Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' mockorange flowers

‘Blizzard’ is a more dwarf shrub than the standard mockorange, with a better shape. Philadelphus virginalis (mockorange) can have a rangy habit, with long branches sticking out at angles. However, Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’ has more of a rounded shape, with a compact form and good branching. This makes for an attractive looking shrub, even when it is not blooming. The smaller size, about 1.2 m (4 feet) tall and wide, makes it easy to fit into a mixed garden bed.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' mockorange flower closeup

However, ‘Blizzard’ mockorange really earns its space in the garden in early summer when the snowy flowers cover it. The pure white blossoms are gorgeous, with four simple petals, and a cluster of golden anthers in the middle. ‘Blizzard’ has been a very reliable bloomer for me. This hardy shrub flowers every year, even after a cold winter, or late spring frosts and snow.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' mockorange white flowers

In the photo above, you can see how the mockorange flowers are clustered at the end of every small lateral branch.  The shrub is bejewelled with the beautiful blooms, for almost three weeks.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' mockorange flower cluster

The mockorange scent is wonderful, and one shrub manages to perfume my patio when all of the blooms are fully open. The fragrance is the icing on the cake for the pretty blooms. My Philadelphus flowers from the end of June to the middle of July in zone 3. The lilacs have finished by then, so this is  a good successive shrub for delightful garden scent.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' mockorange shrub overall

This is one of the few northern shrubs that you can depend on to give a good flower display in the shade. Mine is sited to get some early morning sun for less than a couple of hours, yet it puts out a full set of blooms.

I highly recommend Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’ for its reliable blooming in a northern climate, shade tolerance, attractive shape and lovely fragrance. You can read more information and see more photos about this mockorange in this post from last year.

If you’re viewing at a smaller resolution, the photo overflow is hidden, and you have to click the pictures to see the full photo.

Syringa vulgaris 'Wedgewood Blue' flower clusters

The flowers of  ‘Wedgewood Blue’ are a lavender blue colour when they mature, while the buds start off as a more traditional purple lilac colour, like the second photo. The blooms are a pretty colour, and coordinate easily with many of the colours in my June garden here in zone 3. The panicles are 20 cm (8 in) long, not the smaller flowers you sometimes find on dwarf lilacs, and the individual petals are wide, not narrow like some dwarf flowers. With the full size, and packed with petals, the blooms are very showy, many of the them hanging in pairs. These flowers give lots of  colour and scent for a small shrub. Last year mine flowered for 3 weeks, but it has been blooming for over 4 weeks this year with our cool, late spring.

Syringa vulgaris Wedgewood Blue lilac buds

Of course lilacs not only delight with their pretty blooms, but they fill the senses with their wonderful fragrance. The scent of this lilac is fabulous, and since the flowers are all at nose height, it is very easy to enjoy the wonderful perfume, without being on tiptoe. I circulate to this part of the garden everyday while it’s in bloom to breathe deeply of the delicious fragrance.

My compact shrub is about 2 metres tall (6 feet) tall and wide. It has a natural vase shape, which is very attractive. The base is narrow, so there is lots of room for underplanting the smaller lilac with bulbs and perennials in a mixed border. I’ve underplanted my ‘Wedgewood Blue’ with crocus for spring and hardy blue geraniums for summer and fall, so there are blooms from when the snow melts until the first Fall frosts, with few gaps.

Crocus under lilac shrub

The bare lilac branches in the pictures above are from April, when the crocus planted under the shrub flowered. The Crocus chrysanthus (snow crocus) on the bottom half of the photo above are the earliest flowers in my garden. They are followed by the Crocus vernus (large Dutch crocus), which are shown on the top half. As the crocus leaves fade away, the hardy blue Geraniums (cranesbills) grow to cover the bulb leaves.

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' under lilac

The Geraniums bloom after ‘Wedgewood Blue’ is finished, so they continue the flower show. These Geraniums are just developing buds now,  so the picture above is from last year. The first Geraniums to bloom are the ‘Johnson’s Blue’, followed quickly by ‘Rozanne’. The Geranium ‘Rozanne’ bloom all the way to frost. There are a few Campanula (bellflowers) at the front of the bed, too.

Syringa vulgaris 'Wedgewood Blue' lilac double flower

My ‘Wedgewood Blue’  lilac gets one of the sunnier areas of the garden. It’s in part shade, but more sun than shade, and the shrub seems to do well. It used to be more shaded from an overgrown Viburnum that I had to remove last year, and it is blooming better than ever now.

