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December 2005

There is a privacy about winter which no other season gives you...
In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other;
only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.
- Ruth Stout

Gift Certificates
Mean never having to say you’re sorry.
Let your favorite gardener get exactly what they want.
Click here for details:
Buy a Gift Certificate Here 

Free Shipping through Year’s End! Since many of you are still ordering plants, especially those in the South, any new orders placed from now, for delivery now, through the end of 2005, will get free shipping! We are now taking Spring orders as well so please be sure to indicate in the comments box if you want shipment now to get the free shipping offer, or if the order is for Spring and watch the ‘Available Dates’ on each plant. Many won’t be available again until Spring. The shopping cart will add shipping but we will deduct it manually before charging. Again, this does not apply to anything shipped in 2006. Thank you.

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A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself.
-May Sarton

The 2006 Northwest Flower and Garden Show is coming!
February 8-12, 2006
What could be a better gift for the fellow gardener? Surprise a loved one with a pair of tickets to brighten up a winter day. $16 Early Bird Tickets are on sale through Feb 7th. Youths 6-17 are only $3 this year!
We will take online orders only up to Feb 1, to allow mailing time.
This is North America’s third largest spring flower show.
The five-day show offers visitors eight acres of gardening nirvana,
including hundreds of vendors, breathtaking display gardens,
seminars by gardening experts and much more.
Let the fragrance, color, blossoms, and gardening inspiration jump-start your spring gardening season.
Buy Tickets Here

These Winter nights against my window-pane
nature with busy pencil draws designs of ferns and blossoms and fine spray of pines,
oak-leaf and acorn and fantastic vines, Which she will make when summer comes again.
-Thomas Bailey Aldrich

‘Rudolph’ Euphorbia - Euphorbia x martinii 'Rudolph'
And if you ever saw it… you would even say it glows! The red 'noses' make this a charming winter plant and in the spring the bract tips are yellow with a red center. A very cute winter ornamental in a garden setting or for containers. Has a very nice 2 foot round growth habit. Euphorbias are known for their tolerance to drought and low-maintenance. A workhorse of a plant that looks great year-round.
Rudolph was Santa’s favorite and now can be yours as well! Shipped in a round 4 1/2 pot. An excellent holiday gift for the gardener. Zones 6-10 See Rudolph

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

'We are nearer to Spring
than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
-Oliver Herford

New mulching rules for bark, the ‘Law of Three’s’
Newer research has found that the best way to mulch around trees and shrubs is to use 3 inch size bark chips, 3 inches deep, 3 inches away from the trunks and stems and remove and replace the material every 3 years.
Don’t use bark as mulch around perennials, annuals or vegetables. It’s too acid and it robs the soil of nitrogen.

My wife and I just want to say, thanks, we have never seen such care taken in packing and shipping plants and bulbs. We've ordered from several shippers in the past and none have taken the care in shipping that you guys at Big Dipper Farm take. From now on we'll check to see if you have something in stock before we look elsewhere.
Thanks, Robert and Lois – Wilmington, N Carolina

Pheasant Berry - Leycesteria formosa 'Golden Lanterns'
A splashy new plant with bright chartreuse heart shaped leaves and 4” long, pendulous white and burgundy flowers followed by black purple berries in autumn. This gold-leaf version is a real showstopper. In colder climes it dies back to the ground in winter. In the spring it quickly grows back and blooms all summer long. It is best used as you would a perennial, mixed into a colorful border or used as a patio container plant. Hardy down to zone 6
See the Golden Lantern

How deeply seated in the human heart is the liking for gardens and gardening.
-Alexander Smith

Ajuga 'Black Scallop' - Bugleweed
Wow! This stunning new ebony perennial is very dark and glossy with scalloped edges. Deep blue flower spikes glow over the foliage. An excellent container and accent plant. Takes everything from full sun to shade. A dense, spreading ground cover that will grow in shade where grass won't. The dense foliage effectively chokes out weeds. Benefits from occasional mowing to keep tidy. A very tough, yet beautiful plant for difficult areas.
See Black Scallop

To shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring.
-W. J. Vogel

Naturally Native – Outstanding Americans of the Month
Serviceberry - Amelancier alnifolia
Known by many names: Shadbush, June Berry, Saskatoon Serviceberry, Western Serviceberry. Also spelled: Amelanchier. A very slow-growing, deciduous shrub to 10 feet with edible blue berries that taste like blueberries. A good wildlife plant and an attractive shrub with an abundance of white flowers. The fruit was an important food source for Native Americans. Medicinally used by the Blackfoot Indians. Shades of yellow and red in autumn. Zones 2-7 See Serviceberry

Common Camas - Camassia quamash
Simple, elegant and charming native bulb. Beautiful blue-violet, star shaped flowers grow on tall slender stems up to 2 feet, among a burst of slender grassy foliage. Was a major food source for native tribes but CAUTION, looks very similar to the very toxic Death Camas. Given a sunny situation, Camas will naturalize in the garden and is very easy to grow. An early spring bloomer that goes dormant by June. Prefers moist soil and can tolerate wet winter sites. Also known as Indian Hyacinth. A ‘Great Plant Pick’. zones 5-10 See the Camas

One kind word can warm three winter months. Japanese proverb

Things to do in the Late Fall / Early Winter Garden:
If you haven’t completed your winterizing yet, there’s still time. Garden cleanup now will greatly benefit your spring garden by reducing disease and preventing damage. And where would you rather be on a beautiful, crisp autumn day anyway

• Drain and store hoses carefully to avoid damage from freezing.
• Plenty of time to plant ground covers, perennials and shrubs. Especially early spring bloomers.
• Check the last of the houseplants for disease and insects before bringing indoors.
• Dig and store tender summer flowering bulbs and tubers like dahlias, calla lilies, canna lilies, gladiolus and tuberoses.
• Continue to cut back perennials as they finish.
• Turn compost over and cover it.
• Stake tall perennials to prevent wind damage.
• Rake and destroy leaves from fruit trees that were diseased this year.
• Place mulch of manure over dormant vegetable garden area. A 3 to 4” layer of leaves spread over the garden plot prevents soil compaction and rain runoff.

Thank you for the delightful newsletter-ette. I'm glad I read it this morning, because if I had waited till evening I would have been too excited to sleep after reading it. Good gardening literature and seed catalogs have that effect on me.
I especially enjoyed your quotes about gardens and other things.
Thanks again, and keep up the good work.
Irene, happily gardening in NJ, zone 7a

A True Winter Wonder… It’s Hellebore time!
An angel, legend has it, took pity on a little shepherd girl who had
nothing to give to the Infant Jesus in his manger. The angel handed
her a weed, but first transformed it into this beautiful flower of winter.
The Christmas rose, Helleborus niger.
- Allen Lacy, The Gardener's Eye, 1991

With another year of gardening nearly done, some feel the best is saved for last. Helleborus. Some of these fascinating perennials start blooming as early as November. Others around Christmas, as it’s common name implies, “Christmas Rose”. Many are blooming at Lent, “Lenten Rose”. How else can we get wonderful, interesting flowers at such a ‘Color Challenged’ time of year!

Happy in part shade but in Northern climates can do quite well in full sun.

Deer-proof, slug-proof, evergreen and flowers in the dead of winter. What more can you ask? This evergreen has beautiful flowers that range from white to pink, purple to chartreuse, red to nearly black. Both single and double and many new Picoteed and Anemone forms. Hellebore foliage looks great year-round. Beware, once bitten by this wonder of winter you will never escape the need for more. They’re an absolute must for every perennial gardener.
We have 2 dozen varieties, all but 3 available to ship right now.

See all Hellebore Pictures

Helleborus argutifolius
A big, bold and statuesque plant that reliably flowers in winter. It also tolerates adverse conditions, has good heads of flowers, attractive evergreen leaves and will spread to a diameter of about 4ft. A fabulous specimen in the garden.

Helleborus hybridus
PPA plant of the year winner for 2005! Clusters of 2-6 flowers, 2 inches wide and cup-shaped. Flower color is extremely variable, ranging from creamy white to pink to light rose-purple, frequently with beautiful interior spotting. Once established these plants are virtually maintenance free. Was previously known as Helleborus Orientalis.

Helleborus x nigercors ‘Honeyhill Joy’
Plant 'Honeyhill Joy' at your entry or within sight to enjoy the marvelous late winter blooms. This hybrid from Honeyhill Farms is exceptional for its quantities of large, outfacing, cream-centered, white flowers. Unusually handsome, glossy, dark green foliage. Extremely vigorous plant that's great for early color. Once established these plants are virtually maintenance free.

Helleborus argutifolius 'Silver Lace'
Truly stunning cultivar of the Corsican Hellebore. Beautiful, silvery-grey foliage with fine lace patterned foliage is quite lovely. Stands out in the garden and is easily identifiable. Stiff, leathery leaves are sharply toothed and topped with large, cream-green flowers.

