Perennial smorgasbord

The email started off innocent enough ...

"Special Gardening Request!"

"Good day to you and Happy Spring to all my gardening friends! I have a first time home buyer who just moved into their new home ... It came complete with " a whole lot of perennials and ornamental plants. They have asked me to pass along the word that they would love some gardeners who could and would remove the perennials to a new home - Could this be YOU?"

Yes, it was me!

It took me, oh I don't know, maybe two minutes, to respond back to the realtor who sent this out to a mass list of area gardeners. (How she got my name is still beyond me). But nonetheless, within minutes I was in contact with the homeowner and I had set a date to come over with Mommy's Little Helper, gloves and shovel. I was psyched!

I had no idea what the house would behold but I can tell you it was overwhelming and overgrown. The previous homeowner was quite ambitious in both the front and backyards - even boasting a small pond that used to be stocked with fish. The new homeowners, just young kids, have no interest in gardening and really want to have a yard for a future family and a dog. I don't blame them ...

But where to start?! There were irises, tiger lilies, tulips, lambs ear, daylilies and chives everywhere. And groundcover, oy! ..... Half of which I had no idea what it was.

It was hard to know what to choose as a lot of things weren't in bloom ... I had to pick and choose based upon foliage which isn't always easy to do. Some of the ground cover was so thick that I couldn't even dig up some things that I wanted - which included Johnson's Blue geranium, hyacinth and dianthus. I was bummed.

I loved this look of wild phlox and pink tulips. I took some of the phlox but it didn't take the transplant very well. And boy, did this stuff SPREAD. They had it in every area of the garden. Probably not a good choice to put in my garden after all ....

But we dug, and dug, and brought home some beauties: overdam and blue fescue grasses, yellow and purple iris, this really cool groundcover (ajuga) that seemed non-invasive, and what I think to be neon sedum. My good friend and I will go back this weekend to dig more out and plant at the school. (see previous post)

At the end of the day, I was very grateful for the offer to take what I wanted, even though my planting space at home is getting smaller. I brought home some smart additions to the garden that are sure to be blooming for years to come.

Mystery plant

I have no idea what this is. Help!

A friend was cleaning out her perennial garden last fall and gave this to me. It is already about 2 feet tall and thriving in its full sun location. The leaves are very jagged and large.

Does anybody have a guess?

Happy Birthday Annabel!

Pinks, purples and bye-bye juniper

Recent rains have brought some new color into the garden. I was so excited to see what this centaurea montana was going to look like. So far there's just one bloom but there's more to come. This plant has really taken off and is probably one of the healthiest in the front yard right now.

This perennial geranium "Alpenglow" is front and center in a bed near the berm. It looks fantastic next to my purple salvia.

Not much different from the Alpenglow is my "Max Frei". Doesn't get as large as the Alpenglow but the color is nearly identical.

I posted this Firewitch dianthus in one of my first blog posts two years ago - and it continues to be one of the most popular pages on my blog. People obviously like their dianthus! Honestly - it's hard to beat the beauty of the plant and impossible to not notice when walking or driving by the house.

I attempted cleome from seed but it just didn't seem to take off as I had hoped, so I cheated. (I clearly admit I'm an impatient gardener.) I bought two from the flower shop and it's a striking companion plant with the salvia.

I bought this Northern Lights tufted hair grass recently. It really lights up the landscape with the golden hues. What I liked most is that it only needed part sun and that's where I had some holes to fill.

I committed a cardinal sin of gardening. I didn't read the package label to my California poppies very carefully and now I have an issue.

I did not thin the poppy sprouts when they started to grow. Now I have this huge patch and to try and thin them now might be tough. I tried pulling a few and the roots were quite deep already and I ended up yanking out about 6 healthy seedlings. Do you think I'll still get blooms? Any ideas?

Sayonara juniper!

My patient hubby took out that blasted tree last weekend. We tried cutting the top off first and it looked brutal. Finally, he said - "I never liked that damn tree anyway" and out it went.

I brought in some dirt and compost and that area is prime for growing. It gets a good 5 hours of sun each day. I put in some rudbekia, more columbine, monarda, profusion zinnias, a "Butter and Sugar" iris that was underperforming in another area and a new cushion spurge.

