I’m late, I’m late…for a very important date! If you haven’t a clue what that means, pop on over to May Dreams Gardens (use the link at right) to see what Carol has cooked up to put together gardeners from around the world. In the meantime, here is a peek at some of the beauties in bloom in my patch right now.
The first Japanese anemone ‘Honorine de Jobert’ popped just in time. I can’t get enough of her, and a good thing, too, because she is a prolific spreader.
The cardoon reaches for the sky.
‘Casa Blanca’ is the last of the lilies, after ‘Muscadet’ and then ‘Star Gazer’ have taken their turns perfuming the air.
Echinops banaticus ‘Blue Glow’ holds its steely balls high above spiky foliage in the east berm.
Fragraria ‘Lipstick’ is a groundcover strawberry I am trying out. So far, the deer have left it alone.
I know this only as gooseneck loosestrife. Anybody know the botanical name? Whatever…these witty little clumps of loosey goosey flower heads will always have a place in my shade garden, and in long-lasting bouquets.
The deer bit off every hosta blossom in the woodland at the bud stage. It is only this ‘Guacamole’, planted close to the house, that was allowed to progress to full flower.
This supermarket hydrangea holds its own with the named cultivars.
‘Limelight’ is a spectacular hydrangea…almost tall enough to qualify as a small tree.
‘Preziosa’ has varying shades of flowers on the same plant. I had some success with layering it, so I now have several at the woodland’s edge.
‘Percy’s Pride’ is my favorite of the Knifophias. It is crowded into the east berm with grasses, barberries and Echinops. Come spring, it will be divided and spread around. One of my favorite scenes from the movie The Queen was the long walk completely bordered by knifophia in full bloom. Another was the great pile of leeks in the royal kitchen…might there be a pattern here?
This lonely little balloon flower plant cries out for more of its kind.
Looking beyond the realm of our industry, Queen Anne’s Lace sprinkles the landscape with no encouragement from we diggers and connivers. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother…but not often.
I really like the ‘Percy’s Pride’–such a cool shape!
Thanks for sharing your garden, better late than never! I love the gooseneck loosestrife, the ground cover strawberries, and the casa blanca lilies best of all. But it’s all beautiful!
It was very nice of you to visit my bloom day post and to leave such a lovely comment.
Happy gardening over there in Oregon – I think I forgot to mention in my bloom day post where I’m located. I’m up in northeast Ohio, not far from Cleveland.
And your banners are really nice!
this comment came from Craig over at Ellis Hollow. It was sent to me as an email, but comments are much too precious to hoard:
Thanks for the kind words, Ricki.
My photo skills are at best, erratic. It’s mostly a matter of being in
the right place at the right time with a camera in hand.
If I ever do the calendar, maybe we can barter for a pot flag or
something. Love your stuff.
Craig
Ahhh, Japanese Anemone, that’s what I’m waiting for! Mine has buds, but none have opened yet. It’s one of my favorites too.
Questions for you about the mullein I included in my GBBD post:
Does it self-seed?
Can I divide it in the spring?
I think the botanical name for your gooseneck loosestrife is Lysimachia clethroides.
Cathy
Duh, you already answered my question about self-seeding – that’s why you have them “scattered all over the place”. Please forgive my momentary lapse. I would still like to know if they can be successfully divided.
Thank you,
Cathy
Craig: you’re on with the bartering idea. Glad you like the banners.
ICQB: ditto, and thanks for stopping by.
Meryl: yes, ‘Percy’s Pride’ is the only knifophia without the layered lasagna look as far as I know. Made any zinnia bud bouquets yet? I think they would merit a post on your blog.
Cathy: once the stalks go all black and icky, I usually just pull them up and wait to see where they will pop up next. My guess is that you could dig up the new rosettes to reposition them to a desired location in the spring. See my July Bloom Day post for a picture of the one called moth mullion (love that name). Thanks for IDing the gooseneck…aren’t blogs grand that way?
Hi Ricki,
Thanks for the info. on the mullein. I hope I have lots of volunteers next spring so I can spread the love, so to speak. I checked out the picture of your mullein – very pretty. I’m guessing that the name of mine, ‘Jackie in yellow’ is some sort of reference to Jackie Onassis. Who thinks these things up? In answer to your question about ongoing dialogues, I think if you have a question for someone you should ask it on their blog and it should probably be answered on that blog as well. It seems as though it would be easier to follow the thread of conversation that way. If I ask someone a question in their comments section I usually check back periodically to see if they’ve answered it. Some blogs give you the option of subscribing to the comments feed so you are alerted to new comments on a particular post. I think that’s a handy feature. These are just my thoughts – I am by no means an expert!
Cathy
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