The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Tag Archives: lady’s mantle

Tour of the Garden – 9/6/17

Posted on by Posted in My garden .

Front walkway

It takes this deep into the season for the front bed to truly shine as the grasses emerge, fall foliage color subtly appears and late summer blooms arrive.

 

A step back from the same scene …

 

… and another step back.

 

 

Physostegia (Obedient Plant) ‘Vivid’

This mass started as only 7 small plants over a year ago. It has filled in at an insane level. I like.

 

 

 

Green

I love me all different shades of green. I find this section of the garden soothing. Who’s with me?

 

 

Paralysis by analysis

I have stared at this scene for weeks now. I like it but I don’t. While it’s full and a good mix of flowers, foliage, texture, etc, something is amiss. I’m close to figuring it out but would appreciate your input.

 

 

Secret weapon

This section of the garden is going to be the best in a few years. You can’t see it now but trust me, there is a lot going on here and it’s all awesome. I can’t wait to share it when it explodes in awesomeness.

 

 

Seed heads

The seed heads on the Baptisia transformed to dark black this week. I like.

 

 

 

Leave it alone

This combo hasn’t been touched for three years now. That must be a record for me.

 

 

Delicious foliage color

Panicum and Amsonia. But you knew that already because I talk about it every week.

 

 

 

Turkey foot

Here is why Andropogon (Big Bluestem) is also known as turkeyfoot. You’re welcome.

 

 

Viburnum berries

The berries on the Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’ continue to explode. More than I’ve had in ten years of its existence. I like.

 

 

 

Uncle

Fine, I’ll admit it. I don’t know what this white blooming plant is. I just know that I never planted it. It has fleshy stems that multiple like mad from year to year. Help a gardener out won’t you?

 

 

 

What the hell is that?

There are a bunch of Northern Sea Oats growing underneath this Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’. It has created this bizarre mash-up that looks even stranger as the Itea develops its fall color.

 

 

Finally

The Chelone lyonii (Turtlehead) ‘Hot Lips’ typically look like crap by now. All of the flowers turn black and become an eye sore. Not this year so far. I like.

 

 

 

Do as I say …

For those of you who bought my book, I specifically pointed out that Lady’s Mantle requires some extra attention once the blooms stop and the weather turns hot and dry in summer. I should probably follow my own advice next year.

 

 

Tour of the garden – 6/6/17

Posted on by Posted in My garden .

Today’s tour is less “Oh what a great combination” or “Wow, what a beautiful garden you’ve composed” or “I need to add that to my garden” and more “That’s a problem” or “Hmmm, interesting”.

Enjoy

I jumped the gun

If you recall, I complained in a recent post about the coloration of my Tsuga (Canadian hemlock) ‘Moon Frost’. The new growth was yellow and not bright white as advertised.

I should be smacked around for such a petty complaint and smacked around even more for my lack of patience. Check out ‘Moon Frost’ just a week and a half later.

 

That is what I’m talking about!

Lesson learned: Be patient and then be even more patient when it comes to plant development.

I’m a sucker

I’m totally enamored with the shrub Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Sem’ (I’m such a pompous ass for calling it that, let’s go with False Spirea ‘Sem’). The foliage color and leaf shape gives it such a presence in my overly green garden.

I posted a similar photo on Instagram and a thoughtful “follower” warned me of its desire to sucker like a champ.

Wouldn’t you know it, it didn’t take very long to come to fruition.

I have two of these in an area where they can fill in to their heart’s content but I’ll have to see how it all looks once the suckering kicks into high gear.

I couldn’t “bare” to show you

I don’t know that I’ve ever referenced my Serviceberry ‘Autumn Brilliance’ in a blog post. That has been intentional since it has been a big disappointment ever since it was planted back in 2011.

Here it is today, very top heavy in terms of foliage.

A lot of bare branches …

And don’t get me started on the flowers (little impact), the berries (virtually none) and the fall color (leaves don’t last beyond September). It has been let down city.

But … there may be happiness on the horizon.

I just noticed today that it is producing new branches with actual leaves from its base. I don’t need this to look like a tree. I just want leaves and foliage.

Close but no cigar

For the past two years, I’ve seen major re-seeding of Penstemon ‘Husker Red’ in my garden. New plants are popping up everywhere in spring now that I’ve refrained from cutting off the flowers and allowing the seeds to spread. I found that the flowers took away from the real selling point of this perennial, the dark foliage, so I’d chop them off as soon as they emerged. I’ve since changed my mind realizing the bees love the flowers and who can deny bees pleasure.

Upon closer inspection, it’s clear that the new seedlings do not match up perfectly in terms of size, color and leaf shape with the parent ‘Husker Red’.

Below, the plant on the left is a new seedling and the one on the right is the original plant.

The seedling is taller, not as dark in color and the leaves are larger.

The “original” ‘Husker Red’.

Hmmm, interesting.

My apple tree knowledge is rusty

Oh shit.

I’ll need some time to research which rust this is, but the color terrifies me already. My apple trees are still juvenile but I don’t want to see them fail so soon.