One of the first things I put in the old juniper space was another clematis (more good advice from Connie at Notes from a Cottage Garden). This Jackmanii Superba will crawl on the pole near the water spout.

More rain on the way today ....

Droopy sedums and the best zinnia seeds

It's been two weeks since I've written anything! The kids are back in school and my weeks have been busy with their activities. And as you might have guessed, gardening has taken a back seat and it shows. I spent a few hours yesterday cleaning things out -removing spent annuals and cutting back perennials. It was good to be out there again as I had missed it a great deal.

I read on one blog recently - I think it was the Patient Gardener who hails from England - and she described cutting back her sedum in June for a more compact attractive plant in the fall. Hmm ....

I have two kinds of sedum in my garden this year - one that looks very stately and upright in the front yard (above).

And one that looks messy with little to no shape in the back yard. Sedums have become somewhat of an annoyance to me. I mean, I like them but when they don't look good, it gives what I feel is a sloppy presence in the landscape. They haven't reached the disdain that I have for the Stellas(which I put in the compost pile this weekend). Sedums have just become so ordinary - in particular the Autumn Joy.

When I yanked out the daylily, I replaced it with this lovely coppery orange mum. I wonder if it'll make through a winter? I heard they are very tender that way.

The goldenrod has really burst out. These are new plants and they have been battered from the wind. Their stalks are almost at a 45 degree angle! Staking them has helped - until the next windstorm .... I sure do like them though.

I planted three types of zinnia seeds this year and I was very impressed with the seeds I purchased from Renee's Garden. My favorite was her Hot Crayon Mix which was a beautiful selection of scarlet reds, citrus orange and vibrant yellows. The best part of these flowers were the petals - they were huge. The envelope said they were Benary's Giant zinnias but I haven't had zinnias that have looked as good as these. What I also liked was that the packet of seeds offered a beautiful watercolor portrait of the plant with personally written descriptions - a nice touch.

Renee's also had the knee-high cosmos mix which was probably one of my best performers this summer. I started them indoors in March and only two survived but those two are still blooming in the garden - and it's the end of September! You can bet that I will be a repeat customer of hers.

For those of you reading this blog last year, my cousin Dolly from Kansas sent me some of my Grandma K's marigold seeds for next year - and yes, I am going to try them - despite the rabbits!

Cheap labor

Raising a teenager is one of the hardest jobs you'll ever have. And whoever said that raising teenage boys was easier than raising teenage girls has not lived in our house.

Aforementioned teenager got himself in a little hot water recently. Aside from the normal punishment of no cell phone (gasp!) and no keys to his truck, his father thought of a more creative way to earn back privileges.

"You have some garden stuff to do outside?" he asked me. "If so, put him to work."

It was music to my ears.

On a really hot sunny day, aforementioned teenager dug out the area I was hoping to have tilled this fall. He did a nice job and I watched his work with the eye of a disapproving mom and a landscape forman.

"You missed this spot over here!"

"Watch out for that underground sprinkler head! - Good grief!"

Once his landscape work was completed, we went to the city landfill where I had him fill several buckets of beautiful black compost to add to my new area. My husband and I edged it with field rock that the previous homeowners had around the house. My new garden bed was complete and his detention was served. The photo above looks pretty sparse but next year, it'll be lovely.

I moved my foxglove over to the new area and surprisingly, I have blooms already. Aren't they cool?

I took this gloriosa daisy home from the nursery this week and planted it in the new bed.

Black-eyed susan were late this year but boy, were they worth the wait.

Even the "Arizona Sun" gaillardia bloomed this year for me after an abysmal start. I hope they survive the winter.

Next blog installment ... photos from guest gardens!

Mid-summer questions

We've been enjoying the sunny warm days we've been having at the lake. There's been a few issues popping up in the garden and wondering if you bloggers can tell me what you would do or have done in similar situations.

OK, I'll share the fun stuff first - the white liatris is here!

I love these Q-tip shaped flowers. My girls always comment about how cool they look in the garden.

Combination of Sedona and Rainbow Volcano coleus. I initially liked the orange but a lot of the leaves faded fast. I prefer the red, actually.

I posted earlier on this blog about messing up at the nursery and buying a "Stargazer" oriental lily instead of an asiatic. Well, this is actually what I got when it bloomed. It looks nothing like a Stargazer. Does anybody know what I have here? Jury is still out on whether I like it or not. It probably would look really nice with purple.

