The branches of Tina dwarf crabapple veer haphazardly, creating a wild and crazy look.
Have you ever wanted to throw a little wild and crazy into your garden to complement all your tidy, symmetrical blooms? Just to cut loose a little?
If so, there are a number of whimsical choices. Consider Lydian dwarf broom, tumbleweed onion, Tina dwarf crabapple, or Harry Lauder’s walking stick. And if you want to venture into downright weird territory, you can always add a few succulents or even create an entire succulent garden.
Here are a few of my favorite wild and crazies:
The mop-like growth habit of Genista lydia ‘Bangle’ resembles that of the popular fiber optic grass. But unlike fiber optic grass, Bangle is cold-hardy.
Lydian dwarf broom. Genista lydia ‘Bangle’, a relatively new introduction, is a shorter, more compact version of the conventional Genista lydia. However, both are dwarf brooms.
Bangle grows about 1 to 2 feet high and wide, and produces a brilliant display of golden yellow blooms each spring. Personally, I like her even better when she’s out of bloom because I enjoy the scruffy look of her foliage.
Whether you plant conventional Genista lydia or bangle, plant it in full sun and watch it closely during to first season to determine how much water it needs. Once established, Genistas are remarkably drought-tolerant.
Note that Genistas are notoriously difficult to transplant, but if you’re careful, you can pull it off. I’ve successfully transplanted six and lost only one (which I was transplanting a second time). I plant them in a mix of soil, compost and sand.
Tumbleweed onion (Allium schubertii) looks like something from Star Wars. This funky plant sends out shoots from the center with tiny rose-purple blooms scattered here and there. It screams, “Wake up and take a look at me!” I’ve ordered some for planting this fall.
Tumbleweed onion grows 1-2 feet tall and about 1.5 feet wide with heads 9 to 12 inches in diameter.
Tina dwarf crabapple (Malus sargentii ‘Tina’) is an ideal tree for small yards. Tina grows about 6 to 8 feet high and wide, is drought-tolerant, and looks like a wedding bouquet when she blooms In the spring. The bright red buds contrast beautifully against the white blooms. Then tiny crabapples come along in the summer and hang on during the winter.
Tina’s branches go every which way, giving the tree an appealing, offbeat look. Although Tina’s head is grafted onto a standard, the grafting isn’t noticeable once Tina’s branches start spreading because they dip below the grafted area.
Harry Lauder’s walking stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) is a contorted, deciduous woody shrub that offers architectural interest in the garden. Harry will grow 8 to 10 feet high and wide.
I don’t see one often, which leads me to believe that either Harry is difficult to grow or that gardeners find him so ugly that they don’t want to plant him. He’s reportedly a very slow grower. All the same, Harry is useful if you want to add uniqueness to your garden.
An amazing Harry Lauder specimen used to grow at the entrance of Alameda Wholesale Nursery, but it’s not there anymore. So if you want to meet Harry in person, you’ll likely need to visit a botanic garden.
Succulents, which include cacti, are the very definition of other-worldliness, and many are beautiful. If you plant them outside along Colorado’s Front Range, make sure they’re hardy to USDA Zone 5.
Zone 5 cold-hardy succulents include red false yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora), Angelina sedum, blue spruce sedum, autumn joy sedum, ice plants (Delosperma), and white sands giant claret cup cactus (Echinocereus).
Be sure to avoid myrtle spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) because it’s classified as a noxious weed in Colorado.
Blossoms & Blueprints 