Syringa vulgaris 'Wedgewood Blue' lilac closeup

I highly recommend Syringa vulgaris ‘Wedgewood Blue’, if you are looking for a smaller lilac to fit into your mixed borders, but still want the full lilac flower effect on a dwarf shrub.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' flower closeup

This flower cluster is 20 cm (8 inches) across.  For such small shrubs, they usually  produce a large number of these jumbo sized blooms. Typically, an Annabelle hydrangea is covered in these large white flowers.

My shrub is in a very shady area of the garden, so it doesn’t get as many blooms. It is on the northern side of my house, and gets about an hour or less of direct sunlight a day. This seems to be enough to produce about five large pompoms at this point. Although Annabelle can take shade, this might be too shady of a location. I’ve only had this one for two years, so it might get more flowers as it matures, or it could be that this Annabelle is just blooming the best it can with the small amount of sunlight I give it.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' flowers

As the green buds open, Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ produces these showy, white flower heads. The flowers last for over a month in summer, and then gradually fade to tan in fall.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' shrub

Here are the five blooms on my 60 cm by 60 cm (2 ft by 2 ft) Annabelle shrub. :) You can see that some of the blooms are still green, and the buds have just started opening.   I could move the shrub to a brighter part shade location, but I think I’ll leave Annabelle here for now, and see how it blooms as it matures. After all, it would only take another five of those giant bloom clusters, fully open, to cover this shrub.

This Annabelle hydrangea is planted in the garden next to my front steps. Every time I come home in August, it waves its pompoms and cheers:  “Give me an ‘N’  —  ‘ N’. Give me an ‘O’  —  ‘ O’. Give me an ‘R’  —  ‘R’. … Yeaaaaaah, Northern.” You have to admire such an enthusiastic shrub, even if it doesn’t have its full compliment of pompoms.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' (mockorange) lots of flowers

Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’ (Blizzard mockorange) makes a wonderful hardy shrub for part shade in a cold climate. They have pretty white blossoms and a wonderful fragrance. My Philadelphus has been a reliable bloomer, even after cold winters and spring frosts.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' (mockorange) white buds

This Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’ (Blizzard mockorange) is an especially hardy version of mock orange that grows well in a northern garden. Even after a cold zone 3 winter, the shrub is full of these pretty white blooms. I thought that I might not get flowers this year, since we had a number of late spring frosts, but the blizzard mockorange has excelled itself with an abundance of these pretty blossoms. This has been a very reliable bloomer for me.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' (mockorange) with Campanula

This closeup shows how many gorgeous flowers there are on the end of each Philadelphus stem. Behind there are flashes of blue peeking through from the Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian bellflower) and a frond of Osmunda regalis (royal fern).

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' (mockorange) pretty blooms

In the above photo you can see the pure white petals with the golden centres. The mockorange blooms come after the spring flowering shrubs, but before the Hydrangea. In my zone 3 garden that is at the end of June, beginning of July. They are a good choice if you are looking for an early summer flowering shrub.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' (mockorange) branching structure

My Blizzard mockorange is about over a metre tall (4 feet) and 1.5 metres (5 feet) wide. It might grow a bit more still, but this shrub maintains a compact size. The branches of Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’ have a very nice red colour, that remains attractive after the leaves have fallen off the shrub in fall. The branching pattern of  ‘Blizzard’ is more elegant than my Philadelphus virginalis (basic mockorange). It has a number of shorter branches, with the smaller branches coming off at right angles opposite to each other, whereas the Philadelphus virginalis tends to have a smaller number of very long branches, in a looser shape, that come off at awkward angles, looking ungainly.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' (mockorange) blooms closeup

Almost every branch end has a set of pretty white flowers. This shrub has a multitude of blooms, even in part shade. This garden bed gets about 2 hours of sun a day, and some dappled light as the trees sway overhead. I’ve been very pleased with its performance here.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' (mockorange) branch patio

The flowers of Blizzard mockorange has a faint scent that is beautiful, but it is not strong enough to perfume  a large area of the garden. The fragrance is not quite as powerful as other Philadelphus. You have to bend over and sniff the blossoms to enjoy the sweet smell. The shrub is planted right next to my patio by my back door, so it is easy to enjoy the flowers and scent up close.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' (mockorange) shrub

Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’ is a prolific bloomer, with lovely white flowers, even after extra cold weather. With its attractive branching pattern, and overall shape, it looks good, even when not in bloom. I can recommend this for a zone 3 garden, if you are looking for a compact, early summer flowering shrub. In the photo below, you can see how Blizzard looks as the buds are just opening.

Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard' (mockorange) lots of blooms

You can read more information about this mockorange shrub in this post.

front yard conifers

When winter snow lasts for half of the year, conifers are a remembrance that the white doesn’t last forever, and that buried underneath there are dormant green plants that will emerge eventually. Without the conifers, winter would be a vista of twigs and houses. I enjoy walking down the street and admiring the pretty sight of snowy evergreen branches on front lawns. They create a verdant background all year, provide privacy, and are an excellent habitat for birds.

Here are my large spruce trees, filling most of the front yard with green boughs. My spruce wear their branches right down to the ground, which makes a natural and full silhouette. The grass doesn’t grow underneath them, but the snowy boughs look much better in the winter than snow-covered grass. Natural spruce trees, with all of their branches, make a very tall groundcover.

These trees tower over the house. From a landscaping point of view, they are out of scale, and obscure the view of the house. However, from a forest lover’s point of view, I enjoy the woodsy atmosphere in the middle of the suburbs. I am thankful the previous owner had the foresight to plant trees for the future.

Picea closeup

When I look out my front windows I can imagine that I live in an evergreen forest. I can watch the birds on the branches, blue jays scolding, or chickadees chattering and flitting from branch to branch. In the fall, the squirrels are very busy storing away the spruce cones. One squirrel made a precariously balanced pile of cones under the willow in the backyard. I’m not sure why he bothered running back and forth to the backyard, instead of just storing them conveniently under the curtained safety of the spruce  tree.

The spruce produce numerous cones at their top, which scatter around the tree on  windy days. I gather the cones and use them to mulch a hidden area to the east side of the house, about 6 m (20 ft) long and 1 m (3 ft) wide. Perhaps the squirrel has admired my large stash of cones. Maybe he’s even raided it for his own supply. The spruce and pine needles fall onto a narrow sidewalk that leads to my backyard. I often sweep the needles off the walk into the adjacent north facing garden area, making a natural and easy woodland mulch for the front bed.

Pinus mugo (mugho pine)

There is the base of an overgrown Pinus mugo (mugho pine) in my front yard. It is taller than the house, and forms a green curtain between the street and my front window, blocking noise, attracting birds, and presenting another forest view. The mugho pine has a tangle of lower branches, and long, soft needles. The dwarf mugho pines, that have been kept small by breaking the outer third of their new candles, look neat and cute in a garden bed, like small green statues. This older, taller Pinus mugo has not had its candles cut back,  and the inside lower trunks make a forest of their own. The curved multiple trunks arising from the base form a living woodland sculpture.

While the front of the pine has a wall of green needles, the lower needles at the back are mostly gone in this shady spot, making for easier viewing from the house of the birds, which like to flit about on the protected branches. There are small middens of cone scales under the tree. The branches make a comfortable place for an animal to break open cones to get at the seeds, and the scales fall in small piles beneath.

Pine branch

A tall straight pine grows in the corner of my backyard. Its branches are lacy, casting a partial shadow on the plants below. The long needles are attractive. This evergreen gives me something green and beautiful to view, when I look out on the bleakest winter days. The pine also gives some privacy, when all of the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves to survive the winter. Sometimes in summer, a robin likes to perch on the topmost branch, proclaiming its territory from the tallest point around.

Taxus media hicksii (yew)

This upright evergreen is Taxus media ‘Hiksii’, one of the many small yews in the garden. In summer, they practically disappear in the garden, serving more as a green backdrop. However in winter, they are the little green jewels, rising above the snow. While the yews are tolerant of shade, the ones in deeper shade are about half the size of the ones in medium shade.

Taxus media 'Nigra'

I also have some Taxus media ‘Nigra’, which are a darker green yew, and a bit more spreading than upright. The soft needles are particularly attractive. There is less browning and die back on the yews over the winter than on junipers. The yews also fill in their bare patches, maintaining a more attractive shape. Taxus media are a good yew for zone 3, since some other yews are borderline or not hardy here.

I love my conifers. They bring wildlife, privacy and beauty to the garden year round. I appreciate them most in the winter, when the colour green is rare, and especially treasured. Do you grow any conifers? Which are your favourites?

Phlox paniculata

Bright, clean white is an elegant flower colour for the late summer garden. The 3 brightest whites in my garden right now are Phlox paniculata ‘David’ (garden phlox), Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ (PG Hydrangea),  and Impatiens walleriana ‘Fiesta White’ (double impatiens). White flowers look cool and refreshing, like a crisp, white cotton shirt.

