Soft Touch Compact Holly: A Useful Little Evergreen Shrub

Last year I added several 'Soft Touch' compact hollies (Ilex crenata) to my landscape, and I have been pleased with their performance so far.  This unassuming but useful shrub grows at a moderate rate to 2-3' wide and tall, prefers full sun, is hardy in zones 5-9, and its leaves are not prickly.  It may sport black berries in winter, though my eight young shrubs didn't produce any this year.

I have used various types of boxwoods (45 of them in all) to create a winter skeleton and to calm down my riot of perennials and flowering shrubs, but some of them don't stay very green during our cold winters.  Above you see a 'Soft Touch' holly on the left and a 'Green Velvet' boxwood (Buxus) on the right.  Both photos were taken today, at the end of January, in my backyard.  The holly is a much nicer green than the boxwood.  I like the way the hollies echo the overall appearance of the boxwoods though, since they add more unity to the landscape. 

The new spring growth on this holly is very vibrant, as you see above.  These shrubs can be used to form a hedge or can be planted singly among other garden plants, as I have done.  The mature plants tend to grow a little wider than tall and can be sheared into a smooth shape or left to grow in a more natural form.  I am not a fan of sheared shrubs, so I plan to prune them only when an awkward stem is sticking out and needs to be cut back.  Hooray for something low-maintenance in my mostly high-maintenance yard!

As with most of the evergreen shrubs that are hardy around here in zone 5, this type of holly isn't a spectacular addition to the landscape during the growing season.  There is a holly above on the bottom right of the photo, but you don't notice it much with all the other plants in leaf around it. 

The real worth of these shrubs is seen in winter, when much of the garden is asleep underground.   The two hollies above, one at the very center and one at the front to the left, will provide more needed winter green as they mature and fill in their spaces.  This photo includes a 'Green Tower' boxwood at left and three 'Green Mountain' boxwoods to the rear of the photo.

This is a good time of year to evaluate the strength of your winter landscape.  Although I will never give up all my favorite flowers to fill my garden with plants that look good all winter, I try to strike a balance by including at least a few evergreens in each area, as you see above.  'Soft Touch' compact hollies are a nice addition to the list of low-maintenance shrubs that are attractive in winter.

Before and After Photos of VW Garden

Who doesn't love before and after photos?  Here are some shots to show the changes we have made to our landscape since we moved into our home nearly eight years ago.  The poor quality photo (sorry, it was all I could find) on the left shows the house when we bought it in late spring 2007, and the one on the right shows it seven years later.

We hired help to complete a large landscaping project in the front yard in February 2010.  The photos above show the project in process (left) and the new 'lawn river' (right) between the expanded flower beds.

I didn't have a good shot of this angle from 2014, so the 'after' photo from 2012 above doesn't show how large the cherry tree is now.  But you can see how the porch and surrounding flower beds were changed during the 2010 project.  Removing the railing, replacing it with a stone-based column, and adding wide steps across the front of the porch helped this side of the home to better balance the large garage.

The front yard used to feel very flat and open, but now maturing trees, shrubs and perennials add layers of height to create interest.  Houses in our neighborhood are built close together, and I think large trees help to make them feel more separate.

These photos aren't exactly the same angle, but on the left you can see how small the flower bed on the west (left) of the house used to be.  During the 2010 project, we took out all of the grass on this side of the house and created a flagstone path with planting areas on either side.  Now instead of walking past the garden on the way to the backyard, you walk through it.  Stone facing, shutters on the window and trellises also enhanced the area.

 

In April 2013 we completed a large landscaping project in our backyard.  I drew the plans, but we hired a landscaping company to carry them out.  The landscapers used large equipment to remove the lawn all around the edges of the backyard, install a barrier to hold back the neighbor's invasive aspen tree roots, and create a flagstone path that circled the yard with spurs running down the east and west sides of the home.  I hesitate to show "After" photos of the backyard because it doesn't feel mature yet, but I'll do it anyway and then update them in a few years.

