New in Deb's Garden: Acanthus 'Whitewater'

"Oh!" 

I prefer to buy my plants from local nurseries. I have had the experience of paying too much on line for a plant that arrived on death's door or else pitifully small for the price. But once again I had fallen victim to a glossy catalogue photo of a plant I had never seen before. So as I opened the box containing my newly arrived Acanthus 'Whitewater', I was anxious that my worse fears would be confirmed.

I had only partially opened the container when a large leaf unfurled out of its wrappings, like a young animal's enthusiastic attempt to escape its cage. I exclaimed at the plant's beauty as I released it from a covering of styrofoam packing.Here is what my new Acanthus 'Whitewater' looked like immediately after arrival.

Acanthus 'Whitewater' is a perennial with striking deep green leaves with creamy variegation. That is enough to make me love it, but it also will produce spikes of pink and cream flowers in early to midsummer. This plant needs some space, growing 3 feet tall and wide.A closer look at Acanthus 'Whitewater'

An easy care, vigorous plant, it will grow in USDA hardiness zones 7 - 10. It likes shade to part shade and prefers moist but well-drained loamy soil. However, it will grow in poorer soil and is also tolerant of heat and humidity. I just planted mine in a shadier part of my new pollinator garden, and I am eager to see how it does. 3' x 3' sounds big to me, but I know happy plants in my climate often exceed expectations. So I placed it in a corner where it can get much larger without bothering other plants or looking out of place. 

Time will tell, but after a week in the ground, Acanthus 'Whitewater' looks very happy. 

Last Fall Images, 2018

Winter has come with cold rain and bitter breezes that have stripped lingering autumn leaves from trees. I don't mind our brief winter too much, despite the leaden, mushy landscape. It is a good backdrop for the festive decorations and Christmas lights of December. But I enjoy looking back at the last images of fall, taken less than two weeks ago:

'Orido Nishiki' is usually my last Japanese maple to take on fall colors and the last one to lose them. While many trees were already barren, glorious leaves still clung to this tree in the woodland garden:

Finally, here are a couple of pictures that don't belong to me. Another Deb (who also lives in Helena!) sent me the following photos. First, a decorative rabbit in a sea of leaves:

And her adorable dog named Honeybunny:

Thank you, Deb, for letting me use your beautiful photos.

Despite the arrival of winter, I can't just sit back with my hot chocolate and look at pretty garden pictures. All those leaves covering my moss paths and draped over shrubs have to be raked! (Remember, moss needs air to grow.) And many weeds flourish during milder winter days. So I have to pull them as they appear throughout the winter if I don't want to be swamped with spring weeds. You would be amazed at how many baby weeds are birthed during cold weather!