Beautiful landscapes start with outstanding plants.
These award-winners are perfectly suited to show off their charms in Kentucky gardens.
Superior woody and herbaceous plants for Kentucky landscapes are the focus of the Theodore Klein Plant Awards.
Started in 1995, the program is named for superb plantsman Theodore Klein.
It later became Yew Dell Botanical Gardens.
The purpose is to promote enthusiasm and interest among Kentucky gardeners.
The blossoms look all the more beautiful thanks to a backdrop of glossy, deep green foliage.
It is small enough for foundation plantings and looks terrific in groups.
It’s unique in that it will still bloom in fairly deep shade.
‘Hummingbird’ summersweet has good yellow fall color and a tidy appearance all year long.
The plant prefers part shade and consistentlymoist to wet acidic soils.
It prefers full sun to part shade in moist, acidic soils with good drainage.
In spring, the dark green leaves appear on this compact shrub that grows 3-4 feet tall.
In early summer, the fragrant, creamy white flowers bloom on 3- to 6-inch spires.
As fall draws near, the leaves turn garnet red and persist well after the first frost.
Sweetspire is also valued for its flexibilityit will grow in sun or shade and in moist to average soil.
The flowers and fall color are extremely effective planted in groups or as a hedge.
It will also naturalize and spread in a woodland garden.
Zones 5-9 See sweetspire.
‘Ivory Silk’ Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata’Ivory Silk')Imagine a lilac with 12-inch-long flowers.
The ‘Ivory Silk’ tree lilac grows 20-25 feet tall.
It flowers in May or June, a little later than other lilacs.
The flowers are creamy white, fragrant, and really can grow up to a foot long.
The luscious blooms will attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
This small, easy-to-grow tree is resistant to powdery mildew and other common lilac diseases.
It’s best grown in average, well-drained soil in full sun.
Zones 3-7 See more about ‘Ivory Silk’Japanese tree lilac.
Solomon’s seal has lovely arching branches with creamy white and green variegated foliage.
In spring, the fragrant, little bell-shape flowers hang down in perfect pairs.
The stems look wonderful inflower arrangementseven when they’re not in bloom.
The white variegation brings light to shady borders and woodland gardens.
Solomon’s seal combines beautifully with astilbes and ferns.
Zones 3-8See more about Solomon’s seal.
Its beauty will stop you in your tracks.
This is a heavy nectar producer, important for the production of tupelo honey.
Sour, dark blue fruits ripen in late summer, providing food for a number of bird species.
The tree prefers moist, well-drained, acidic soil in full sun.
The mounds of gray-green foliage look great all season but really set off the flower color in fall.
Like most asters, it makes a wonderful cut flower and attracts butterflies.
Maybe best of all, deer don’t seem to bother it.
Note: This plant is also known asSymphyotrichum oblongifolium’Raydon’s Favorite’.
Zones 3-8
Dixie wood fern (Dryopterisxaustralis)Dixie wood fern is an impressive natural hybrid.
It’s deciduous in northern Zones, but will remain evergreen in warmer regions.
The plant will attract attention as a vertical accent and it makes a lovely backdrop for other shade-loving perennials.
The buds open to reveal fragrant, star-shaped white blossoms with 12 narrow petals.
Magnolias have a shallow root system and will appreciate alayer of mulchto help keep the soil cool and moist.
Long, arching branches can grow 4-5 feet tall and up to 10 feet wide.
The show starts in August or September, when bunches of purplish-pink flowers blossom on 2-foot-long stems.
‘Gibraltar’ bush clover would be lovely planted in a perennial border where it has room to ramble.
It is perhaps even more spectacular when allowed to cascade over a wall or down a hill.
Prune the stems back in late winter to encourage new growth and more blossoms.
All you have to remember is that the flowers are drop-dead gorgeous.
It looks like native Carolina allspice on steroids.
The spring flowers are a deep burgundy-red, and they have a pleasant fragrance.
Partial shade is best.
Flowers sit on the tops of the stems like little stars.
Even when the plant isn’t in bloom, it has a neat, upright, compact habit.
The narrow, willowlike foliage gives this bluestar a terrific texture.
It’s perfect in borders, rock gardens, and cottage gardens.
Growing to just a foot or so, this plant is also perfect for edging.
It even has a clear yellow fall color.
It’s best in sun or light shade.
It often has multiple stems, but is easily trained to have a single one.
The needles are long, lustrous, and bright green.
The bark is highly unusual, especially as the tree matures.
It begins exfoliating, showing irregular patterns of tan and cream and is very showy.
Lacebark pines are slow-growing, and they prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
‘Cloud Nine’ is an especially good-looking switchgrass that grows 6 feet tall.
This switchgrass is made of tough stuff.
It’s heat and drought tolerant, and can withstand frigid temperatures.
Deer do not seem to favor this tasty dish.
Zones 5-9 See more about’Cloud Nine' switchgrass.
