A trio of plants make their home under the plum tree - the nandina, the tall dark -purple iris, and a lovely little azalea.. In the early spring they are joined by a crew of crocuses but that's over for this year.
The original azaleas (Robin Hill Nancy) and the nandina (Moon Bay) come from Behnke's Nursery in Beltsville Maryland. It was a wonderful nursery that I visited regularly with my MD friend Diane. Unfortunately, they have gone out of business. I have to love a place where, when I tell the sales person "I'm looking for a small azalea, compact habit, pink flowers, preferably double" is able to walk me to the exact plant I wanted.
Our soil is a little too alkaline for the azaleas but I've been checking pH levels and adding supplements so things are going better. I lost a couple of the azaleas but found some matching replacements from a nursery in Oregon.
The iris (Blackalicious) are tall (about 3 feet) and very very dark purple. They come from Reiff's Nursery & Greenhouse in Mifflinburg PA. My friend Ellen and I had to sort through a lot of iris to find enough of this variety.
I love the iris! I still get emails from Behnke btw with handy gardening tips.