 

Back in 2008 my husband (with 'help' from our son) cut out little circles of lawn to plant trees in the backyard.  Those trees, six lilac shrubs and the center of the lawn were the only plants left in place during the 2013 project.  By 2014, the trees had grown quite a bit and the southwest corner of the backyard (just inside the gate) included shrubs, perennials, flagstone path, and not a bit of lawn. 

 

The photo at left shows the west side of the backyard in late 2008, including the baby trees we planted earlier that year.  The photo at right is from a different angle but shows how the west of the backyard was full of large trees, shrubs and perennials by 2014.   The landscapers did the biggest projects in 2013, but after they finished my husband hauled 20 cubic yards of soil and 15 cubic yards of bark to the backyard.  Then he planted or transplanted over 100 shrubs for me, using a pick axe for most of the holes since our native soil is so rocky. 

 

The northwest corner of the backyard was empty of anything except lawn originally, but by early 2013 we ("we" as in I directed and my husband dug) had cut out a flower bed around the trees as you see above left.  During the 2013 project the flagstone path was installed in front of the old mound and we created a new mounded bed on the other side of the path.  This area has been the hardest one for me to design, and I'm still waiting to see if it comes together as it matures or if it needs more refining.

 

I didn't have a photo of the barren northeast corner of the backyard from right after we moved in, and by early 2013 we had created a veggie garden around the tree in the corner as you see above at left.  As part of the backyard makeover, we installed a higher quality swing set, which you can see at right. 

 

This last set of photos shows the changes to the southeast corner of the backyard, which was as empty as the rest of the backyard in 2007.  By 2010 my husband had planted trees along the fence and dug out flower beds around them, and I had planted many shrubs and perennials.  The 2013 project removed the rest of the lawn and replaced it with flagstones, and we have planted quite a few more plants since then. 

Even as I wish for the gardens to be more mature, these photos remind me that we have accomplished a lot in eight years . . . in addition to going from two kids to four and keeping up with the rest of life. Capturing photographs for this blog has helped me to see the beauty along the way, and being able to share that beauty with others has been a joy.  Thanks for visiting.

Bouquet of English Roses, Hydrangea, Snowberry and Honeysuckle

This vase from early September makes use of my two workhorse English roses, creamy 'Crocus Rose' and mauve 'Charles Rennie Mackintosh.'  Both of these roses last well when cut, and they're both planted in less prominent positions so I don't mind stripping them of their flowers for arrangements.

I put this bouquet together with one hand holding the arrangement and the other pressing more flowers into the mix, then slipped the whole thing into a carafe.

Inflorescences from 'Little Lime' hydrangea shrubs made great fillers around the roses.  Earlier in the season the hydrangeas were completely green, but by this point they had started turning rosy-pink around the edges.

Bouquets look best when I can find and include both fully and partially opened blooms, plus some tight buds. 

I love how the contrasting shapes of English roses work together. 

Frilly leaves from 'Flore Pleno' Filipendula hexapetala (a.k.a. dropwort, but I love saying Filipendula so I use that term) add deep notes of green.  Stems of snowberries (Symphoricarpos) add another touch of interest. 

Finally, curvy stems of 'Hall's Purple' honeysuckle soften the tight bouquet as they flow gracefully downward.

2014 Review of the Garden

 

A review of photos from last season shows that the garden made a lot of progress in 2014.  Above is a shot of the west garden from June 10, because I didn't want to start with a bleak winter photo!  The 'Teasing Georgia' climbing rose at top center was especially magnificent last year.

The season started with flooding when the air temperature shot up while the ground was still frozen.  This photo shows the southeast part of the backyard on March 5.

I didn't take many wide views of the garden in early spring, as the small early bulbs don't show up well unless you get close, and the evergreens were stilly spindly and small.  So here we skip to April 29, when the tulips were in full swing in the front yard.

