Brad MacDonald, Author at Surfing Hydrangea Nursery, Inc.

Sweet Gale aka Bog Myrtle

August 30, 2021August 30, 2021, Posted by Brad MacDonald

I’m always on the look out for “new-to-me” plants that I think would work well for gardeners on Nantucket. From time to time, we have big successes with those plants, but more often, landscapers just don’t know what to do with them. When I came across Sweet Gale, Myrica gale, I thought it would be the perfect addition to our line up of native plants with some deer-resistance, so we brought some in. They look great, but they don’t seem to be selling at all. Sometimes we can encourage sales of lesser-known plants by putting them in a prominent spot so that customers will notice them. I decided to make a display in front of the armillary in the courtyard, to see if that would drum up some interest, but to no avail.

You guys! I really think these are great plants for us. You gotta give them a shot! The cultivar we’ve stocked is called ‘Low Boy’. These are compact (2-3′), rounded shrubs in the bayberry family. They have semi-evergreen blue/green waxy leaves that are similar to common bayberry, but prettier. ‘Low Boy’ is a male selection, so it won’t get fruit, but these plants are all about the aromatic leaves. Sweet gale naturally grows in wet or moist soils in salt marshes and wetlands, so it would be perfect on Brandt Point or any low-lying area of town. That being said, these plants will do well anywhere they are properly irrigated in full to part sun. Although I haven’t seen them planted yet, I think they should have good deer resistance, to boot.

The texture, shape and size of these plants is so pleasant that they would work well in a number of design styles and a wide rage of applications. Sweet gale is the perfect plant for use in loose, coastal gardens paired with summer sweet, switch grass, native sedges, and rose mallow. But they would also make a great component in a naturalistic matrix planting or used as a vast drift in the New American Landscape style. I could even see them used to create a super cool minimalistic, planting with purple smoke bush as a back drop.

Try a few! You’ll like them.

Crape Myrtle Trees

April 16, 2021April 21, 2021, Posted by Brad MacDonald

Everyone loves flowering trees. When in bloom, they can change the entire look and feel of the landscape, especially if there are many trees planted throughout a property. Ornamental cherries and pears make up the vast majority of the flowering trees that we sell at the nursery, but there are lots of lesser-used trees that are also very beautiful. In recent years, we have had more and more customers including Crape Myrtles in their gardens.

The genus Lagerstroemia has more than 50 species, but most of the landscape-worthy plants we offer are within the species indica and fauriei or hybrids of those. These deciduous trees and shrubs are native to India and Asia, including China, Japan and Korea. They prefer full sun and fertile, moist, but well-drained soils. Crape Myrtles come in a wide range of sizes and flower colors. The leaves are a deep, lustrous green, and often turn amazing shades of red and orange in the fall. Most cultivars have handsome bark, that exfoliates, giving the trunks an interesting mottled appearance. The enormous paniculate (botanical jargon for many flowers joined together on a branched central stalk) flower clusters are borne on the tips of the branches and generally open in September on Nantucket.

Because these trees are technically marginally hardy here, we always suggest planting them in a protected spot in town. In reference to Crape Myrtles, the authority on woody landscape plants, Dr. Michael Dirr states, “…-5 to -10 F is about the breaking point between a woody plant and herbaceous perennial.” However, there are quite a few large Crape Myrtles on the island that have survived some of the colder winters we had a few years ago.

Crape Myrtles flower on new wood, so they are often pruned severely while dormant, forcing a lot of new growth annually. That being said, I much prefer the look of a tree that is artfully pruned to a balanced framework instead of heading the entire plant back to an arbitrary height. When pruned this way, they can have a lovely shape that is nice to look at, even when the branches are bare in winter.

We’ve had many cultivars over the years, but a few of the most common are listed below with their attributes:

‘Biloxi’: Pale pink flowers on a 20′ tall tree.
‘Centennial Spirit’: Wine red flowers on a 10-20′ tall tree.
‘Hopi’: Light pink flowers on a semi-dwarf tree – 7-10′ tall.
‘Muskogee’: Lavender flowers on a large shrub or small tree – 15-20′ tall. Britt’s favorite!
‘Natchez’: White flowers on a vigorous, small tree – 20′ or more tall.
‘Sarah’s Favorite’: White flowers on a vigorous, small tree – 20′ or more tall. Anecdotally, a better plant than ‘Natchez’.
‘Sioux’: Dark pink flowers on a large shrub or small tree – 14′ or more tall.
‘Tonto’: Fuschia-red flowers on a semi-dwarf tree – 6-8′ tall.
‘Tuscarora’: Coral-pink flowers on a large shrub or small tree. 15′ or more tall.