Helleborus argutifolius 'Janet Starnes'
The striking, spattered cream variegation with an occasional flash of pink, makes this an extremely different Hellebore. Topped with clusters of creamy white flowers blushed with green. Prefers cool summers to do well. Smaller than the species.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Double Vision'
The breathtaking double and anemone flowering forms. A rich color range of deep pink, light pink, purple, red and white.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Metallic Blue Lady'
A pewter sheen to these large bowl-shaped flowers of rich purplish-blue. Beautiful and easy to grow.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Red Mountain'
True red flowers that are speckled with apple green on the inside and a sparkler of yellow stamens in the center from Feb through April. Wonderfully dark, glossy evergreen foliage.

Helleborus foetidus
Very interesting and architectural plant with attractive foliage and tall, large clusters of pale green with a maroon rimmed flowers. The leathery, dark green leaves are deeply divided and serrated in the shape of a fan. A wonderful, evergreen, early spring bloomer that nothing can compete with at that time of year. Known as the Stinking Hellebore or Bearsfoot Hellebore but unless you crush some leaves it doesn't smell.

Helleborus lividus 'Elegance'
Glossy green leaves highlighted with creamy silver veins help up by pinkish-purple leaf stalks. Long purplish green stems bear bowl-shaped, creamy green flowers with a lovely mauve blush.

Helleborus x sternii
A blush of pink on beautiful pale flowers from winter to midspring. The spiny leaves are evergreen and really show off their beauty in the winter garden. Once established these plants are virtually maintenance free.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Yellow Lady'
Round, mostly upright, large yellow flowers. Once established these plants are virtually maintenance free.

Helleborus niger ssp. Praecox
Beautiful pure white blossoms. Very early, it is usually in bloom for Christmas. More robust than the species. An improved white variety over H. niger 'Maximus'. Evergreen, dark, leathery foliage. Great for early winter color. An excellent cut flower for holiday arrangements.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Ballard Hybrid'
An almost infinite color range from pure white through to deepest purple/black, including all shades of pink, cream, primrose-yellow, smokey purple and pinkish red. Many are attractively spotted and mottled. From some of the best named forms from the late Helen Ballard.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Blue Lady'
One of the darkest forms of Helleborus, with deep purple-blue flowers that are simply breathtaking. Deer-proof, slug-proof, evergreen and blooms in the dead of winter. What more do we need to say?

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince'
Very new and very cool! The unusual silvery mottled evergreen foliage is reason enough to grow this variety. The numerous, upward facing ivory buds are flushed pink and streaked with green and rose hues that deepen with the season. A MUST HAVE plant for the serious Hellebore hound! Very floriferous and disease resistant.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Mrs. Betty Ranicar'
It has crowds of heavily double, snow-white, frilly blooms, and when mature carries more than 100 blossoms per plant. A must-have, showy plant for Hellebore collectors. She was originally found in a garden in Tasmania. How can you live without it?

Helleborus x hyb. 'Pink Lady'
Round, mostly upright, pink and rose flowers. Once established these plants are virtually maintenance free.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Royal Heritage'
It’s almost impossible to predict which color the gorgeous 2-inch flowers will appear, it could be purple, near-black, white, green, pink and even yellow or one of several shades of red. Generally speaking, red tones will predominate. You can expect several months of bright, open-faced blooms on tough, long-lived, shade-loving plants.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Red Lady'
Extremely easy to grow, maroon blooms in mid-winter persisting into May. The outstanding success of the Lady series shows here, selected and isolated rich colors with round and mostly upright flowers on tidy plants. A stunning winter bloomer with lustrous dark green foliage.

Helleborus x hyb. 'White Spotted Lady'
Extremely easy to grow, huge, snow white flowers almost entirely speckled with maroon. Mostly upright flowers rise above the glossy, dark, leather-like leaves from winter persisting into May. The outstanding success of the Lady series shows in this fabulous variety. Deer-Insect-disease resistant and tolerant of heat and humidity. Wow!

Helleborus foetidus 'Frenchy'
A very different looking hellebore. This new variety discovered on a seed collecting expedition in the French Alps has delicate, lacy, silvery foliage with red tinges and interesting red veining on the floral sheaths.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Sunshine Selections'
Mixed shades of color, reds, peach and yellows. A virtually problem free, evergreen, late Winter and early Spring flowering shade plants. Takes part to full shade and can be grown in virtually every state in the USA.

Helleborus x hyb. 'Winter Queen'
A fabulous mix of white, pink, maroon or spotted flowers. A Lenten rose seed strain born and bred here in the Pacific Northwest by Elfie Rahr, very well adapted and vigorous in our climate. More robust than many other hellebores and a very early bloomer.

O happy Garden! Whose seclusion deep hath been so friendly to industrious hours;
and to soft slumbers, that did gently steep our spirits, carrying with them dreams of flowers.
-William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Big Dipper Farm 
360-886-8133
www.BigDipperFarm.com