This is the area that I recently "created" it was full of overgrown (and old) spireas that did nothing to the landscape. It's a mostly shade spot but gets more sun toward the Annabelle's at the end. I put a lot of my flat sale plants here - albeit temporarily.

On to the problem areas ...

This silvermound should be huge - at least twice this size and by this same time last summer, I had already sheared it back. It looks as it has little beads at the tip of its leaves - almost as if the growth was stunted somehow. Symmetrically, it fits into my garden but I know it's not completely right.

This container used to burst with color and now, my million bells have nearly disappeared. Too much heat? Too much water or fertilizer? Even the Marguerite daisies are a fraction of their blooms (and size). Thankfully, the sweet potato vine is happy or else this really would be an eye-sore.

How do you tidy up daylilies? Do you clip the pods after blooming? Will they come back? These Stella D' Oros were here when we moved in and I've divided them at least three times in the last five years because they get so big. I know the Renegade Gardener thinks these are the most overrated plant out there. I tend to agree. They are grossly overused in commercial and residential landscapes.

Happy Birthday Peggy!

Another open canvas ...

My co-worker Jane and I went on our annual garden tour of homes this week. I wish I took pictures of this one home - it was definitely worth sharing in the blogworld and a source of inspiration. Ponds were a very common theme at many homes. To me, it's a lot of work and most of them had live fish in them. Yuck ... I'm terrified of fish (love to eat 'em, just don't ask me to touch or look at them). That story is worth a blog entry on its own ... but let's just stick to flowers!

When I got home that day, I realized just how lame my landscape really is! :o( Ok, maybe that's too harsh - I'm learning to do the right things but I find my growing space and circumstances are a little trickier than the gardens that I was attracted to. Most were smaller and completely fenced in with little chance of garden predators. Plus, I think most of the people were close to or already retired and can devote countless hours to development, hard labor and TLC. I'm green with envy ...

This is the view from my deck each morning. Our property extends past the evergreens onto a major county highway. We are also next to a river so I get all kinds of wildlife walking through the backyard. Our development covenent also prohibits fencing so to try and block that off is a mute point. I've simplified this area and have kept most of the garden space near the deck where the animals are less likely to venture. So far, so good this year!

Jane suggested that I develop another area off the deck - still far away from the back but yet close enough to me to enjoy. The area is sloped - which means I'll have to add a lot of black dirt to level it off. This partial-fence area (I don't know how it got past the developer) sits in partial-shade. Jane offered the services of her wonderful husband and his tiller and would be willing to dig this up for me for fall transplanting. Linda, from Garden Girl, do you make house calls to North Dakota?!

Here's what else is going on this week ...

My ligularia "Little Rocket" is flourishing in the front garden. Wow - I love these. I also have the "Othello" but that doesn't show any blooms - lots of leaf activity though. I hope that's not a bad sign. This one is planted in partial sun - but mostly shade and it seems to suit it perfectly. I have another in the back that gets more sun and I see it looks a little more stressed. Put that one down on the list of things to move this fall.


I purchased this hummelo betony on the clearance sale at one nursery last fall. I knew nothing about the plant and it offered no blooms last season. I'm enjoying what it's doing now. It's planted next to my "Helen von Stein" lambs ear and rudebekia.


The coral reef monarda are begging to show their color. I planted this one next to the "Cherry" profusion zinnias which form a nice burst of pink.

New things I've put in the ground this week from the "clearance rack":

• "Arizona Sun" Gaillardia - I gotta try this one more time!



• False indigo



• "Baby Gold" Goldenrod

Need to go ... I gotta yank out some unsightly spireas.

Behind the wheel

Salvia, Galliardia and sedum - oh my!

I spent most of last week out of town. My sister was home from the East Coast and we ventured westward to attend a family reunion. We made a stop in Valley City, ND and visited the Medicine Wheel Park - a scenic display of perennial gardens, a solar system replica site and Indian burial grounds. I wasn't too interested in the astrological stuff but I loved the gardens ... go figure.

They were well manicured with lots of different kinds of perennials - and I mean LOTS of perennials that I couldn't list them all if I tried. I think I was about 3 weeks too early because soon they will be fantastic in color. Here's what caught my eye.

