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Our Specialties include:

• Clematis- Tagawa carries the best selection of Sweet Autumn, Will Goodwin, Ernest Markham and Miss Bateman
• Daylilies
• Peonies
• Lilies-Asiatic & Oriental
• Hostas
• Rock gardens and succulents
• Ornamental grasses
• Grey Kitty® Pawfurred Perrenials- plants purr-fect for walkways and flagstone patios (Wooly Thyme, Elfin Thyme, Pink Chintz Thyme, Magic Carpet Thyme and Thyme Minus)

 

Educational assistance and great links to helpful information:

Tagawa Gardens loves to educate and assist our customers with our helpful staff, perennial library links and the latest perennial selections and winners featured by the Perennial Plant Association, Plant Select™, Bluebird Nursery, Inc., and Grey Kitty® Pawfurred.

You can learn more information linking to the following websites:

Click here for a Perennial Library, with photos and descriptions of over 1000 perennial plants!

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Plant Select™ are perennials approved by the Colorado State University, the Denver Botanic Gardens and the Green Industries of Colorado for their hardiness in our region. Each year, new varieties are introduced so that more are available for the consumer.

 

Images courtesy of Plant Select™

Mongolian Bells™ (Clematis integrifolia 'Mongolian Bells' ('psharlan')	Plant Select® 2008 Introduced from Mongolia by Harlan Hamernik of Bluebird Nursery, this is a very compact form of the common herbaceous species. Available in a spectrum of colors (including pink, white, lavender and blue), it make the perfect edging or mounding clump in a vorder or xeriscape™ . The attractive seed heads in late summer and fall. This very compact bush clematis hails from inner Mongolia. Blossom color is wide-ranging from white, pink, and lavender through blue with a May through September bloom season. Best uses are as a mounding clump in a xeriscape or border or as an edging in those settings. Fluffy seed heads add interest in late summer and fall. Size: 10-14” Tall by 12-15” Wide.
Little Trudy Catmint (Nepeta x Little Trudy)	Plant Select® 2008 This selection was made from one of our growers for its low spreading and long blooming habit. Well branched stems of rippled, soft gray foliage hug the ground for an 18” to 24” wide mound when this plant matures. Profuse lavender flower stalks 8” to 12” tall cover the plant from early to late summer. Deer resistant.
Seven-Son Flower Heptacodium miconioides	Plant Select® 2008 Lush-looking large shrub or small tree that produces masses of fragrant white flowers in late summer and equally attractive persistent cherry-red sepals in fall. Fast growing with attractive, peeling bark. Collected at Hangzhou Botanical Garden during the 1980 Sino-American Expedition, this unusual Chinese member of the honeysuckle family is very adaptable in a wide range of climates. Large shrub or small tree.
Red Birds in a Tree Scrophularia macrantha	Plant Select® 2008 Introduced in 1996 by High Country Gardens, this rare penstemon cousin has showy crimson tubular flowers which are produced in generous sprays above rich green serrated foliage. This southwestern uplands wildflower has shown great adaptability in gardens.
St. Theresa Seedless Grape Vitis x ‘St. Theresa Seedless’	Plant Select® 2008 This hardy, mostly seedless, purple slip-skin grape with excellent flavor is an early season table grape variety from Elmer Swenson’s breeding program in Wisconsin. Wonderful for arbors. Tolerates alkaline soils. Woody vine.

 

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We are pleased to carry many unusual and hard to find varieties from Blue Bird Nursery. Visit here to view many of the varieties.

 

You can also learn more information at the Perennial Plant Association web site. View previous years' winners and the winner for 2007: Nepeta "Walkers Low".

 

 

Other helpful links are: www.gardenweb.com and Denver-Plant-Exchange@yahoo groups.com

Click here to learn about X-rated, Xeriscape for our semi-arid climate!

 

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Top Ten Questions Perennials

1. When can I plant the perennial plants I've bought?
If you bought them locally and they were sold from outside conditions, they can be planted after mid- April.

2. Should I cut my Clematis vine?
It's important to know what variety you have as some plant flower on this season's growth and some bloom on previous year's growth. If you do know what variety, pruning instructions are available in most books on vines. Call Tagawas we have that information, and an extensive selection of clematis in 2.5", #1 and #2 size containers.

3. I love purple and yellow; does this Coreopsis go with this Monkshood ?
The colors combine well however it is best to choose plants that require similar growing conditions such as Coreopsis and Salvia May Night. Monkshood, (Aconite), is grown in a moister shadier location here in Colorado.

4. How many perennials will I need for my area?
This depends a lot on what varieties you choose .The most interesting designs have more than one perennial plant variety, several colors, and an interesting blend of shapes. Formal areas have one variety of plants, which are repeated often-large areas of evergreen groundcovers such as Vinca Minor.

5. How often do I water my perennials?
Irrigation is always in a dance with the individual needs of the plants. By planting plants with similar water needs next to one another, you can take a lot of guesswork out of this question. Touch the soil and look at the plant to evaluate its needs and educate your guess.

6. I live in a townhouse with limited space for a garden, what can I grow?
Containers are for you. Try the grass Calamagrostis 'Overdam' in a tall narrow pot for some drama or an alpine sink stuffed with Thymus Highland's Cream, Armeria 'Nifty Thrifty' ,Sempervivum and Ruschia. Too cute!

7. My husband just made me a new patio room with beautiful flagstone; do you have any suggestions of plants to use between the larger stones?
Do I ever! Too many choices let me list some of my favorites: Veronica liwanensis, Thymus Elfin, Thymus Minus, Wooly Thyme, Veronica Allionii, Veronica oltensis, Thymus coccinius, Thymus Pink Chintz, Thymus Bressingham Delight and Highlands Cream Veronia New Century and Sedum Tricolor . Oh yes, Erigeron compositus too.

8. I see such full and lush, mature gardens in the magazines. They're just beautiful! Help me with mine can you?

I know how you feel. JEALOUS! Gardens take a lot of work and effort and unfortunately don't happen overnight or even in a season. And, alas there is no teacher like experience. We will have a new garden room in the perennial department called "Gardens to Go". There you will find, larger more mature specimens of plants that we have found to be exceptional performers. Drawing a blank? Run out of ideas? Please ask us.

9. Can you help me with the weeds in my garden?
Maybe. Here are some tips that may help: Plant close enough that you garden self- mulches. Use a small pieced mulch such as Soil-Pep for those other areas. Try a product called "Over -the -Top " for those big problem areas (read the label several times before starting) Try a pre-emergent this spring as you add new plants and of course, spray.

10. How tall or wide will this get?
When will this bloom? For how long? Is this a better plant than that one? Which plant should I get? 12", July9th - yes the blue one.