Phlox paniculata is a stately perennial for the summer and fall garden. It can form good sized clumps, that stand out in a flower bed. Mine are 1m to 1.3m tall (3ft to 4ft). Despite their height, they don’t need staking, although a fierce storm can test their sturdiness. The large beautiful blooms are  long lasting. I cut the flowers as they fade, to keep the plant blooming. They are a classic for the summer garden, and combine well with just about any other perennial around them.

This one is flowering in part-shade. Its partner across the yard is in medium shade and has not started blooming yet. They flower better without too much shade, but tolerate part-shade well.

Hydrangea paniculata

I used to have different varieties of P. paniculata in a previous garden, and was fortunate not to have much powdery mildew. However if it’s a problem, the variety ‘David’ is especially known for its resistance to powdery mildew.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ (PG hydrangea) is another prominent bloomer this month. I compared it to  some other hydrangea in another post. The last time I posted about it, the flowers were only partially out. This photo shows how the white panicles are more striking now that they’ve had time to open. It’s an outstanding shrub for part-shade. This PG is on the north side of a fence.  I’m very pleased with the number of blooms this shrub has, for being in a mostly shady site.  A smaller PG hydrangea, located in deeper shade under a willow tree, is not producing blooms the same way.

Like the Phlox, the large hydrangea blooms are long-lasting. It’s always satisfying when a gorgeous flower blooms for an extended time. In the late fall, the panicles still add interest as they fade to brown. Early next spring I’ll snip off the old flowers.

Here’s a much smaller white bloom. This double flowering impatiens is ‘Fiesta White’. Up close, they sometimes have the faintest, pale pink tinge. These small plants are covered in the pretty blossoms. The flowers give the appearance of miniature rose blooms with a multitude of petals. Impatiens don’t need deadheading to keep them flowering. The old blooms fall off, and a steady supply of new buds replace them.

They are satisfied growing in medium shade, where the soil stays moister. Deep shade cuts into the bloom count.

Impatiens are like an annual in zone 3. They can only be placed outside after the last frosts, and will finish quickly after the first frosts in September or October, but until then they’ll brighten the shade. Yesterday there was a full moon. As I looked out the window late at night, these flowers were visible, twinkling in the moonlight.

Impatiens walleriana

Here is apost I wrote before, about some white flowering plants in the spring.

Do you grow any stalwarts like hydrangea or phlox, that you can depend on to put on a good display?

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ (PG hydrangea) is a lovely shrub that is very eye catching when in bloom. It has a fairly nice shape and good foliage. However, the large panicles of white flowers are the main attraction. The abundant white blooms cover most of the foliage when they are fully open. They bloom for over a month, and then gradually turn brown. Their flowers last throughout August and into September in my garden. The flowers are still attractive as they fade, so I leave them on over the winter, and remove them in the spring. Only a few of the blooms are open in this picture. There are many more with green buds still to open. This one is in a medium shade location, so I’m pleased with the numerous buds that it has.

Campanula poscharskyana ‘Blue Waterfall’ (blue waterfall Serbian bellflower) is planted under this hydrangea. It’s quite shadowy underneath, but you can see them better when you click and enlarge the photo. I like the look of the blue stars twinkling around the lower branches of the hydrangea. The heaviest flush of  these bellflower blooms was at the end of June and through July, but they will still flower through the fall.

This is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Lamb’. It is new to my garden, just planted a few months ago. It is very similar to ‘Grandiflora’, but the flowers stalks are stiffer and the blooms are held more upright. When it rains, they don’t arch over as much as the PG hydrangea. In the photo, you can see the green buds of the panicles that haven’t fully opened. There are ample blooms for a shrub that is still only 75 cm by 75 cm (2 feet).

The marketing campaign for this shrub describes the flowers as little lambs dancing over the shrub. I think they’re stretching it with the description, as they look very much like other H. paniculata panicles to me, even when I squint and use my imagination. However, it is a good looking hydrangea.

I have a Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ (annabelle hydrangea) too, but it only has 4 blooms. It looks very stingy compared to the other hydrangeas, probably because it’s planted in heavier shade. If it doesn’t bloom more next year, I might move it to a part shade location. I was probably stretching its shade tolerance to plant it in a location that only gets about a half hour of direct sun a day.

The leaves on annabelle are larger than the H. paniculata leaves. When it’s not in bloom, it’s not quite as attractive as H. paniculata.

Here’s a view of the PG hydrangea that the birds see as they’re coming in for a landing on the birdbath.

What are your favourite shrubs for shade?