Ornamental Grasses 201 – Nice Natives

November 12, 2020, Posted by Brad MacDonald

Although most of the garden-worthy grasses we sell as ornamentals are exotic, there are many beautiful native grasses to choose from in commerce. Whenever possible, we like to encourage our customers to try using native grasses. They grow well, require little care, and have evolved with the natural vegetation of the island. Native plants contribute to the overall beauty and health of our planted landscapes as well as the native ecosystem. They also support the fauna that has developed here over thousands of years.

There are many native grasses found here, growing in a wide variety of habitats; from the shore line into the more fertile interior areas of the island. The most popular species of native grasses that we sell is Panicum virgatum, commonly called Switch Grass or Panic Grass. There has been a lot of work done with these grasses over the years, so there are many cultivars to choose from with a variety of heights, habits and colors to the foliage. For more information on some of the various Panicum grasses check out this post: https://surfinghydrangea.com/switch-grass-2086

Another of our naturally-occurring grasses that is slowly becoming more popular is Schizachyrium scoparium, Little Bluestem. If you walk your dog at Tuppancy Links, you are very familiar with this grass: it’s one of the predominant species found growing on the links, especially beautiful in the fall when it takes on coppery-red, orange and auburn hues. Backlit by the sun at the end of the day, it’s magic. Little bluestem grows best in full sun on moderately fertile, well-drained soils without much additional water. The narrow bluish foliage appears in mid to late spring from the base of mostly clumping plants. By August, the plant reaches its full height of about 2-3′ and begins to flower. The flowering stems rise above the foliage, producing tight sprays of fluffy flowers. Gardeners have found that when little bluestem is over-irrigated or grown with too much fertility it can get floppy – avoid this problem by planting it in un-amended soil and only watering during establishment and prolonged periods of drought.

Whether planted in drifts or sprinkled here and there among perennial flowers, this is a wonderful addition to almost any island landscape. Several cultivars are available including ‘The Blues’ whose blue foliage is steaked with purple and accented with red stems. ‘Standing Ovation’ is another great cultivar that is touted to be reliably sturdy with an upright, non-flopping, habit.

For a plant that will tolerate shadier conditions, try Carex pensylvanica, Pensylvania Sedge. Although, it’s not technically a true grass, this short (6-12″) plant has a delicate, grassy look with arching foliage and spreads by rhizomes to make a pretty ground cover. It looks especially nice in dappled shade under deciduous trees but grows well in fully shaded areas.

Several other grasses native to North America are also well-worth planting. For a fine textured, loose look consider Sporobolus heterolepsis, Prairie Dropseed, Deschampsia cespitosa, Tufted Hair Grass or Descampsia flexuosa, Crinkled Hair Grass.

Ornamental Grasses 101

October 28, 2020, Posted by Brad MacDonald

Ornamental grasses are beautiful, deer-resistant and easy to grow. Although there are many lovely native grasses, the majority of ornamental varieties are introduced from Asia. We sell hundreds upon hundreds of these plants each year and their popularity seems to keep growing.

Most ornamental grasses are clumping, perennial, warm-season grasses that will come back for years. Although there are many species and varieties available, the most popular today are Maiden Grasses, Miscanthus sinensis and Fountain Grasses, Pennisetum alopecuroides. If sited in full sun and grown on average soil, these plants require little care – just cut them back to a few inches above the ground during the winter and irrigate during dry spells in the summer. Maiden grass do best if dug and divided every 5 years or so, which is a major undertaking! Make sure to keep this extra step in mind when planting them, as the clumps can get very large as they age.

The most popular grasses are listed below:

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’: Gracillimus Maiden Grass. The most common large ornamental grass sold. Broad, vase shaped form, reaching 6′ tall. Deep-green, finely textured blades have a narrow white mid-rib. Silver/buff-colored flowers appear above the foliage in late summer and persist into the winter. After a number of years, the clumps will spread to 3+ feet wide, with the foliage spreading out to at least 5 feet. The dense crown of the plant may die out in the center, signaling that it’s time to divide. Division is best done in late spring, just as new growth has begun to emerge.

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’: Adagio Maiden Grass. Another large grass, similar to ‘Gracillimus’, but a foot or two smaller in size overall.

Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’: Dwarf Fountain Grass. Rounded grass with a cascading habit, 2 – 2.5′ tall and wide. Mid-green foliage changes to yellow in fall. Fluffy, bottle brush-shaped flowers appear in mid August above the foliage on narrow stems.

