japanese sedge

Well, here it finally is …. the second half of my report from the Independent Garden Center Expo 2010 in Chicago (there were so many new plants and products catching my eye that I had to split my post into two).

As you can see in this YouTube video, I learned a lot about Everest™ Carex (also called Japanese Sedge), which was on display at the booth sponsored by Ohio-based Willoway Nurseries.

Lovers of the popular Carex hachijoensis 'Evergold' with gold margins, will love this architectural, shade-brightening fountain with bright-white margins and low, softly mounding form. And, best of all, this Carex oshimensis makes a great "spiller" for any thriller-spiller-filler plant combination in a garden container, or those who follow the old-time rule of always adding white to any color combination.

Everest carex also makes for a low, softly mounding hedge around a perennial bed. As you can see in the video, Willoway used it in the front and backed it with a tall, reddish cordyline. Wow, what a combination! (Willoway also suggests using it with dark-colored foliage like heuchera (coral bells) and ipomea (sweet potato vine) or contrasting the long, linear leaves with big foliage (Tropicanna^® Black, a large, purple-black leaved canna – of course, also from Tesselaar – would be stunning).

Speaking of Tropicanna Black (below, in front of the gold-striped Tropicanna Gold), I just got word that it'll be widely available in 2011 (here's a video of me with a large stand of it at the Monrovia booth at the show).

I also learned about a great fall garden container combination, featuring the burgundy, glossy, strappy leaves of Festival™ Burgundy cordyline (below) with purple mums, purple fountain grass, hypercum berries and ornamental kale. In a short whiskey barrel container, I also saw Festival Burgundy cordyline nicely grouped with mums, fountain grass, stonecrop (all purple) and corkscrew rush and ornamental kale.

Other favorites at the show included this selection of handmade herbal candles by Herbal DeLights. Scents included Pineapple Mint, Bay Laurel, Tea Rose and Sandalwood. They also offer outdoor kitchen aroma candles (for your outdoor kitchen) that double as bug repellant. Very pretty – and pretty smelling!

And here's a stylish take on eco-friendly rainwater harvesting barrels, from Garantia:

Well, that's all for now. Look for these cool new plants and products at your favorite garden centers in 2011!