Peony-flowering tulips bloomed sweetly in the southwest corner of the backyard on May 7.



Also on May 7, 'Axcent Blue' Aubrieta, basket of gold (Alyssum), tulips and 'Blue Spike' muscari made rhythmic pops of color in the west garden.

On May 9 in the northwest corner the pink crabapple trees ('Royal Raindrops') bloomed with 'Victoria' rhubarb and creeping phlox.  In fall we planted several hundred pink and purple tulips in this area, so next spring there will be more flowers to photograph.

The northeast corner was all shades of green on May 25.  The chartreuse 'Sutherland Gold' elderberry shrubs (Sambucus) on either side of the swing set doubled in size by the end of last season, so they'll make a bigger impact this coming spring.

Also on May 25, softly colored flowers brightened the garden on the east side of the house as lilac shrubs and dogwood trees bloomed above.

The west garden looked better by the end of the month (May 25) as green leaves filled in around the flowers.

 

After the burst of spring color, the crabapple trees quieted down to maroon leaves (still May 25).  I added quite a few more perennials to this area in 2014, so in 2015 there should be more flowers in the late spring view.

 

The angle of this May 28 view actually frames my neighbor's house, but you see how nicely the 'Walker's Low' catmint billows among all the greenery before the 'Coral Supreme' peonies and English roses burst into bloom.

On June 1, white bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba') made a nice backdrop for the backyard fountain.  Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) and white-flowering heuchera leaves covered the front of the pedestal.

When the 'Eglantyne' (above) and 'Abraham Darby' English roses were covered with blooms on June 10, passersby could smell the fragrance from the sidewalk.  'Eglantyne' has an old rose scent, while 'Abraham Darby' smells citrusy.

In this shot of the west garden from July 2, early yellow 'Stella d'Oro' daylilies were in the middle of their main flush, while many other daylilies around the garden were getting ready to open.  Rosy-orange Asiatic and Orienpet lilies reached above the lower perennials, and golden 'Early Sunrise' tickseed (Coreopsis) echoed the color of the daylilies.  Somehow I didn't get any good shots of other daylily areas this month, sorry.

On August 10, most of the flowers in the northeast corner of the backyard came from hydrangea shrubs and the long blooming 'Rozanne' hardy geraniums.

Also on August 10, the view facing northwest included a few little 'Thumbelina Leigh' lavender shrubs and some unruly 'Cranberry Double Click' cosmos off in the distance.

On August 10 the White Garden included blooms of 'Green Jewel' coneflower (Echinacea) and 'Green Mist' laceflower (Ammi visnaga).

 



Also on August 10, this view of the backyard included mostly shades of green, though butterfly bushes (Buddleia) bloomed just outside of the frame to the left.  It's just as well that there are fewer flowers in August, as I'm always tired of deadheading by that point in the year.

The southeast section of the backyard (still August 10) sported plumes from 'Autumn Bride' heuchera, a few late 'Sunday Gloves' daylily flowers, and a stalk of 'Casa Blanca' Oriental lilies in the back, just right of the bench.

Apparently I didn't take any wide view photos in September, as this next shot was from a wonderfully warm afternoon on October 7.  The golden 'Shademaster' honey locusts were about to drop their leaves, while the maroon crabapple trees were just starting to change color for fall.

 A final shot of the west garden, also from October 7, highlighted the yellowing foliage of the daylilies.  The catmint was still covered with lavender flowers and on warm afternoons, bumblebees and cabbage white butterflies. 
Unusually warm weather meant the roses kept blooming until Halloween, though a blast of Arctic air shut down everything in early November.  In thinking back over the year, I realize that I made quite a few changes and additions.  2015 will include some different vignettes.  Hopefully some areas of the backyard that haven't worked yet will come together in a pleasing way.  Now that the busy holidays are over, I'm ready to get out in the garden again, but I'll have to wait a couple more months to do so.