Panicum virgatum, cvs.: Switch Grass. Many varieties of this native grass are now in commerce. Generally, upright 3-5′ tall. Airy inflorescences appear in mid-summer. Breeding in these grasses has focused on improved form and foliage color. ‘Heavy Metal’, an old favorite, has a metallic blue sheen to the leaves and average height of 5′. For a more compact variety, try ‘Cape Breeze’ a dwarf that stays about 2.5′ tall. Many other cultivars are available with purple or blue foliage, some reaching 8′, making a major statement. For more information on switch grass check out: https://surfinghydrangea.com/switch-grass-2086

Nassella tenuissima aka Stipa tenuissima: Mexican Feather Grass. One of the few cool-season ornamental grasses, this plant has gained in popularity in recent years, especially used as a mass planting. The light green, fine-textured foliage emerges in late spring. This fresh growth appears upright early in the growing season, but becomes more arching as it elongates to 1-2′ in height, with a more fountain-like habit. In mid-summer the airy inflorescences emerge and the foliage changes to a beachy, buff-tan.

These are only a handful of the grasses that we stock. On any given day, we will have many more to choose from. We’d be happy to show them to you.

Calamint

September 11, 2020, Posted by Brad MacDonald

Nearly every gardener that has visited the nursery this year has spoken about the uptick in rabbit and deer damage this year. The rabbits are ravenous and the deer are nearly impossible to keep out, short of installing a professional farm-grade border fence. These animals have become more than an nuisance – they are a serious problem. Year after year, the list of plants deer and rabbits won’t destroy has gotten much shorter. Russian sage, catmint, lavender and grasses are still mostly reliable (although we had a whole crop of catmint eaten early this spring). Another favorite of ours is calamint, Calamintha nepetoides cvs.

The fuzzy, menthol-scented leaves of this plant make it highly resistant to rabbit and deer browsing. And it blooms for months – seriously! This compact plant is covered in tiny white or blue flowers from mid-summer well into the fall. It makes an excellent groundcover, planted en masse, but also looks great in the front of mixed perennial borders. Calamintha does seed around a little bit, but I’ve never felt it to be a problem. Another consideration with this plant is how late it is to come up in the spring. Because it is one of the last perennials to get going, I often plant it closer than recommended so that I get the coverage I want earlier in the season. If you want to get the best out of this plant, site it in a sunny location with well-drained, healthy soil. There are several cultivars available for sale, with newer introductions entering the market recently.

Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta: Icy blue/white flowers. Fuzzy leaves. Spreads a little more readily than others as stems root along the edges of the clump. 1-1.5′ tall.
Calamintha nepetoides ‘Montrose White’: Clear white flowers that appear icy blue in cooler weather. Less prominent fuzz on the leaves. Leaves appear darker green than other varieties, setting off the flowers well. 1-1.5′ tall.
Calamintha nepetoides ‘White Cloud’: Clear white flowers. Fuzzy leaves. 1-1.5′ tall.
Calamintha nepetoides ‘Blue Cloud’: Very similar to white cloud, but with icy blue flowers.
Calamintha nepetoides ‘Marvelette Blue’: The largest and most saturated flowers we’ve seen on a Calamint so far. Earlier flowering than other varieties. 8″ tall.

Stokes Aster ‘Peachie’s Pick’

August 5, 2020August 5, 2020, Posted by Brad MacDonald

There are so few plants that have a true blue flower in the garden – there seems to be loads of magentas, indigos, purples and violets; but so little blue. Powder blue, in particular is very hard to get into the mix. There are some annuals that have just that sort of blue, like Salvia uliginosa, and Tweedia, but most perennials have a purple or pink undertone to their “blue” flowers. Stokesia laevis ‘Peachie’s Pick’ is in this vein, but it is very close to sky blue, to my eye.

These dependably perennial plants have glossy, thick medium green leaves that form a pleasing mound during the spring and early summer. In high summer many flower stems arise from the clump, reaching about 18″ or so tall. The entire plant is covered in aster-like flowers when the buds open, slowly over a period of weeks on sturdy stems. ‘Peachie’s Pick’ also looks great in a vase, so consider adding her to your cut flower selection.

Plant this beautiful but tough plant in good, but well-drained soil in full sun, and enjoy it for years to come!

Plume Poppy

July 23, 2020, Posted by Brad MacDonald

At Surfing Hydrangea, we sell a wide variety of “bread and butter” plant material that landscapers are looking for every day, like cherry trees, catmint and fountain grasses. Keeping lots of stock of those items is great for business, but it’s always the plants that I’ve never heard of, or seen in person that get me jazzed up for gardening again when I’m a little burned out. My favorites are often the new introductions and hard-to-find perennial treasures that Britt brings in for the courtyard.

