Gail's Garden: Picks of the Week

This week, I've decided to add another segment to my blog, bulb of the week. There are so many bulbs to choose from but this week we choose the gorgeous vibrant red of the tulip 'Red Riding Hood.’ The little red has burgundy mottled foliage and each plant has three to five blooms per bulb on 10-12 inch plants in mid-spring. Another benefit is its tendency to perennialize to ensure that it will bloom each spring.

The tree that I choose this week is the Fullmoon Maple  or Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium'.  They are all beautiful but I love the cultivar 'Green Cascade.' It’s a lovely small tree with a graceful weeping habit, small pendulous purple-red flowers and lacey green foliage.  An all-season interest plant with outstanding fall color.

The shrub of the week is the Koreanspice Viburnum or Viburnum Carlesii. This is my favorite fragrant shrub.  Its scent is intoxicating! This shrub is rounded with pink budded-flowers opening to white snowball-like flowers.

This week’s Perennial is Moss Pinks or  Phlox Subulata. As common as this perennial might be, it looks outstanding in mass cascading over walls or in clumps in rock gardens; in tones of blues, pinks, purples and white.

Gail Tunis is a Master Gardener and Garden Care Specialist/Manager at Borst Landscape & Design, located in Allendale, NJ.  Gail has completed certificate programs at Rutgers in Landscape Design and Tree and Shrub Identification, takes courses at New York botanical gardens, voraciously reads online gardening articles, and subscribes to at least six industry magazines in order to remain knowledgeable on new plant materials and new garden maintenance practices. Borst Landscape & Design is an award-winning, full-service landscape design/build firm specializing in large-scale residential and commercial projects throughout northern New Jersey. Founded in 1989, the company has received recognition from numerous national and industry organizations including the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association, the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) and Landscape Management magazine. Borst Landscape & Design is also the Grand Award winner of 40th Annual Environmental Improvement Awards from PLANET (Professional Landcare Network). The landscaping firm based in Allendale, New Jersey, focuses solely on "green" practices with Borst Organic®. This private-label line of organic products for lawn, tree and shrub care avoids synthetic fertilization and harsh chemicals. The holistic approach promotes optimum growing conditions and natural resistance to pests and diseases. 

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email Gail at info@borstlandscape.comor phone at 201-785-9400.