Ornamental Shrubs In the Garden

     I love ornamental shrubs because they beautifully set off other plants and flowers. Physocarpus opulifolius (Ninebark) grows 6 years in my garden, it has reddish-beet leaves, variety ‘Diabolo’.
It blooms in May and June, but its main quality is his leaves. It goes perfectly with lilies, peonies, bergenia, grey spirea, rodgersia.

Several years ago I purchased a small willow (Salix purpurea), variety "Nana". These plants have dense rounded crown, consisting of a very large number of small leaflets. Purple stems are very thin and flexible. Small narrow thin, pointed leaves are very graceful. From above they are painted in a bluish-green color, the lower part of the leaf is blue-gray.

 

In that summer I did a little pruning to my willow, then I planted some cuttings in the greenhouse and covered Salix for wintering.
What the horror was in the spring when I opened my beauty: it was sick, the fungus grew on its branches! I tried to cure but it died. What to do?
Then I remembered the cuttings that grew in the greenhouse. The two of them wintered well and gave the roots.They grew up and became beautiful small willows “Nana”.
A slim and slender meadow-rue grows near these willows. It is a little higher but its airy flowers beautifully look next to the gentle and delicate willow branches.

    When I stayed at the resort hotel I liked the big tree in a flowerpot. Looking closer, I realized that this was somewhat of Ficus Benjamin trunks intertwined as pigtail. Having arrived to St. Petersburg I found not far from my summer house three thin young willows growing in a ditch. I planted them in front of the house and the next spring I twisted their thin trunks as pigtail. 

The 8 years have passed and my twisted willows-“niwaki” grow well and the hostas, potentillas and lady's mantles are near their trunks.