Plant of the Week: Spiraea x vanhouttei 'Pink Ice'

Hi Plant Peeps. What to choose, what to choose for the plant of the week? So many plants are worthy of a post, as you fellow plant lovers know. 

After much contemplation, I decided to go with this lovely variegated Spiraea. Spiraea x vanhouttei 'Pink Ice.'

This plant is one of the legacies of the now-defunct Fry Road Nursery. It came as a spunky little thing, in a four inch pot or it could have been a plug since I bought a lot of my plants that way back in the day. This one specifically in the year 2009. 

Any plant with "pink" in its name will pique my interest and I swoon over variegated foliage too. I was defenseless against this beauty. 

This is how it looked a few weeks ago as the flower buds were forming. 
 

The little sputnik flower buds, protruding from their bright pink petioles are utterly charming.

Eventually, the pink fades to white, and the little buds open to flossy flowers, attractive to bees.

 And then after a week or so, the petals fade and fall off. 

This picture was taken in 2018

One other nice thing about this plant is that there is lots of new growth at the base. This means that rather than having to deadhead to keep it looking tidy all season, a gardener can cut back the woody stems to the ground. This opens up the plant so the new growth can stretch and grow.

Then, until fall, we are bedazzled with green and cream--with a touch of pink--variegated leaves. Like most, if not all in the genus Spiraea, this one is deciduous so it appears as nothing but sticks in winter. Unlike most Spiraea, however, this one doesn't get that disappointing foliar mildew. (Maybe I'm the only one with this troubling annoyance?)

I've found 'Pink Ice' super easy to grow.  Mine is in dappled shade in the morning and a few hours of sun in the afternoon.

It is about 2 feet and 3 feet tall and wide right now.

Pink Ice Spiraea is winter-hardy in Zones 3-9. See more photos and prose here: Plant Lust

Below is a really crappy photo of 'Pink Ice' in August. 

(PS. I'm not receiving any compensation for these Plant of the Week posts, [unless you want to pay me]. Just having fun, sharing what I love.) 

Thank you for visiting. Go ahead and tell me what you think.

A Bunch of Random Photos

We had a stretch of nice weather--two or three days I think--and now we're back to rain. The sunshine and warmth were as good for the garden as they were for the gardener. Plants everywhere are saying, "Hello, world!"

Here is a random sampling.

I bought this native Penstemon at a Master Gardener sale last year. This is the first time it's flowered and I am so impressed. I expected this plant to be persnickety but it settled right in. 

Penstemon rupicola

Penstemon rupicola

Penstemon rupicola

The pathway

I've got to get rid of those silly concrete blocks and plant something beefy and leafy here. Any suggestions?

I was worried about my Rodgersias not coming back but that was just me worrying. Now it's the Cannas. And the Dahlias...

Rodgersia sp.

The Saxifragas are abloom and looking all frothy and romantic.

Saxifraga x geum 'Dentata'

More random rock garden plants. The little Iris-looking leaves are Candy Lilies (x Pardananda 'Sangria'). I allowed the mother plant to go to seed and now I've got lots of them! 

Armeria maritima rubifolia is just starting to bloom.

Lychnis viscaria is a reliable, no fuss, evergreen, spring-bloomer. 

Lychnis viscaria

Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow'

Euphorbia 'Fireglow' and Geum 'Flames of Passion'

My first rose:

Rosa mutabilis

My first large-flowered Clematis:

Clematis 'Asao'

My first Fuchsia. This variety (I can't remember the name) has really tiny flowers. Not as tiny as F. 'Isis' but close. If you compare the blossom with the leaves, it will give you an idea of how small and cute it is.

Fuchsia sp.

Fuchsia sp.

My Lewisia decided to bloom this year.

Lewisia cotyledon

And my variegated honeysuckle is abloom.

Variegated Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum 'Harlequin')

This is a newbie this year. It's called a hardy Dwarf Snapdragon, (Chaenorrhinum origanifolium 'Summer Skies'). I am hoping they're right about the (winter) hardy part.  

Chaenorrhinum origanifolium 'Summer Skies'

I planted it in this metal box, for now.

In one of my woodland borders, the Primula sieboldii 'Late Snow' is starting to get elbowed by its neighbors.

Primula sieboldii 'Late Snow'

Spiraea x vanhouttei 'Pink Ice'

I always think of my gardening friend Nancy when the Montia are blooming. Don't you love pass-along plants?

Montia parvifloria var. flagellaris

Montia parvifloria var. flagellaris

Persicaria 'Purple Majesty' is looking very majestic this year.

Weigela florida 'Variegata'

This Cuphea jumped into my cart the other day. I love the blossom colors.

Cuphea Vienco 'Red Purple'

Cuphea Vienco 'Red Purple'

The tag says it's  Zone 8 so I'm going to try and winter it over in my newly constructed heated plant  winter-over area. 

Geranium 'Orion' is about to bloom.

 After three years and several moves, I finally found the right place for my ornamental rhubarb. Don't you just love the burgundy undersides of these leaves?

Ornamental Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum var. tanguiticum)

 The rain has been good for this Impatiens.

Impatiens omeiana 'Silver Pink'

Also the Podophyllum...

Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty'

The new leaves on this maple are fabulous.

Acer pseudoplatanus 'Esk Sunset'

And these new leaves aren't too shabby either.

Hart's Tongue Fern or Asplenium scolopendrium 

Thanks to extremely good drainage, my pink-flowering California Fuchsia survived the winter! It's not huge, but it's alive!

Zauschneria or Epilobium canum 

Finally, this little guy must have slept through the lesson on camouflage. He's so adorable, all tucked in to Britt-Marie Crawford's burgundy leaves. 

Thanks for visiting my little world.