Inspiring ideas for the home garden come out of a walk through Disney World.
Nobody does it like Disney Horticulture, and it made speaking at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival in Orlando, Fla., a pure joy.
Nestled into the charming plants of the Epcot butterfly fairy garden was a lovely creation that turned an old teapot into a miniature fairy house. The teapot was painted white and decorated with charming little twigs and mosses, dried pomegranates and silk flowers. It's small enough to move around, so you could try a new location every year for a new garden and color scheme of seasonal flowers.
One of the most useful ornamental grasses around, blue fescue can be used in so many different ways. Plant it at the base of leggy shrubs or tall perennials, such as lilies, to help them blend with the landscape and offset the other plant's flowers or foliage. Plant in masses as a ground cover or in rows as an edging plant. Use as an accent in a rock garden or flower border. It even looks fabulous in containers! Blue fescue is evergreen in all but its northernmost range. The fine bluish foliage looks best when it is fresh in spring and early summer. Seed heads turn tan when mature. You may want to cut them off to keep plants tidy.
Sometimes all we need is reliability in the garden—not glitz or glory, just some solid plants that will get the job done. Reliable plants are generally unchanging and well grounded, with dense or tightly grouped leaves and insignificant flowers. They provide calm assurance that all is right with the world and that there will be no surprises: What you see is what you get. They typically look good all year round.
Reliable plants are ideal for highly trafficked, transitional areas, such as near pathways leading to the front door or along a side yard. They are the aristocrats of the plant world and work well in formal or conservative settings, announcing that all is under control and properly in order. They are happy to be grouped together or combined with more flamboyant plant personalities or eccentric garden sculptures. They don’t mind letting others take the stage while they create an unobtrusive backdrop.
Reliable plants to consider — Boxwoods (Buxus sempervirens and cvs., Zones 6–8)
Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica and cvs., Z 6–8)
Heathers (Calluna vulgaris cvs., Z 4–7)
Junipers (Juniperus spp. and cvs., Z 2–9)
Himalayan blueberry (Vaccinium moupinense, Z 5–10)
Rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp. and cvs., Z 5–9)
Japanese hollies (Ilex crenata and cvs., Z 5–7)
Spruces (Picea spp. and cvs., Z 2–8)
This popular, versatile shrub can be planted to accent your home, either in rows for a narrow hedge, or alone as an ornamental. However you use it, this is a tough, worry-free plant.
You’ll be fascinated by the Sky Pencil Holly’s shape – growing skyward naturally without the need for trimming (unless you want to keep them at a desired height).
If you are looking for a sleek, updated, stylish look, use these Japanese Hollies with their tall, narrow, columnar shape.
Very few shrubs can give you this kind of height without encroaching on nearby plants. Perfect for when you want to add height or a focal point to flower beds, groundcovers, entryways, etc.
Because of this unique shape, its possibilities are endless. No matter where you plant your Sky Pencils, their spectacular form will attract attention! It's one of the few plants whose branches grow upward, which is why it got the name Sky Pencil.
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