Looking ahead to 2021 continues with our Landscape Shrub of the Year for 2021: Kodiak® Orange Diervilla. You may also know Diervilla as bush honeysuckle, but we prefer to call this series by its botanical name because, although it is related to honeysuckle, Diervilla flowers are not fragrant. But more importantly, Diervilla is NOT invasive, so it’s a safe choice for planting anywhere.
Kodiak® Orange Diervilla is a very worthy Landscape Plant of the Year: it’s adaptable, it’s durable, and it’s nice looking. All the things that not only make it great for landscapes but perfect for home gardens, too.
Any of the three colors in the Kodiak® Diervilla series will check off the needs in your garden list: A native species? You got it. Helps our pollinators? That, too. Deer resistant? Yep. Fills in awkward spaces like the dry, forgotten corners of your property? Check! All that, plus it makes great foliage cuts for vases.
Like I just mentioned, Kodiak® Orange is one of three Diervilla varieties, all of which are colorful versions of a reliable, if sometimes overlooked genus. Diervilla is one of a few plants that will do well in dry shade.
It grows in USDA 4-7 and will get 3-4′ tall and wide. It does well in sun or shade. That brilliant fall color you see above comes from full sun; it will be more subdued in shade.
Finally, check out this great video for the plant, and share it with your fellow plant lovers!
One week until Christmas
If your house is anything like mine, the holidays will look a little different this year. Yes, the tree is still trimmed, and special menus are planned – but family gatherings will be smaller. Zoom will once again be a hot commodity on Christmas day. But for us all, the reason behind the holiday remains the same. Family, friends, and the blessings they bring are still present, even if we can’t physically be together. I hope that over the holidays, you will be able to take time to relax and reflect on the good things the last year has brought and be thankful for the lessons learned from the challenges. That’s my plan. Until then, I leave you with these wise words, no matter your inclination:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
“To everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
For this season and beyond, I wish you peace. – Natalie