This nursery near Five Forks, SC had a wonderful display area. They adapted an old garden to show off their best stuff. This photo is one of the marvelous containers. It is a combination of bold purple Swiss chard, Autumn fern, pansies, and Tiarella in the front. The tall pale plant is a flowering Kale that has bolted! The blue pot stands out against the ground cover, mondo grass.
This is black mondo grass (Ophiopogon). A truly unique ground cover, that spreads slowly from clumps. It does have a pale pink flower, but they are usually hidden in the foliage
This is a Contorted Filbert (Corylus) displayed in a container along a pathway. Its flowers are catkins which you can see in the foreground. Its most unusual feature is the twisted stems, so effective in the winter.
And then we saw the Dogwoods. There are many named varieties in white, pink, or almost red; some with variegated leaves, some with red or yellow stems. This photo shows the swelling buds of the flowering dogwood so prevalent in our landscapes and woodland
Three years ago I bought some dogwoods at a big box store labeled Dogwood, no variety name mentioned. They were such a bargain I had to have them. Well they have never blossomed, and this year only have a few tiny flower buds. Lesson Learned: go to reputable nursery and get a named variety. It's worth the extra cost.
Then there were the Camellias! This spectacular one was an Heirloom variety.
And last of all we found this red variety that had been espaliered.