A few weeks ago, I was unloading a rack of plants when I came across a perennial with unique foliage, reminiscent of oak leaves. I had never even heard of it, so I was delighted. The grower describes the foliage of Macleaya microcarpa ‘Kelways Coral Plume’ as “commanding and tropical in appearance” and I definitely agree. This thing is amazing. The blue-grey leaves are about the size of my hand and run all the way up the stalk of this large plant. When grown in sun, on well-drained fertile soil, plume poppy will reach 6 or more feet tall and spread out to occupy a space of about 4 feet. The foliage is topped with feathery, coppery-pink flowers in high summer. In fall, the leaves take on a tan hue, that fits right in with autumnal foliage.

I’ve been so interested in this plant that I’ve had one planted in our garden at the nursery so that we can enjoy it for years to come. As I write this post, we still have a few in stock. Why not give them a try in your garden?!

Spanish for Gardeners

October 11, 2019October 11, 2019, Posted by Brad MacDonald

One of my favorite things about living on Nantucket is the wide range of people from all over the world that I have the pleasure of meeting and working with. Over the last few years, I’ve been trying my best to pick up some useful Spanish words and phrases to help me work along side the many people of Latin American descent in landscaping on the island these days. Although there are many ways to express the same idea in Spanish, some of the following words and constructions have been quite helpful to me.

I’ll be adding to this post off an on, as time permits, so check back to see what other things we can learn to say in Spanish! Also, if there are any errors (I’m sure I’ll make some as I am not fluent in Spanish), or you know of a better Spanish word or phrase than I am listing, please let me know and I’ll add it to the growing list. Thanks! brad@surfinghydrangea.com

Words that describe plants and their parts:

Plant – La planta

Tree – El árbol

Shrub – El arbusto

Flower – La flor

Ornamental Grass – El zacate

Weed – La mala hierba

Trunk – El tronco

Branch – La rama

Twig – La ramita

Leaf – La hoja

Root – La raíz

Words for tools used in gardening:

Shovel – La pala

Rake – El rastrillo

Saw – La sierra

Hand pruners – Las tijeras

Shrub shears – Las tijeras grandes

Twine – La pita

Gloves – Los guantes

Wheel barrow/cart – La carreta

Ladder – La escalera

Tarp – La carpeta?, la iona?

Truck – El truck, el carro

Lawn mower – El mower, el cortacésped?

Hedge trimmers – La motosierra?

Chainsaw – La motosierra?

Bucket – El bote

Sea Buckthorn

August 29, 2019August 30, 2019, Posted by Brad MacDonald

Working at the nursery as long as I have, there aren’t a lot of landscape plants suitable for Nantucket that I’m not familiar with, so I’m always pleased when I have the opportunity to learn something new. Last fall, a customer asked about sea buckthorn, a plant I have absolutely no experience with. After a little research, I think it might be a useful plant for some of the islands’ challenging sea-side properties. We brought some in for a job this spring, and decided to order some extra for stock. This plant should be a good choice for growing in close proximity to the shore, where soils are extremely sandy, drainage is excellent and sun is plentiful.

Hippophae rhamnoides has abundant grey/green, skinny leaves on thorny, branches. Their habit is variable, sometimes reaching the size of a small tree, but they often treated as rangy shrubs. The plants I have seen growing on Nantucket look quite a lot like Russian olives, although spinier and with narrower leaves. These plants are dioecious, meaning that there are separate male and female plants. If female plants are pollinated by males, they will have an abundant fruit set of small, yellow/orangy berries. Native to the Northern regions of Europe, Asia and North America, sea buckthorn it is extremely cold hardy and can be expected to survive during prolonged periods of extreme cold.

There are many varieties in cultivation. We’re currently stocking ‘Chuysaka’, ‘Hergo’ and ‘Juliet’.

Asian Wisteria

April 30, 2019April 30, 2019, Posted by Brad MacDonald

I’ve spent many, many hours on ladders and on top of roofs and pergolas as a professional gardener on Nantucket. The bulk of those hours have been spent on rose care, but pruning and training wisteria is actually one of my all-time favorite garden tasks. This graceful, spring-flowering vine requires a lot of work to keep in bounds and looking its best. This is especially true of the Asian varieties, which are quite a bit more rampant than their North American cousins. Although there are many cultivars and hybrids, Asian wisteria can generally be separated into to groups: Japanese and Chinese.