Beautiful Perennials from Monrovia

April 10, 2024

For impassioned gardeners, it's so rewarding to plant interesting specimens and watch them grow and flourish.

Yesterday, I received a large assortment of beautiful plants grown by Monrovia, a wholesale plant nursery specializing in well-nurtured shrubs, perennials, annuals, ferns, grasses, and conifers with several nursery locations across the country. Soon, we'll be adding beautiful lilacs, holly, peonies, and other lush evergreens to my Cantitoe Corners gardens.

Enjoy these photos.

: As a serious and diligent gardener, I am always looking for ways to add more beauty and texture to all my garden beds. I was so excited when these plants arrived from Monrovia.

: Once plants arrive here at the farm, we always organize them in rows according to type so they are easy to see, count, and access when it is time to plant. Creating a garden takes time. Add a few specimens every year and keep track of what grows well and what doesn’t.

: I grow many berries here at the farm – blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, and currants. These additions will ensure even bigger, sweeter summer harvests.

: I love lilacs and have an allée dedicated to white, and shades of purple, blue, and pink colored flowers. This is Lavender Lady Lilac, Syringa vulgaris ‘Lavender Lady’.

: And this is Betsy Ross Lilac, Syringa x oblata ‘Betsy Ross’. It’s an early spring bloomer with very large, sweet-smelling, pure white flower panicles.

: Little Darling® Lilac Syringa ‘SMSDTL’ also features large clusters. The dark-purple buds open to lilac-hue flowers. And, it blooms twice – heavily in spring, with a second, lighter bloom set in fall.

: Gold Coast® English Holly, Ilex aquifolium ‘Monvila’ is a small evergreen shrub with many branches of dense, small, toothy, dark green leaves edged in bright golden yellow. This is a male form, so it has no berries, but it will act as a pollenizer for other female English holly varieties.

: Red Beauty® Holly, Ilex x ‘Rutzan’, has bright red berries and glossy, dark green foliage.

: Luxus® Compact Japanese Holly Ilex crenata ‘Annys5’ looks very similar to boxwood and can make a nice replacement option. It has dark green foliage and a naturally dense, rounded shrub form with leaves that keep their color year-round.

: I am also very fond of peonies – herbaceous, tree and Itoh peonies. This is Magical Mystery Ride Itoh Peony, Paeonia x ‘R6P5’. This peony flower is just beginning to open, but when blooming its petals range from peachy orange to creamy white and fade to pink towards the edges.

: Itoh peonies have finely divided leaves which grow close to the ground in an elegant mounded shape.

: This is Paul’s Gold Threadleaf False Cypress, Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Paul’s Gold’. With its year-round golden green foliage and tight growing habit, this conifer adds an excellent contrast to darker green shrubs and trees.

: If you’re looking for an excellent tall hedge plant, consider Hicks Yew, Taxus x media ‘Hicksii’. Its long, upright-growing branches and dense, glossy, dark green foliage naturally form a narrow, columnar habit and can provide good privacy screening where needed.

: Dense Spreading Yew, Taxus x media ‘Densiformis’, is an excellent low spreading plant for a hedge or border.

: Another yew is the Emerald Spreader® Japanese Yew. It is a cold hardy, evergreen shrub that works well as a ground cover, border, or a low hedge.

: Many may recognize the foliage of arborvitae. This Monrovia exclusive is Tiny Tower® Green Giant Arborvitae Thuja x ‘MonRig’. It is great for its upright, more compact habit and lively green foliage.

: Tight Squeeze™ Western Red Cedar is a low maintenance conical tree with shiny foliage that retains its green color well in the winter.

: Magnolias are stunning in any color. This is Black Tulip™ Magnolia, Magnolia x soulangiana ‘Jurmag1’, the darkest, most dramatic tulip magnolia, with rich, deep burgundy-red six-inch-wide blooms that appear before the foliage emerges in early spring.

: Yellow Bird Magnolia, Magnolia acuminata ‘Yellow Bird’ has bright canary yellow flowers that appear later in spring after the danger of frosts. If planting in multiples, try to find those that are early, mid- and late blooming, so there is color all season long.