The Plants Around My Pool
The gardens around my farm are growing so beautifully this season - the peonies, the perennial flowers in my cutting garden, and the stunning plants and shrubs around my pool.
The area around my pool is planted with a variety of dark-colored burgundy-black leafed plants. I always try to incorporate unique and interesting specimens in my gardens. Along the inside of the pool's fence, I have a growing hedge of purple columnar beech trees, Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck Purple' - a splendid tree with deep-purple foliage that holds its color all season. On the outside of the fence, I have Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ and Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ - both these shrubs have superlative dark colors and appealing forms. In keeping with the color palette, I've also added Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’, Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip', and Heuchera ‘Obsidian’ beneath part of the hedge as ground covers. Most recently, we filled two large planter boxes with gorgeous black mondo grass.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- I wanted the pool to look as natural as possible where I could enjoy the panoramic views of the landscape with my family and friends. Since its installation a couple of years ago, I’ve worked hard to develop the surrounding gardens with a selection of dark-colored specimens.
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- The pool is surrounded by about 170-trees along the inside fence line. These are purple columnar beech trees, Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck Purple’ which will grow to 40 to 50 feet in height and only 10-feet wide which makes them perfect for tight spaces and as an interesting hedge.
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- They are doing so well and are a great contrast to the bright green lawn. Columnar beech trees are fastigiate meaning their branches slope upward more or less parallel to the main stem.
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- In spring the deep purple to almost blackish leaves of these beech trees emerge. In winter, the limbs and trunk with their smooth pale gray bark create an interesting framework. These are among of the most striking and beautiful of all columnar trees.
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- From a distance, these trees look excellent. In general, it needs little pruning, but if two branches cross or rub against each other, one should be removed to prevent injury to the tree’s bark. Pruning is best done during winter, when the tree is dormant, or early in the spring before new leaves appear.
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- I wanted to create a natural border along both sides of the fence. I decided to alternate two kinds of shrubs on the other side – one phsyocarpus and then one cotinus, etc.
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- Cotinus, also known as smoketree or smoke bush, is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. They are a great choice for massing or for hedges. The stunning dark red-purple foliage turns scarlet in autumn and has plume-like seed clusters, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips.
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- I love its leaves. I have many smoke bushes around the farm – it is among my favorite small trees. These can grow to a moderate size – up to 15-feet tall and 10-feet wide.
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- On the left is the Physocarpus, commonly called ninebark. It is an upright, spreading, somewhat coarse, deciduous, Missouri-native shrub which is closely related to the genus Spiraea. It boasts deep burgundy foliage with ovate to rounded, usually three to five-lobed leaves that are dull green in summer changing to an undistinguished yellow in fall. Then its color veers toward bronzy red by the time the leaves fall in late November.
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- Here is a closeup of a Physocarpus shrub that blooms in early June with white button-like flowers. Physocarpus prefers well-drained, acidic soil, and full sun.
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- At one end of the pool fence, on the inside, I planted a group of Heuchera ‘Obsidian’, also known as Obsidian Coral Bells. The glossy dark maroon, almost black, leaves keep their color all season – it adds a gorgeous accent to the bed.
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- There is also Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’ – a unique perennial in the mint family Lamiaceae, with most species native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and southeastern Australia. Ajuga has lush dark burgundy-black foliage that blankets the ground when mature.
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- Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’, also known as Black Scallop bugleweed, ground pine, carpet bugle, or just bugle, has very glossy foliage and bright blue flowers in late spring.
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- Another bugleweed is this ‘Chocolate Chip’ – also planted on the inside of the pool fence.
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- Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’ is spreading, miniature chocolate foliage with lacy blue flowers in spring.
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- In two large planters, we just added this pretty black mondo grass. Fernando plants them about four inches apart.
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- Black mondo grass, Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’, is a tuberous-rooted perennial in the lily family. It is a stemless plant in which the leaves sprout from the ground in clumps. In summer, a single flower stalk sprouts, carrying small, bell-shaped pinkish flowers.
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- Black mondo grass tolerates a wide range of sun conditions, but the warmer the climate, the better it will do in shade.
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- It will grow nicely here in the shade of beech hedge.
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- I am so pleased with how this area of the farm is doing. The pool is open and the gardens are thriving. I am looking forward to many safe and fun gatherings here with my family and friends this summer.
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