Because we know, do we ever know, that a squirrel or a freeze or a lightening strike can take it away in a blink of the eye. For instance, on true wintery days like today we are very appreciative of plants with colorful twigs and berries.

Deciduous hollies are probably my first pick for a good berry show. This group of plants consists of mostly Ilex verticillata (winterberry) cultivars and hybrids and Ilex decidua (possumhaw – you gotta love that name) cultivars and hybrids. The fruit is usually red but cultivars are available with gold and orange as well. While these will tolerate a little shade the more sun they get the better they fruit. They will also tolerate wetter than average soils and are not as sensitive as evergreen hollies to our sometimes bitter winters. As with other hollies you need both male and female plants (Prop 8 would pass very easily in Hollyfornia) but you can have several females for one male (every male holly’s fantasy no doubt – what happens in Holly Vegas stays …) or you can just rely on a male from somebody else nearby (like in Desperate Hollywives).

Most of these plants get quite large, 6+ tall and wide in less than 10 years, with some eventually getting well over 10 feet tall and wide. But some dwarf forms are available, including the very beautiful ‘Red Sprite’ planted in Nonie’s Garden and on the tunnel as you approach our main entrance. There is another group of these near the parking garage. The taller ones in Nonie’s Garden are ‘Cacapon’.

Nonie's Garden

As you leave the property at 40th street look to the south between the 2 signs and there is another group of deciduous hollies. The pale orange ones are ‘Wintergold’ and the reds are ‘Afterglow’.

Wintergold

The ones without fruit are the male, ‘Jim Dandy’. Two other male cultivars are named ‘Southern Gentleman’ and ‘Red Escort’. Can you believe those names? Sounds like a male stripper’s convention.

When I said the hollies were my first pick I had forgotten the Viburnums. I’ll give you some names. Sorry, there’s a limit to what I can do here so be good and do your own research. For great fruit in viburnums I like V. dilitatum (‘Asian Beauty’ ‘Michael Dodge’, ‘Cardinal Candy’), V. setigerum, V. sieboldii. Other fruiting shrubs of interest include the native Symphorocarpos (coralberry) and the not native Callicarpa (beautyberry).
I’m out of time and space to cover the colored twigs! I will try to do something on them at a later date. Before I forget, I saw a red fox in the gardens today. How great is that. I hope it sticks around and eats lots of voles. Of course, the fox is just pretty to look at regardless. Just like a well placed deciduous holly outside your biggest window. Gotta go folks. Is that hot chocolate ready yet?

On October 6 it will become a dedicated space known as Nonie’s Garden in honor of Nonie (Eleanor) Krauss, the late wife of John Krauss, Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors for the IMA. Nonie was a life member of the Nature Conservancy, an advisory board member of the Central Indiana Land Trust, and Secretary of the Indianapolis Garden Club. Those of us who have been with IMA a few years also remember her work on The Heartland Garden, a gardening show broadcast on public television in Indiana.  It frequently showcased the horticulture and Horticulturists of the IMA. Nonie’s Garden will be a fitting tribute to a woman who loved nature and gardens.

The generous gift from John along with his and Nonie’s friends and family will allow us to keep a space that used to be mulch half the year fully planted year round.

The plants currently in the garden are for the winter display. Each is chosen for its contribution to brightening the space during our dreary winter period. Not unlike the way Nonie brightened up the lives of those who spent time with her. Some well placed fall annuals will add extra color. 400 Tulips will enhance the spring display. Come May and the warmth of late spring we will remove the winter planting and install the summer display. The summer display will be exuberant, colorful and lush – a planting truly expressing the joy of life that Nonie represented. After frost we will again install a winter garden. Each year major elements of the garden will change, both in winter and summer.

For this winter, in the center is a grouping of Betula populifolia ‘Whitespire’ with palest gray bark that can capture and reflect even the dim sunlight of January. Surrounding it are several blue weeping Alaska cedars (Xanthocyparis/Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Glauca Pendula’). They are also known as Nootka cypress. These graceful evergreens will look especially lovely with snow on them. Also included are several yews for more green in winter. For bright color we included 2 deciduous shrubs. Deciduous hollies (Ilex verticillata ‘Cacapon’ and ‘Red Sprite’) will provide bright red berries that will contrast with the gray bark of the birches and the dark color of the evergreens in early winter. For color all the way to spring we planted a red twig dogwood called ‘Cardinal’ (Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’). Another very appropriate plant as Nonie was an avid birder with a lifelong list of over 600 birds. The dogwood stems will gradually become deep red as temperatures cool and hold the color until late spring.

Thanks to help from my hardworking colleagues and our volunteers we were able to complete the change-out in four days. It could have been even faster but we had to remove 18 plus inches of horrible wet clay soil. Replacing this soil with a good-draining more friendly mix will insure a beautiful garden. Here’s Chad digging out the bad.

This is how awful it looked after a rather small amount of rain.

In this shot he’s mixing the new soil, blending a purchased general garden mix with a super draining structured soil mix.

We placed the birches before adding all the soil back in.

When I said I had help I meant it. There are almost as many people as plants.

And here is the final planting.

I think you will find that as the weather gets uglier it will get more beautiful. Hope you like it too Nonie.