Wordless Wednesday

Highlights from my garden this week.

 Coreopsis Red Shift

A gorgeous, large dragonfly, I haven't identified it yet 

Echinacea purpura 

Allium tubersum (garlic chives) 

Hydrangea, purchased as Lady in Red, but I'm not confident in the label 

Hydrangea lostustagus 

Lots of people up here didn't get good blooms on their hydrangeas this year. It's not a problem for me.

Santolina chamaecyparissus (Lavender cotton) 

Growing in the hellstrip and threatening to eat the sidewalk 

Liatris spicata Kobold 

Thalictrum (meadow rue) 

This plant is taller than our deck - probably 8 - 10 foot tall 

Monarda fromneighborii 

Buddleia nanho purple with Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

To-Do list for late summer

I have a few problem areas that need new plants once the weather cools off enough to plant again...

This is the end of the Hell Strip by the driveway. The problem here is that the woman who plows our driveway also plows up anything I plant here. Since our driveway was badly torn up by her plow last winter we're thinking of getting a snow blower and doing our own driveway so I might be able to plant something there again. Or I could just put annuals there.

This spot just needs another lavender to go with the two on either side that I space as far apart as the label recommended. I guess the label was designed for people who like spaces between their plants. That would not be me.

I have a nice Helenium Mardi Gras that ended up behind some larger plants. The "grass" area needs to be pulled back about a foot when I install the brick border that I'm slowly putting around all my gardens.

This may look full but it's mostly "wild" violets. I let them act as a ground cover in part because they are easy to remove and they'll keep down more difficult weeds. I had a nice patch of Perovskia [Russian sage] here that died back last winter. The question is do I try again? It seems to do well in this area and I'm not sure why it died back...

This area is particularly problematic. You can't tell but it's full of tree roots and nothing likes to grow there. Even the "wild" violets are stunted looking. Some Liatris has volunteered for the area and I may let it take over (in fact I may spread seeds when my other plants go to seed this fall).

This one is an easy solution. My Campanula Pink Octopus has spread very well and it will fit nicely into this narrow space between my Aster October Skies and the sidewalk and they bloom at different times of the year. [The Aster name may be Symphyotrichium depending on who you ask. I'm going with Aster because it's easier to spell]

Favorite Plant of the Week AND Favorite Native Plant of the Month - Liatris Spicata

My favorite plant in the garden this week is Liatris spicata. The variety I bought years ago is Kobold.

The first  year or two it was a bit leggy and floppy but it's become a nice thick, strong clump.

It does spread in the garden but the seedlings are easy to remove if you catch them early.

And the native pollinators love it.

Zones: 3 to 8
Height: In my yard it's 2 to 3 feet (taller than the label claims)
Spread: about 1 foot, although if it reseeds right by the parent plant you can end up with a cluster of plants wider than this
Sun: Full to mostly full sun. In part shade they do tend to be floppier but they still bloom
Water: I don't water mine at all
Bloom period: July and August

Danger Garden hosts the Favorite Plant in The Garden Meme
Clay and Limestone hosts Wildflower Wednesday.

Garden Blogger Bloom Day July 2014

My garden is in full summer form right now and the native pollinators are HAPPY! As am I.

The Echinacea purpura wild type has gotten established and is blooming well.

I also planted a couple of different colored Echinacea but they aren't doing quite as good. This is consistent with what I've heard from others - the fancy hybrids just limp along and die out while the species does fantastically well.

Likewise, my Liatris spicata Kobold has gotten established. The first year it flopped over really bad but now it's producing strong flower stems. And it's spread around a little. I'm ok with that. I'm ending up with a garden that has a few different plants that do well and have spread around so that they look like I deliberately repeated them. THEY are making ME look like I know what I'm doing.

This is Rudbeckia hirta Cappuccino. I bought several types of Rudbeckia when I first moved in. I didn't realize they were self - seeding annuals at the time. Cappuccino is the only one that's come back. Just goes to show you can't always trust what you read on the label. Perennial, my a$$

Veronica spicata Red Fox (I think, either that or Eveline, I planted both and can't remember which one went where and did NOT do a good job of record keeping - Bad Gardener!)

And Friend.

Monarda fromaneighborii

Our winter was warm until the end then it got cold. Because of this many people's hydrangeas had started to come out of winter mode too early and got nipped back to the ground. This Hydrangea mislabeledus (labeled as Lady in Red) is planted close to the house so it was protected and is blooming just fine, thank you.

The Helenium Mardi Gras is not looking as good as last year but I still like the flowers. It accidentally ended up too far back in the bed and needs to be moved in the fall. Remind me to go out and stick a label on it while it's in bloom and I can remember where it is.

I moved several of these Coreopsis verticallata Zagreb to the Hell Strip. So far they're doing well. This is the remainder of the clump. I like how it contrasts with the Hyssopus officinalis. I just have to keep the Zagreb in check. It has delusions of taking over the world [with a name like Zagreb of course it thinks it's an Evil Genius]

I like daisies [Leucanthemum Becky], although the white color doesn't go well with the rest of my bright summer garden. Or my bright, colorful house, or my messy, mud-covered life. 

I do not have to be consistent if I don't want to be and you can't make me.

Thou Shalt Not Pass. Also know as I need to find a better way to stake up the Gaura. I have several varieties: whites, pale pinks, bright pinks and the offspring of them. It's another plant that volunteers to move about the garden and create a sense of repetition. I just wish the middle and dark tones pinks survived as well as the pale pinks...

I bought a collection of Petunia called "Blueberry Muffin". I have to say I really, really like the result in that thin wedge of dirt between the front landing and the fireplace. 

Finally, last week's plant of the week - Asclepias tuberosa, friend to gardeners who want summer color, friend to those of us who don't like to water the garden, friend to Monarch Butterflies, and friend to lots and lots of bees.

I support native pollinators.

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams for this meme.