Few groundcovers can equal the beauty and repeat flowering strength of this charming perennial Geranium! Well-branched and lush, it forms a nice cover 2 feet or more across, with showy green leaves and really eye-catching blooms of blue and purple.
Crystal Lake takes its name from the icy depths of these really unusual blooms. Measuring about 1½ inches across, they have a pale purple base with dark blue veining and a ring of small, dark blue spots around the eye! There's nothing else like it in the garden!
The blooms are banked by large, handsome leaves of mid-green, toothy and lobed like maples. The foliage is held in horizontal tiers, for a very showy look. Expect Crystal Lake to reach 15 to 20 inches high and 24 to 30 inches wide, meandering around neighboring plants in garden or container without competing for space or choking them out. It's the original "plays well with others" perennial!
Crystal Lake thrives in sun to part shade. If you live in a warmer climate, we strongly recommend treating this Geranium to some afternoon shade or steady dappled sunlight. It will flower best in these conditions. The blooms begin in midsummer and reappear in waves well into autumn.
And Crystal Lake is easy to grow in any well-drained, reasonably fertile soil. The foliage has a pleasant woodsy aroma, so deer tend to leave it alone, making it a good companion to roses, hostas, and other valuable plants that deer might otherwise want to nibble! Enjoy beautiful Crystal Lake for many seasons to come!
A Tradition of Distinction
Since its founding in 1920, Wayside Gardens has brought the rarest and highest-quality plants to the garden market. Wayside was founded in 1920 by two acclaimed growers who came together to pursue their shared vision of marketing all high-end plants for the serious garden enthusiast. Originally located in Mentor, Ohio, Wayside Gardens swiftly grew a reputation for the highest-quality plants and the most sophisticated clientele. In 1975, Wayside was purchased by the Park Seed Company, and moved to Hodges, SC. The company has flourished since then, growing to become an undisputed leader in rare and unique plant growing.
Unparalleled Selection
Wayside's horticulturists travel the world in search of new and unusual plant cultivars and proudly offer the garden industry’s most sophisticated selection of high quality and rare perennial plants, bulbs, trees, shrubs, roses, vines, and indoor plants. Beginning with ties to the Dutch family bulb business in Holland, our horticulturists have developed close relationships with perennial and bulb growers throughout the United States and Europe, providing access to many rare and unique garden treasures. Throughout our history we have had the pleasure of introducing numerous exotic foreign and domestic plant cultivars to the American garden market. The Wayside collection of new and exclusive plant products is so preeminent that the catalog has long been lauded in the industry and is even used as a reference work in horticultural schools.
Impeccable Quality and Value – We Guarantee It!
At Wayside Gardens, “pedigreed plants” and “root strength” have always been watchwords. The Wayside Gardens impeccable plant quality begins with selecting only the finest new product offerings with improved plant features and numerous advantages for our gardening customers. These improved plant selections are then grown to our exacting quality standards by garden industry professionals. This produces superior plants with well developed root systems and healthy, vigorous plant growth habits. That is why we proudly guarantee all Wayside Gardens' products to perform as advertised, being of superior quality, true to type, and shipped properly.
Larger Containers & Well Established Root Systems
We use larger containers and grow bigger plants than other nurseries, leading to greater root strength. Where appropriate, Wayside Gardens propagates our plants vegetatively rather than from seed, to ensure the plants possess the correct form and are true to variety, like a true double form, as opposed to the single or semi-double forms that may result from seed propagation. Because we employ only the finest and most technologically advanced plant growing methods, you can be confident in receiving healthy plants ready to burst forth in glorious growth in your garden.
Superlative Service
- Unique, well-established and vigorous growing plants offer greater value for your money than other nurseries.
- Dedicated to providing detailed plant care instruction and informative plant information to make your product selection and planting truly enjoyable.
- Trained horticulturists are on-call to offer you any help or advice you need on how to care for your plants.
- All Wayside plants are carefully packaged to ensure a safe arrival.
- Your plants will be shipped to you at the proper time for planting.
- Honored to be your first choice in horticulture.
- If your item has received our recommended care and still doesn't perform to your satisfaction, we will replace it free of charge or credit you the item’s cost.
- Wayside Gardens is committed to helping you make your gardening an exquisite experience.
As the deer population has boomed and
food has become scarcer, they have become more aggressive. In some areas deer will
strip your garden bare, leaving nothing green or flowery behind. While there is no such thing as a completely deer-proof garden, there
are some effective things you can do to protect your garden from these
hungry animals.
Use physical barriers
A High Fence
Deer can jump pretty high, but a fence higher than eight feet (higher on an up-slope) and
flush with the ground will keep any deer out.
Electric Fences
They are a much easier and less expensive solution. Deer generally
will not try to jump electric fences, but will rather try to climb
through the wires, receiving a deterring shock.
Bird-Netting
An even less extreme
physical option is to put bird netting over your larger and more
susceptible plants.
Herbs, some conifers, and many flowers
are some of the best
deer-resistant plants. More fragrant plants will often deter predation. Planting just a few
deer-resistant plants will limit grazing of your other plants. Remember, "
deer-resistant" does not mean deer-proof. A hungry animal will eat just about anything.
Having a dog In the Family
Owning a dog, especially a big dog will almost always keep deer from approaching your home. Just the scent of the dog will keep most deer away, and if your dog lives outside you will probably never see any deer.
For most gardeners, it is a combination of different solutions that works best. Every gardener has to find the solution that works best in their garden.
The dry, sparse appearance of bareroot perennials can be alarming to the novice gardener, but in reality ordering bare root is often the smarter choice. Foliage and blooms can be seductive, but the health and long-term potential of a plant truly lies in its roots. Bareroot plants have several advantages over plants in containers—bare roots are less likely to be harmed in the shipping process, their timing is easier to control, and they are field-grown for larger, healthier root systems. This why Wayside Gardens has had great success with bare root plants, and you can too!
It is safer to ship plants in bareroot form because there is no risk in harming new growth, and therefore the plant actually has a better chance of making it safely into the customer’s garden.
And thanks to refrigerated storage, the timing of bareroot perennials can be precisely controlled. "(Bareroot perennials) are dormant," explains JPPA Lead Horticulturist Benjamin Chester, "But as soon as they leave the refrigerated storage they'll begin breaking dormancy." And once the plant 'wakes up', it is ready to begin the growing season in earnest, which means it will quickly catch up to the level of container plants.
The most important benefit of bareroot perennials is that they can be field grown rather than confined to containers. The bareroot Cherry Cheesecake Hibiscus pictured hereperfectly illustrates the difference between a field-grown perennial and a containerized one. Wayside Gardens used to offer this variety in a quart container, like the Monarda next to it. But the Hibiscus was simply too cramped in that space, so Wayside switched to growing it in the earth and selling it bare root. The result is a thick, fibrous mass of roots that used to fill up several cubic feet of soil and which, even in its bare, pruned form would be too large to fit back into the 1 Quart container. What a difference a little space makes! While small and slow-growing cultivars can start well in containers, large and vigorous cultivars need more room to stretch out and develop a solid root system.
