Chester Townscape 2019 Tree and Shrub Sale

Don't let the realities of snow and ice prevent planning for the upcoming gardening months. Consider adding an excellent, hardy tree or shrub that must be ordered by April 1 through Chester Townscape.

Chester Townscape is well known for its beautification efforts in the Town of Chester, VT, that started several years ago with the installation of flower planters in strategic public places to increase community appeal for visitors, residents, and businesses. Now the gardeners at Chester Townscape are encouraging people to buy and plant especially chosen trees and shrubs that will provide multi-seasonal interest via reliable, hardy specimens. Proceeds from the sale will support Townscape's public landscaping projects while providing landowners with the opportunity to beautify their own properties with good-size, proven specimens at below regular retail prices. The two specimens offered this year are Amelancier Canadensis 'Autumn Brilliance' and Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight.' To take advantage of the sale, orders must be placed and paid for by April 1. Buyers will be notified of the exact date to pick up the plants at Sunshine Acres Nursery at 1824 VT Route 11E in Chester, VT, but the expected time for pick-up is the first week in May.

Either one of these plants would make a wonderful present for Mother's or Father's Day, birthdays, anniversaries, housewarming celebrations, and so on. If a plant is to be given as a gift, Chester Townscape will send a card describing the tree or shrub that the giver can send to the lucky recipient.

Amelancier canadensis 'Autumn Brilliance' (a small shrublike tree known as Shadbush, Apple Serviceberry, or Juneberry). This small, hardy, multi-trunked, deciduous tree offers year-long interest. Distinctive pale lines on the silver-gray bark are said to resemble shad. Profuse apple-like white blossoms in elongated clusters appear before the leaves in early spring when the shad swim upstream to spawn. The edible fruit - a favorite of birds and mammals - turns red and ripens to black. Fall leaf color is yellow-orange to red. The tree does well in wet or ordinary garden soils and in full sun or light shade. A true low-maintenance plant, it requires little pruning or fertilizing. Zone 4. Grows 15'-20' tall, but can be pruned to 10'-15'. Size offered at $100 per tree is 4'-5' tall.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight.' One of the most hardy hydrangeas, this vigorous, low-maintenance shrub features showy blossoms held upright on sturdy stems for great cut or dried flowers. Blossoms start creamy white with chartreuse-lime highlights that age to rose before fading to beige. Flowers bloom July-September, persist well into the fall, and attract butterflies. Dark green leaves turn red in the fall. Tolerant of hard pruning and soil PH. Grows best in organically rich, well-drained soil in full sun or light shade. Perfect as a specimen shrub, in mass plantings, or in a shrub border. Zone 3. Grows 6'-8' tall and wide, but is best pruned to 5'-6' tall and wide. Size offered at $70 per shrub is 24"-30" tall.

For a detailed order form or more information, contact Lillian Willis at 802-875-1340 or [email protected] or log onto www.chestervt.gov/chester-townscape.html and look for the link to the form. Black-and-white forms are also available at Erskine's Feed & Grain and the Whiting Library in Chester. A check should be made out to tax-exempt Chester Community Alliance, marked CT Tree Sale in the memo line, and mailed to PO Box 318, Chester, VT 05143 before April 1, 2019.