The white blossoms of Blizzard are beautiful with a light scent. They are lovely with their noticeable yellow stamens. This variety blooms for about 3 weeks in June and July in my garden.

The stems are red with medium green leaves. Blizzard mockorange keeps looking good over the winter, because of these decorative stems.

Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’ was originally selected from one growing in Alberta, and was introduced in Canada. I have found this shrub to be very hardy, surviving over the winter and blooming in the summer, while other mockoranges can be borderline hardy in zone 3. My Philadelphus virginalis has never bloomed  in a semi-shade exposure. I’m not sure if this is because of the light exposure, the cold, or an individual quirk.

The P. lewisii ‘Blizzard’ only gets an hour or two of direct sun, and then some dappled or indirect sun the rest of the day. It would probably have more blooms in the sun, but I’m pleased to find a great shrub that flowers in this exposure.

I would recommend the Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’, if you are looking for a small to medium shrub that tolerates a cold climate, blooms in medium shade, has decorative winter stems, and exquisite white flowers.

Here is another post with more photos and information of my Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’, and this post has more about ‘Blizzard’, too.

You can read about my hardy Hydrangea shrubs, which do well in the shade.

I love this pine in my backyard and so does the wildlife. I’m fortunate that a previous owner thought of the future and planted a number of trees. Now I get to enjoy their cool shade, wonderful shadow patterns, long branches that create privacy, and watch the birds that they entice to the yard. My pine is the tallest tree and often a robin likes to perch at the top and proclaim its territory. There is a birdbath next to the pine, and many birds perch on the lower branches before and after their baths. Sometimes a woodpecker will visit systematically up and down the trunk; it’s hard to begrudge it the food it finds. The nuthatches like to hop down the pine trunk, in their typical head down position, as they too search for a meal. The trunk is covered in an assortment of interesting life forms, including moss. Isn’t the bark fascinating? Altogether it is a valuable part of the yard.

However, this pine and all the others in Alberta have been on the brink of potential endangerment as the voracious pine beetles have made their initial forays east over the Rocky Mountains into our province. In British Columbia they have caused terrible devastation to the forests. The amount of damage done to the ecosystem and economy has been incredible. There are vast stands of dead trees.

However, there was a ray of hope in an article by Bill Mah in the Edmonton Journal newspaper this morning.

‘We’re cautiously optimistic that the winter did give us a helping hand,’ said Erica Lee, a provincial mountain pine beetle prevention specialist. At 299 other sites across the province researchers are also taking stock to test the prediction that temperature were low enough for long enough,12 consecutive hours of -40° C (-40°F) ambient air temperature, in January and February to kill enough of the beetles to make a difference.

The article goes on to explain more of the problems associated with the pine beetle invasion, such as damage to the watershed leading to flooding, the loss of $23 billion worth of timber, and of course the impact on the wildlife. For example, without the lichen which grows there, the woodland caribou will be in trouble.

The original invasion was caused by freak gusts of wind, which carried the pine beetles 400 kilometres over the Rockies to Alberta. It would be sweet revenge if our freakishly cold temperatures managed to kill off enough of them.

I hope for the sake of the vast stands of the pine trees in Alberta, the wildlife, the watershed, the economy, and my beloved backyard pine tree, that the pine beetle invasion will be halted.

The first book is called Lois Hole’s Favorite Trees and Shrubs, by Lois Hole. The plants in this book are all hardy and rated for zones 3 and colder. The book has useful lists of tree and shrub suggestions, not only for various specialty conditions of light, soil or moisture, but also for bloom, leaf and fruit colour, winter interest, attracting wildlife and more. There are also general tips for their care including planting, pruning, and trouble shooting. This book is most useful for detailed information on specific species. Each tree and shrub gets 2 to 4 pages of description with recommended species or varieties, tips and facts. 2 particularly useful sections for each plant are their growth rate and lifespan. These are often missing from many books, yet are important factors when choosing a tree. Many coloured photos accompany each plant description. With each plant detailed separately, it is very easy to access the information you need.

The next book is called Best Trees and Shrubs for the Prairies, and is written by Hugh Skinner and Sara Williams. This book gives good specific, reliable information for tree and shrub maintenance. The hardiness, drawbacks and benefits of individual cultivars of trees and shrubs is included for each entry. The only point that would improve this book is if the pictures were included with each entry, rather than in a separate section. For solid advise about tree and shrub culture and selection on the prairie or plains, this is a great choice.

If you love the wonderful woodland atmosphere trees give and you garden in a northern climate, these are two good reliable sources of information.