I have to turn the dreaded word verification back on, much as I hate to do it. Someone is determined to advertise in my comment space and we can't have that kind of thing. Nobody at this site is interested in his hobby! I hope it won't be for long and ask that you put up with the inconvenience for a brief time.
This season I added a few plants I've never grown before. It's always fun to try something new and hope they do well in my garden.
Since I have a spot of very heavy clay in one small area, I decided to move the Morning Light miscanthus which was struggling and replace it with two eupatoriums, Phantom and Chocolate. Neither of these is drought tolerant which goes against the prime directive, but they may do well enough in this moisture retaining clay. Phantom has grown very well and is beginning to bloom. Chocolate has nice dark foliage that will make a good contrast even when not blooming.
Stokesia, Peachie's Pick, was an impulse purchase. My garden needed more late blooming perennials and this one is drought tolerant. Pretty colored blooms and a very neat habit. It's a big advantage when I can buy a plant already in bloom. No discovering later it was mislabeled or just not the color I had hoped for.
My daylilies from Gilbert Wild arrived right on schedule. Nice large roots. They always include a free one too. Thought I'd have to wait until next summer to see the first blooms but one promptly sent up a bloom scape the minute it was in the ground so I may get a preview. I considered cutting back the scape to conserve the plant's energy but decided it wouldn't matter much in the long run so I'm going to let it bloom. These are the only plants in this group that are not loved by butterflies and bees.
Boltonia Jim Crockett is a pretty, pale blue shade and not nearly as large as the common boltonia. Another plant to give me some late season color. The two I purchased are blooming now a little ahead of schedule. The flowers are bluer than they appear in this full sun photo.
I love goldenrods but the beautiful plants growing wild in the fields and roadsides are a little too rambunctious for the perennial border. I bought Firecracker at a plant sale this spring. It is the tallest and will bloom later in August and September. Found a second smaller cultivar, Golden Fleece, in early summer and yet another, Baby Gold on sale just a week ago. The photo is of Baby Gold. I like it so well, if I had room I'd add a couple more.
Here's an example of buying a plant not in bloom and then wondering what it is. This achellia was labeled Terra Cotta but I don't think so, too pink. What ever it is, I like it. The blooms fade as they age and make an interesting variety of color. Next year maybe I'll stumble across Terra Cotta and try again.
27 comments:
Hi Marnie,
What an annoying guy, I hate spammers.
I hope he gets the message.
These new plants are going to flourish in your garden under your green thumb!
Rosey
I remember ordering from Gilbert Wild when I first started gardening - their plants were always big and healthy. I believe I ordered iris first and then ventured into daylilies. They had great peonies too - do they still sell those?
The first flower, miscanthus, looks just like spotted joe-pyeweed, a wildflower in the Black Hills. And the last one looks like a pink version of pearly everlasting. :o) Very nice flowers.
Bummer on the spammer. It is not a problem doing word verification at all and totally understandable. It should go away in a few days. I've had to do the same.
Sounds like you planted your eupatorium in the right spot. They like moisture. I grow 'Chocolate' and have posted on it several times. It is a unique plant and I like it but I warn you, it will self seed rather heavily. It's fairly easy to pull it up. It is so awesome in bloom with those white flowers. I think you are right on cutting off the scape. It won't matter and who can wait to see a new daylily?? It will be fun. I think plants are so happy to be planted. Speaking of which, I have tons to plant today. Better get on it.
Hi Rosey, spammers are annoying. I hope you're right and the plants do well. A little more shade in this new bed than I would like.
Hi Phillip, yes Gilbert Wild still has daylilies, peonies, iris and now ornamental grasses. I have always been happy with the plants they send me.
Jann, the first flower is Joe Pye Weed, a dwarf cultivar named Phantom, not as tall as the wild plants. I wish we had pearly everlasting here. It's a host plant for Painted Lady butterflies which I almost never see.
Hi Tina, thanks for the tips on Chocolate. I'm looking forward to the blooms. Whatever self seeds thru the leaf mulch can be moved, shared or hoed up.
Marnie
Sorry about the spammer! How annoying! I love all your new plants! Glad they seem to be thriving rather nicely!
Spammers have too much time on their hands. Your new plants are so pretty! I especially like the Stokesia - such a soft pretty color! I just can't imagine how all your gorgeous flowers fit together. Can you show a view of your entire yard sometime? I'd love to see how it's all arranged so maybe I could figure out something to do with my yard!
Sorry to hear you are getting spammed. Wordpress catches these annoyances for me which is nice. I get one or two daily. :( Nice new additions you picked out Marnie. I agree it's better if the plant is blooming when you get it, but sometimes we take a risk and works out anyhow. Your mislabeled Achillea is a great example of that. :)
Yay, new daylilies! That's always a good thing. :)
I have never had luck growing Boltonia, although I think it's lovely. So I just have to enjoy the wild Boltonia that grows here, although it's not as full or showy as what's offered commercially.
It's fun to try out new plants.
Hi Marnie....We have such similar taste in plants.....I have many that you have posted.
The only one I cannot keep is golden rod......it just does not like my soil. I love the plant and I must say normally I do not go for yellows....but I would have that for sure......
Hello Marnie. What a lovely post! I was thinking yesterday that I don't have much in my new little bed for late summer. I'm glad you talked about goldenrod. It is so beautiful.
I have been to Gilber Wild and Sons farm in Missouri. Son Jim, used to raise appaloosa horses and my ex-sister-outlaw (figure that one out) used to live nearby and also had appys. So we went over to the farm to see the horses and the fields of flowers. I had forgotten about the daylilies. I'm going to look for a website so I can order a catalog. Thanks!
Hi Marnie,
I love your new posies.I'll have to check out Gilbert Wild. Your mention of Botanical Interests helped me find the seeds that I wanted.. Thanks
Your flowers all look so nice. Mine are just about shot as far as blooming goes. There are some things still going -- cleome for instance. Saw a hummingbird moth on it today.
Thanks for visiting my birds blog.
I like growing new things, too. I have the chocolate Joe Pye Weed, and it wilts in the heat, but comes out of it. It blooms later than my plain one. I haven't heard of Morning Light. I fell in love with Stoke's Asters a number of years ago, and can't remember which kinds I have. I wish their bloom season was longer, though.
I ordered some daylilies from Daylilies by the Pond last year. That was the first time I'd ordered them online. When I first started gardening, I got some herbs from a catalog, but have just gotten what was available locally until last year. I'm thinking about ordering from them again. I was pleased with my purchases, and they looked like yours do when I got them.
Your boltonia, goldenrod, and yarrow are pretty.
I'm sorry about the spammer problem.
Sorry your achellia didn't turn out to be terra cotta but the pink is a pretty color.
The Stokes aster is a pretty one too. It is always fun to try new plants you haven't grown before.
Hi Sherri, spammers are annoying and they cause extra trouble for everyone who wants to leave a comment here.
Hi BeadedTail, well I'll be the first to say I made a lot of mistakes with this new bed. I had to move stuff and stick stuff where I knew it shouldn't be. Time early next spring to sort it out and move stuff again I hope.
Racquel, that's a nice feature on WordPress. I used to moderate the comments so nothing got thru but it is confusing to commentors when they don't see their comments appear after writing them.
Hi SweetBay, I frequently have trouble with the plants that need very sharp drainage. Sometimes I go to considerable trouble and create it for them, sometimes not. I find that the soil and drainage can be considerably different in a small area of the yard.
Marnie
Another great source for plants is the AHS display gardens in your area. Donna
Hi Cheryl, that's too bad goldenrod doesn't do well for you. As I was saying before, in the past I have gone to great lengths to grow difficult plants in my garden. Not so much anymore. Sometimes it's best just to accept the fact that your conditions aren't perfect for every single plant.
Coneflower, I wish we had a large grower locally. There is a small daylily grower I have visited (Ellison) but his operation is not much bigger than my back yard. Wild's must be huge.
Balisha, I'm glad you found your seeds. I like Swallowtail Seeds and sometimes Annie's Annuals too.
Hi Abe, I have cleome and nicotiana blooming in hopes of seeing a hawk moth. So far no luck. Did you get a photo of yours? I'll bet you got a great one.
Hi Sue, I wondered why my Phantom was blooming so early with not even a bud on Chocolate. If Chocolate is real sensitive to dry conditions it may not have a successful career in my garden.
I'm disappointed the Stokesia has a short bloom period but kind of expected it when I saw how sort lived each bloom was. I'm like you, I always try to buy locally but daylilies are one plant that I just can't find new varieties of in my area.
Hi Susie, I enjoy trying new things. Some I love, some not so much.
Marnie
I think you've made some excellent choices, Marnie! Beckie has purchased several different colors of yarrow this summer, but I've abstained--I have enough pink to spread around my whole yard:) Love the eupatorium--I'll have to look for that!
Marnie, I think doing word verification is a small price to pay in order to thwart those evil spammers!
I love all your "newbies", especially the Stokesia and the Boltonia--beautiful colors. I thought your Goldenrod choices were very interesting. Their arching blooms are so graceful, they are beautiful in arrangements.
Hi Marnie,
I had NO idea golden rod is sold for the garden, I have a few I let grow because I find early spring they have a unusual clumping form that I like.
Tar had to have surgery on his ear for a walnut sized tumor that continuely got infected, it was a long process but he is in back to himself. He's 12 1/2 quailty of life is starting to matter and what the pain medicine did to him, for a day....was the worst of it.
Good idea on the albums! I should of thought of that!
and PS, I did the same with the word verification just yesterday, spammers are traveling like ants.
Hi Rose, I like the yarrow for it's long bloom time and carefree habit . I should have included it in the Engergizer Bunny award group, it does deserve it.
Hi Morning Glories, I hate word verification but we do what we have to to keep the spammers at bay. I never thought of using golden rod branches in arrangements but it's a great idea.
HI Dawn, it's hard treating the injuries and illness of older animals. I went thru a period with my 18 yr old cat where he had to have sub Q fluids everyday. Of course that was hard on him, me and our relationship. I'm glad your Tar is getting better.
Marnie
You have some lovely new additions there.
The daylilies look like nice, fat, healthy divisions, and how neat that one has sent up a scape already.
We get to enjoy goldenrod in the surrounding fields, so I let Mother Nature do the work and save my space for other plants :) Milkweed is abundant too. In fact it's a frequent weed in my gardens. I love the pretty pink flowers though, and enjoy it just over the bank from our yard...and the monarchs it attracts.
Rainy and gloomy here today (yesterday was gorgeous), but sunshine promised for tomorrow. I can't wait.
Your flowers are just lovely Marnie. Mine are a bit neglected now, but I am getting inspiration just looking at yours!
Marnie, it is always fun to try new plants. I am not familar with some of your new ones so will it will be interesting to see how they do. More lilies? :) Good for you-you can never have enough.
I am sure your yarrow isn't Terra Cotta, as mine is more of and dark orangey color. This looks like Apple Blossom. What ever it is, it is pretty and the bees will love it.
Seeing all of your new plants makes me want to go plant shopping. Others are mentioning plant sales. Yes, my wallet is pulling at me. Have a great weekend.
Marnie, you have some very nice plants there.
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