have dropped. Uncover after the last frost in the spring. These Hydrangeas really are gorgeous and compliment the more common white Annabelle types beautifully.
Flower Carpet Roses
Easy care, flower all season!
June 2011
If you love roses, but don't want the fuss of dealing with them, then Flower Carpet Roses are for you! These roses really are amazing and every garden should have at least one!! They grow about 2 feet in height, maybe more with excellent soil and moisture and spread out sideways to cover at least 2 feet diameter. They bloom continuously all season, providing a bright and showy display. The leaves are glossy and green and flowers come in a range of colours, including yellow, amber, red, pink, coral and white. They are very resistant to the traditional rose diseases and rarely suffer from any major insect damage. The only care that is required is to mound with peat or manure in the fall. Plant in full sun, massed or singly - they look fabulous. We have several colours planted in our display gardens here, so take a look the next time you are by and figure out a spot for a few in your own garden.
Buddleia - Butterfly bush
The butterfly magnet!
May 2011
If there is only one plant that you grow to attract butterflies, this has to be it! Buddleia, otherwise known as Butterfly Bush is a woody shrub which is treated like a perennial and cut down to 6" in spring. New growth comes from the base. The long wands of flowers appear in mid summer and last late into the fall. This year we are growing Black Knight - a deep midnight purple and Royal Red - a rich magenta - red. Flowers are beautifully fragrant, attracting both butterflies and hummingbirds. Buddleia grow from 3 to 8 feet so make sure you give it enough space. Buddleia also needs a sheltered spot as it is a zone 5 plant - maybe next to a house wall would be a good protected and somewhat warmer spot for it to thrive.
Physocarpus Summer Wine
Unique foliage makes this shrub a favourite
June 2010
This purple leaved Ninebark shrub is one of my favourites and I plant it a lot in our landscaping projects as well as here at the farm. The foliage of Summer Wine is really what makes this shrub so great - it is dark red / purple with dark stems too, creating a gorgeous contrast against other green or yellow foliage. Pinkish white flower clusters appear in the spring to provide extra interest. This upright, bushy shrub should be grown in full sun and reaches a height of 5-6 feet. It is a fast grower and new growth can be easily trimmed in the fall or winter. This plant is a result of breeding by my favourite plant breeders, Proven Winners, so it is no wonder that it is such a great performer! Plant in a group if you have space, but singly is fine too. Next time you come to the farm, take a look at our gate plantings and you will see lots of these beauties!
Lilac Bloomerang
New reblooming Lilac from Proven Winners
April 2010
Lilac blooms are so heavenly - have you ever wished you could enjoy them longer? Well, take a look at our new reblooming Lilac Bloomerang. Bred by the amazing plant breeders at Proven Winners, this unique dwarf Lilac is a brand new introduction this year!
It has the gorgeous scented lavender flowers in late spring that we all love, then re blooms from mid summer until frost. It grows 4-5' tall and wide and prefers a full sun location. As with all Proven Winner plants it is easy to care for - just give it a light trim if necessary after the first bloom to tidy it up.
Rose of Sharon
Add an exotic touch to your garden!
June 2009
Rose of Sharon or hardy Hibiscus are truly gorgeous plants and really add an exotic touch to a garden. They are heat loving woody shrubs in the Mallow family, with large saucer shaped flowers. This year, due to popular demand we have some beautiful pink beauties for sale. Rose of Sharon Rose Satin is a strong growing, upright plant with large, single rose pink flowers with ruffled edges. Rose Satin will flower late summer and into the fall, offering colour and interest to the garden just when you need it! Be aware that Rose of Sharon is a zone 5 plant so in this area will need a sheltered, full sun location, next to a building is ideal.
Shrubs
New this Year!
April 2009
This year, due to customer demand, we are excited to be adding a range of shrubs to our plant line up. I have carefully chosen about 25 top quality varieties from an Ontario grower and they should arrive in time for our Pansies for Paws event. Included in our collection will be Buddleia, Dogwoods, Burning Bush, Forsythia, Hydrangeas, Mock Orange, Ninebarks, Flower Carpet Roses, Willow, Spireas, Lilacs, Weigela, Rose of Sharon and others. Many of the shrubs I have chosen are in the popular Proven Winner range. Proven Winners breed and develop annuals, perennials and shrubs with superior characteristics. The PW shrub collection will complement our existing range of PW annuals and perennials. For more on Proven Winners visit their website at www.provenwinners.com.
Enderlein Roses
Locally Grown Roses Now Available
May 22, 2008
News just in!! Just this morning, we received a large shipment of Roses from Enderleins Nursery. Enderleins are established Rose growers and are located just down the road in Lisle. We are pleased to now offer you a varied selection of Climbers, David Austin, Hybrid Tea and Shrub Roses in addition to our own Explorer and Ground Cover Roses. Enderleins were looking for a local location to sell their Roses as they are continually asked to sell retail, but are strictly a wholesale operation. So drop by and check out our selection of locally grown high quality gorgeous Roses! Very hard to resist!!