That was fast

Exactly one year ago, I divided a bunch of Physostegia (Obedient plant) ‘Vivid’ and used it to fill in a bare area of the garden.

Mission accomplished quickly, check out the front of this bed.

If at first you succeed, do that same thing again.

Lazy

This hurts. How did we get here?

 

Always thinking and planning

I was shocked to find this one Astilbe alive and well. I planted three of them last summer and allowed them to burn to a crisp. I gave up hope this spring only to discover this gift this morning.

Light bulb moment: since there is only this one Astilbe and I have room in this newly developing shade container. Hmm.

More is good

One theme of my garden planning this spring has been massing plants where I can. With a large garden, massing is necessary to keep things in balance and to maximize impact. With that in mind, I bunched all of my Lady’s Mantle together and I’m thrilled with the results.

The supply is running out

I’ve been cutting peony blooms at a rapid pace this past week so they can be enjoyed indoors and not droop to the ground with our excessive rain. I’ve supplied my wife with endless flowers that she is proudly displaying at her place of work. To say that her co-workers have … wait for it … wait for it … wait for it … peony envy is an understatement.

Unfortunately, that supply is dwindling.

Do I have to?

Dividing an ornamental grass is no easy task, but it is time to do so with my Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’. The centers of all three grasses are empty …

… and they all look spent and in need of some rejuvenation.

Understanding my priorities

Our insane dog gets loose at least once a week. When she does so she is gone for like 45 minutes and we have no chance of catching her. She eventually returns soaking wet, bleeding from her eyelids and covered in ticks. Fun.

We do our best to track her down to ensure she isn’t running in traffic or starting a brawl with the local coyotes.

Today I just want you all to know that I willingly ran over an ornamental grass in order to quickly initiate the hunt this past week via car.

I know my priorities.

She’ll bounce back.

The grass that is.

Tour of the garden – 5/23/17

Posted on by Posted in My garden, Spring .

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.

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.

Lots of activity today. #bee #pollinator #flower #blooms #garden #instagarden #beesofinstagram #flowersofinstagram

A post shared by john markowski (@jmarkowski0) on

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book excerpt – looking for your feedback

Posted on by Posted in Blog stuff, Perennials .

Here is an excerpt of a first version of my book that I’ve been pounding away on for weeks now. I so cherish all of your feedback and have taken all of your comments into account to this point.

When in doubt, why not ask?     

I would love your feedback on the following:

Book title – any creative ideas after reading through below? I’ll handsomely award the winner of the one I like best.

Content – more or less info based on the excerpt below? Less “sentences” and more boxes/bullets/etc?

Layout – this snippet isn’t an exact replica of the layout but it is as close as I can get. What do you think?

Tone – is it me?

Thank you all in advance for taking the time to assist me here.

Alchemilla mollis (Lady’s Mantle)

I remember the exact day back in the fall of 2003 when I decided to purchase some Lady’s Mantle for the first time. Up until that point, all I thought about was flowers in my garden. Foliage was nice, but an afterthought.

My obsession with plants and gardening was gaining steam and I was reading books relentlessly. Books you ask? Those are pages of printed words and photos that are held together with binding. Your grandfather can tell you all about them.

I don’t recall the exact book, but it was all about design and one photo grabbed my attention and changed the course of my garden fanaticism. A beautiful and haunting garden photographed in the early morning was lined with Lady’s Mantle that was covered in dew droplets. My tongue dropped to the floor and I knew I had to try it.

Fast forward a few months and I planted a whole bunch myself in my tiny front bed at our old Cape Cod home in Somerville, NJ. I was so proud of it and sensed that my love of plants was going to exponentially increase now that foliage was part of the game.

Sadly, we moved out of that home by the end of that year and I never got to grow with my new favorite edging plant. I did drive by the home periodically for a good 2 to 3 years after that just so I could watch my babies mature into full adult plants. They ended up looking beautiful even if the new homeowners let everything fall to shit in the garden around them. The day they pulled them out of the ground, I almost got out of my car and approached the house in a fit of rage.

Luckily I thought better of it and drove away and spared myself jail time.

Instead, I bought a bunch and put them in my newly developing garden where they still reside today.

Alchemilla mollis rarely steals the show in the garden. Instead, it is that steady performing groundcover or edging plant that makes the garden whole.

From the moment those leaves start to unfurl in spring, you know old reliable is back for another season.

Let me correct myself for one moment. There is a time when this perennial does truly “shine”. That is when Lady’s Mantle captures the rain droplets in spring. It is a photographer’s dream.

Beyond that, this plant provides a nice contrasting leaf shape to other perennials and shrubs from spring through fall.

The chartreuse blooms, typically arriving in June, are a nice understated feature as well.

 

 

 

I have found it is best to trim off the spent flowers as soon as possible to keep this plant looking its best as summer approaches.

 

 

 

Specifics:
• Survives in zones 3 – 8
• Size typically maxes out at 1.5 ‘ x 2.5’
• Can handle full sun to almost full shade
• Blooms in June here in zone 6B
• Prefers a consistently moist soil
• Has been reliably deer and rabbit resistant over the years
• Non US native
• Flowers brown quickly and can become an eyesore (see more below)
• Leaves are scalloped and fuzzy to the touch

I currently have these as a groundcover in my back bed along the deck.

