Baptisia
Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’
Amsonia hubrichtii
Nepeta (Catmint) ‘Walker’s Low’
Amsonia tabernaemontana
This is an exciting week for me.
Not only is the garden truly coming to life, but my new book Seed, Grow, Love, Write will be available for purchase within the next few days. This go-round we’re doing a hardcover, a softcover and an e-book version. Hopefully something for everyone.
I have some giveaways planned and some other cool ideas I hope you’ll like.
Stay tuned.
On to the garden.
The Clematis ‘Scented Clem’ is in full bloom.
Now I need to figure out how to properly adhere to a trellis. All of the blooms are at the base of this trellis and along the ground.
I’ll get there. Don’t any of you worry about me.
Geranium ‘Espresso’ looking good. And hot damn that foliage color, right?
Golden ragwort (Packera aurea) is truly a mad bloomer. And not too aggressive as of yet. Want to buy some? Try here.
Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’ is truly a carpet of blue. Even better is all of the weeds that are suppressed.
Iberis ‘Snowflake’ (Candytuft) not feeling it this year. Although it looks healthy and thrives in this dry spot. Maybe the only dry spot in my entire garden.
These are Ornithogalum nutans (Silver Bells). These bulbs were planted last fall so I’ll give them some time to get established. A few actually bloomed a few months back when the weather warmed temporarily.
Hyacinthoides hispanica ‘Excelsior’ (Wood Hyacinth), bulbs also planted just last fall, are now showing signs of bloom.
Carex ‘Grayi’ are making their presence known with the emergence of their club-like seed heads. These plants love some wet soil and actually stay semi-evergreen in our zone 6B winter.
Later Moss Phlox.
Amsonia hubrichtii on its way.
Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ as well.
While the new growth on this Tsuga ‘Moon Frost’ is yellowish right now, soon it will transform to white and that is when this evergreen truly shines.
Juniper ‘Gold Cone’ looking solid.
A welcome sighting of Chasmanthium latifolium ‘River Mist’. This Northern Sea Oats has not been the least bit invasive and I cherish that variegated foliage. It’s working in a partially shaded location which is most excellent.
Yep, they got my Lady’s Mantle.
Time to take all of the necessary precautions.
Watch for a future post where I test a whole bunch of methods and products.
Game the f’ on.
It’s only getting worse.
Like with the deer, I need to take immediate and long term action.
More to come.
This volunteer Penstemon has one red stem. I’ve only planted ‘Husker Red’ to date and the rest have been volunteers and now we have a cool looking hybrid.
After the first hard frost hit earlier this week, “color” in the garden is at a premium.
The one spot that stands out right now is this combination of Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ and Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’.
This Amsonia is absolutely on fire right now in terms of fall color. And it looks even better with the almost black foliage of the Ajuga at its feet.
Shockingly, I didn’t plan this combo (sarcasm alert).
I originally planted the Ajuga as a means to control the weeds around the stepping stones that lead from my back deck. And of course I also dug the dark, chocolate-like foliage.
Soon after I purchased 6 ‘Blue Ice’ plants and needed to find them a home. Planted among the Ajuga seemed to fit the bill and so, I did just that.
After a few years of living with this combo, I can safely say that just as the Ajuga blooms start to fade, the Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ flowers emerge.
From there, the Amsonia is covered in blue star-like flowers for weeks on end.
Once the blooms disappear, both of these plants provide clean and contrasting foliage up until the fall color arrives, which typically starts in mid-September.
This spot in the garden is in full sun, frequented by deer and rabbits and the soil remains wet most of the year.
To date, these two plants have thrived in these conditions.
The Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ are still making a big impact even as they start to decline, especially when absorbing the raindrops.
And still drawing in the critters.
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Allium ‘Globemaster’ is in peak form, mixing well with the emerging flowers of Baptisia australis.
Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ is in flower.
Baptisia ‘Carolina Moon’ is in full bloom mode and a bit ahead of Baptisia australis in that regard.
I haven’t written much about Arborvitae ‘Rheingold’ over the years, but patience has paid off as it has rounded into an appealing shape, about 7-8 years in. It sits now at a golden chartreuse and will soon change to a very handsome light green as we head into summer.
Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ (Catmint) is another perennial in full bloom in my garden right now and the drooping branches of the Ninebark ‘Diablo’ shrub add a nice contrast in color.
Nepeta also combines well with the Salvia ‘May Night’ in the background.
Speaking of ‘May Night’, it is a bee magnet.
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Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’ is bursting in color and only after some serious dead branch clean-up was it presentable. I am leaning towards a harsh prune post-flower to hopefully improve the shape of this shrub. It has been years since I’ve pruned it at all.
Foliage contrast is in full effect with the variegated Diervilla ‘Cool Splash’, Heuchera (Coral Bells) and Monarda (Bee Balm) below.
Alchemilla mollis (Lady’s Mantle), Penstemon ‘Husker Red’ (Beard Tongue) and Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ rounding out the tour for today.
Included below is a tour of Amsonia Blue Ice from my garden. It runs from May through September of this year.
I’ve included the actual dates each of the photos were taken to show the long season of interest for this native perennial.
Some notes about this perennial:
Ignore what I wrote on Friday. There were no bulbs planted this weekend and I blame it on the following:
In regards to that last one, I am typically not one to “enjoy the moment” when it comes to my garden. I am either looking towards the future when yet again moving or adding a new plant or hating on my current day plants that are underachieving.
But this weekend I reminded myself that fall is possibly the greatest time of year in the garden, yet it is oh so fleeting. A famous man once said “Better enjoy the crap out of it while is here.”
With that in mind, more autumn photos for your viewing pleasure.
I have a ritual each winter where I review all of my plant photos from the prior gardening year as a means to not only escape the winter doldrums, but also as a means for planning. I drink a few hearty ales and take copious notes during this exercise and it creates the framework for all that I plan to change that upcoming spring.
I distinctly remember two winters ago, when I was in full blown garden review mode, when a very obvious notion finally penetrated my thick skull. Four simple words: “Stick with what works.” As most gardeners are want to do, I was always in search of new and exciting plants to try out. While that is fun and all, it really prevented me from creating my ideal robust garden. Half the plants would die over the winter or would be devoured by the deer. I was unable to make any progress out in the garden.
I knew I wouldn’t completely give up on seeking out new plants, but I could create the bulk of my garden around trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials that I knew would “work”. Seems like an obvious concept but for whatever reason, it was lost on me.
Fast forward to now and finally I know all of the plants that survived the winter. There were a whole bunch of casualties that I’ve mourned, but for those recent additions that survived the extreme temps, poor winter/spring drainage and the deer, I am forever grateful. As expected, these survivors were previously proven performers, further proof that “stick with what works” … well … works. And here is photographic proof:
As you may be aware, I have nothing but great things to say about Amsonia. They have literally sat in standing water for periods of time and have been completely ignored by the deer. When I was seeking out a ground cover in a particularly poor draining area of the garden, Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ was a no-brainer. Two years later, all twelve of them are thriving:
As are all of the Amsonia tabernaemontana:
Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’ was one of the first shrubs I planted in my landscape back in 2005 and all of them are still kicking ass today. So logically, why not add some ‘Little Henry’ shrubs in tighter areas. I did just that last fall and yes, all six of them are on their way this spring:
For reasons unknown, I owned only two Clethra shrubs as of a year ago, even though they have thrived since day one. So last fall I picked up a bunch more of these at a steep discount and finally this week, they have all arrived after a long deep winter slumber:
Irises and me = perfect together:
Lady’s Mantle has consistently been ignored by the deer and the rabbits so why not use it like mad as a ground cover all over. Seems to be OK with both full sun and partial shade:
Two Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’ hung out in my garden for years, looking good but not adding much to the larger equation. I divided them up, two became six and as a larger grouping, not so bad:
I haven’t completely abandoned the pursuit of new plants. Just this week I added Allium ‘Blue Eddy’ knowing the deer will ignore it but now to study how it likes the moist clay soil:
Speaking of Allium, I’m testing out ‘Globemaster’ this year for the first time and so far so good:
And finally, I finally succumbed to trying out a few Baptisia and we’ll see how they perform: