Favorite Plants - Kat Aul Cervoni

Asking Landscape Designers for their Faves

I asked professional landscape designer, Katherine ("Kat") Aul Cervoni, to share her favorite tree, shrub and groundcover with us. See her impressive background and websites at the end of this post. Here are Kat’s faves:

Favorite tree - River Birch (Betula nigra)

Kat recommends river birch. Here is the variety, ‘Heritage’, known for its extraordinary bark. Photo - Jan Johnsen

I’ve been painting and drawing trees since I was a kid, and now I enjoy incorporating them into my landscape designs. The tree I turn to most often is River Birch (Betula nigra) which checks off so many boxes for me. Its small leaves flutter beautifully in the wind and provide dappled shade from mid-spring through fall. Even though it’s deciduous, it has a unique speckled bark that peels and mottles for a bit of interest through the winter. Since most of my design work is in NYC, I find its upright habit and medium size is ideal for smaller urban spaces and even rooftop/container gardens. As long as river birch has plenty of sun and consistent watering early on, this native tree is an easy-keeper and a great addition to almost any garden. “Heritage” and “Dura-Heat” are both excellent and widely-available cultivars. 

Favorite Shrub - Panicle Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) 

‘Limelight’ hydrangea is Kat’s fave shrub. Deer resistant and beautiful! Photo - Jan Johnsen

Hydrangea paniculata is the MVP in my garden design plant palette. An exceptionally long bloom time means these extra-big panicles of blossoms bring a flowery “wow factor” from mid-summer well through the fall (with dynamic color changes to boot). I’m a sucker for the white and green-white flowers of the varieties ‘Phantom’ and ‘Lime Light’ that move into dusty pink come autumn. I also love this shrub’s disease and pest resistance and, like many hydrangeas, their blooms dry well so they give a garden some oomph throughout winter too. What I appreciate most about this shrub is its incredible resilience and adaptability. This is true for a part shade garden in Atlanta to a sunny, exposed rooftop in NYC! I have Hydrangea paniculata thriving in a myriad of landscapes. Its responsiveness to pruning also gives you the freedom to keep its size in check - you can let it become a big, border heavy-weight or train it into a standard form- its your choice. 

Favorite Groundcover - Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)

Foamflower is a native that looks great in large groups. Its flowers in spring are memorable! Photo - Jan Johnsen

Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) is my go-to ground cover. It’s perfect as a matrix plant to knit together a shady woodland garden or as a stand-alone mass planting for big, gorgeous swathes of frothy white flowers each spring. The aptly-named “Running Tapestry” is my most-used cultivar as it spreads quickly without being overly aggressive like some other popular groundcovers. I like how it gives a naturalistic look to a garden and can help it feel more mature and settled even after just a year or two. I'm also a big fan of the beautiful reddish veins of color in its foliage which, to my delight, is evergreen. I find it makes a great companion to spring flowering bulbs to brighten up the garden before many of the other perennials hit their strides. Bonus points for being a native plant!

Kat is a professional landscape designer and founder of Staghorn NYC (www.staghornliving.com), a design firm that creates outdoor spaces that stand the test of time. Kat has a masters degree in landscape design from Columbia University. She also has a website called ‘The Cultivation by Kat’ (www.thecultivationbykat.com) devoted to all-things gardening and outdoor living. You can connect with her on Instagram: @thecultivationbykat.