In full bloom in June and backed by the light of the afternoon sun.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see below, Lady’s Mantle comes along pretty quickly in spring as evidenced by the “still no signs of life” ornamental grass sitting behind them.

**NEGATIVE ALERT** The one negative/higher maintenance aspect of Lady’s Mantle is that it does require constant moisture. If not, this is what you may see.

Luckily for me, constant moisture isn’t much of a problem unless we have a real dry summer but keep that in mind before purchasing Lady’s Mantle.

This perennial has been labeled as “invasive” but I can say that has not been a problem for me at all. In fact, I’ve never seen a single seedling since I’ve had these. This may be due to the fact that I am pretty diligent in cutting off the spent blooms and therefore there is no opportunity for reseeding.

I must also add that my deadheading has never resulted in any re-blooming later in the season.

 

Foliage over flowers

Posted on by Posted in Foliage, My garden, Perennials, Spring .

It was Portland outside here today or at least how I imagine Portland to be most of the year. I’ve only visited the city twice in my life and both times it bucked the trend of typical northwest weather. It was sunny and dry but still an incredible city and one I’m anxious to revisit. While I may prefer the sun and the extreme warmth of summer here in the northeast, there is no comparison when it comes to the perfect garden conditions of the northwest.

Today was overcast with a relentless mist and a layer of fog that slowly looked to envelope the entire town. But hot damn if it didn’t perfectly highlight and saturate the colors of the garden and aid in it looking healthier than it’s ever been. I’m no professional photographer but I have to assume this was close to the ideal day for capturing the great outdoors in all her glory.

So this amateur shutterbug made it a point to not miss this golden opportunity before the bright sun returns and washes out all of the color. As soon as I walked through the front door and into Seattle, my eye was immediately drawn towards the soon to be blooming mass of Trollius (Globeflowers). The orange buds were radiant and glistening after being misted for like 51 hours straight.

As I settled into my plant-photo-taking-stance, I surveyed this little section of the garden and realized how much it was being taken over by the bee balm I had planted there only last year.

orange flower bee balm

The best part of the quick takeover? The crowding out of any weeds. Not one could be found and that is all sorts of awesome. But not my point, at least for today.

I snapped a ton of pics of this section of the garden and after reviewing them and trying to determine which were blog worthy, I noticed something that only affirms what I’ve always known.

Here is one of the soon to be blooming Trollius flowers captured as the dominant element with the bee balm stems more faded in the background.

orange flower

Nice shot, right? But I prefer this next one, where the bee balm takes the lead.

orange flower bee balm 2

Give me foliage over flowers any day of the week. In this case, I love the reddish/purple outlining of each bee balm leaf, the texture of the leaves covered in moisture and even the shape of the square stems. Flowers are great and special and all because of their usually short stay, but it is the foliage that makes the statement. It is the foliage that works hard to look good all year round. It is the foliage that defines your garden and your style.

As exciting as it is to witness the first Geranium bloom (‘Espresso’) of the spring.

espresso

Nothing compares to the statement made by Lady’s Mantle on a cool and wet spring morning.

lady's mantle

 

Hi, me again

Posted on by Posted in My garden .

The latest and greatest:

The Panicum ‘Northwind’ are on their way with that blue/green upright foliage already visible:

A step back from that same garden bed and finally, it is starting to fill in.

The foliage on this Ninebark ‘Diablo’ is fantastic in a container after I had cut it back dramatically in the spring:

 

Oh foliage, how I love thee – Salix (Dappled Willow) ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ and Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’:

Have I mentioned before how much I love Lady’s Mantle? As an edger, in the rain, with cool weather?

So damn close:

 

Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’ in full bloom. Eh:

 

‘River Mist’ Northern Sea Oats … consider yourself on watch … you have been below satisfactory the past two years:

As I mentioned last week, these Siberian irises are in need of division. The bloom count is way down this year:

I chopped off the fading blooms on the Geranium ‘Espresso’ hoping we will get some nice new dark foliage. They are looking a little tired right now:

 

Dance with the one that brung ya

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

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:

 

“What’s growing on” this week

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .
The Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’ are in full bloom out of nowhere:

As are the Alchemilla mollis (Lady’s Mantle):

One of my favorite “foliage” plants has only recently emerged – Hibiscus ‘Kopper King’:

There was total chaos outside my window yesterday and I bolted outside to check it out (camera in hand). Turns out, it was over these berries on the Serviceberry ‘Autumn Brilliance’:

And the culprit was this maniac shaking the branches like The Hulk:

It may be boring to some, but I love any shrub that flourishes in wet conditions, is ignored by the deer and spreads to fill in a large space. Thank you Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’:

I relocated my previously criticized Geranium ‘Brookside’ to an area where they can run wild a bit more and have some support from other plants and so far, I dig the results:

Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’ is filled with more buds than ever before and once again, has avoided any deer chomping (fingers double crossed):

Catmint friggin rules:

Astilbe with white blooms look great in front of dark red leaves. We may have finally found the proper home for them: