Love That Lime

A client who saw the Princeton Gold maples-all 14 of them-in my yard, decided he had to have them.  Bravo, I said.  Mind you, they are not a tree for the faint of heart.  Their lime green leaves are visible for blocks.  Love that lime, or grab your sunglasses and wince-these maples make a statement.  A big statement.  It is one thing to have some lime green coleus, or a few creeping jenny.  These maples say lime green on a big scale.     

OK, I went ahead and planted 12 Princeton Gold maples down his lot line.  Each tree had multiple trunks; each one is a gorgeous tree in its own right.  The trees got planted in an open curve.  My infatuation with lime green dates back to 1967.  My junior prom.  Against my Mom’s advice, I bought a lime green dress-I went so far as to wear it.  Against a sea of pale blue, peach, and pink prom dresses, I stood out.  Oh yes, lime green stands out.  I do not remember much about that night but my interest in lime green has persisted.         

The twelve maples in the ground needed some finishing.  66 flats of baltic ivy made these trees seem part of the existing landscape. Ancient spruce on the lot line had declined.  The tops were green; the bottoms-skeletal.  Some landscape renovations simply ask for a planting to face down an old and declining planting.  Maples do so well in shade; a climax forest in Michigan is beech and maple.  I have better luck establishing this tree when it has some protection from afternoon sun.  The heads of these maples add some green back to the landscape view at eye level.    

Princeton Gold maples stand out from the crowd of greens.  This brilliant spring color does fade some when summer arrives. In open areas the top leaves may scorch when the weather gets very hot.  They mature at a fairly small size-25-30 feet tall.  This makes them an ideal shade tree for a small property.  

Lime green in the landscape-I have a soft spot for this.  It is especially effective at brightening up shady places. It makes every other color look better and brighter.

The dracaena Janet Craig is all about that lime.  This Belgian oak box is stuffed full.  What makes this planting especially dramatic is the architecture.  The porch is very deep, and covered with a roof, but for a skylight right in front of the door. 

The light from this skylight really brings that lime to life.  This dracaena will do well in this very low light environment.  Like the maples, these leaves will scorch if exposed to too much sun.  These pots have a very fresh and contemporary look, courtesy of a little lime green.