LOVED this creeping sedum - so much that I bought some when I returned home. It reminded me of cushion spurge and but that is so short-lived!

Asiatic lilies, irises and pink yarrow. Like the color combination.

I've never tried asiatic lilies and was inspired to do so after this trip. Trouble is - I didn't look at the tag too closely at the nursery and realized after I got home that I bought an Oriental Lilly vs. an asiatic (moron). But I planted the "Star Gazer" anyway. Wish me luck.

After our day at Medicine Wheel, my sister and I - along with my young girls in tow - visited my mother's grave to tidy up the plants our dad had planted. He didthe usual cemetery fare - geraniums and petunias. I've been meaning to plant a perennial on mom's grave so before we left town, I stopped by one of my favorite nurseries and picked up another red coreopsis.

This is the one I bought one for myself this spring and this is what it's doing now where it is front and center in my corner garden with full sun. It's an absolute showstopper. Next to it is the Lemon Gem marigold. I am so pleased with these too! I'll never buy another Moonbeam coreopsis again. These look like a coreopsis but are less invasive, form a nicer mound and you can't beat the price of a cell pack! I hope this red coreopsis will look nice on mom's grave. Maybe next year I'll plant a salvia next to it.

Meanwhile, things are looking good on the homefront ...

This is my shady corner in the backyard - I added a statue of St. Francis in a small area by a fence and planted an astilbe "Rheinland", hosta and assorted impatiens. The blue stone was painted by Annaboo in loving memory of our mini Schnauzer Henry who took off for doggy heaven prematurely. Although not the patron saint of gardeners (that would be St. Fiacre), St. Francis is a close second and he is the patron of saint of animals. I saw this quote and thought it was quite fitting ...

A garden without its statue is like a sentence without its verb.

- Joseph W. Beach

Amen brother.

This is my "Gardenview Scarlet" about ready to burst. I can't wait!

My annual rant

At one time I was a perennial prude.

I used to think that a true gardener only planted perennials and by my planting only perennials, I would somehow be awarded the golden green thumb. I have a friend, dare I say, is still that way. "Annuals are so boring," is what I heard and I believed her. I wanted to be that sophisticated gardener that stayed away from the garden stalwarts of petunias, marigolds, impatiens and geraniums. I used to think they had no place in my garden.

Well, let's just say I have embraced my inner annual.

I admire my sister-in-law's gardening philosophy. Be bold! She isn't afraid to plop an annual wherever she darn well pleases. She was blessed to buy a house that had beautiful existing perennial beds. But she uses splashes of color to brighten vacant spots. A fuscia here - a million bells here - a profusion zinnia there. It's just enough color to make her beds interesting and colorful and that's what I'm learning to do too.

Let's face it, perennials gardens can be kind of bland between blooming periods and without annuals here and there, they can get kind of "green." That's not a bad thing it's just, well, kind of boring.

So, in comes the annuals. Here's what I've been planting:

Heliotrope - great purple blooms. Some say they have a vanilla scent but I'm not smelling it yet. Looks great with my pink dianthus.

Bacopa (Snowstorm Giant Snowflake) - the best trailer I have planted in years. Always blooming and needs very little care. This beats an ivy any day.

Gazania - I have the Tiger Mix variety with blooms of yellow, orange and white stripes. I have it in my "all-orange" planter along side signet marigolds and a trailing peach million bells.

Cuphea - I saw a webcast where they put together colorful planters and they used this red accent plant. I bought one on a whim. Jury is still out though ...

I love what I'm seeing with this combination of Zinfandel Oxalis, osteospermums and orange profusion zinnias. The Zinfandel has yellow blooms that come up when the sun is out - very pretty.

My favorite planter - I love the red and pink together.

Signet marigolds in "Lemon Gem" - they really smell like lemons!

I'm embarrased to say that I finally tried these for the FIRST TIME:

Coleus (Sedona) - I feel in love with the orange. I first made the mistake of planting it in full sun where it took a beating. I moved it to the the northside and added some small red coleus to the planter. It has bounced back nicely.

Baby's Breath - What a novice, I know! And I thought I could use it only in the dried variety. This is beautiful!

Wax begonias - Gasp! I've never been attracted to begonias but I thought I'd try one in a mixed planter.

Perennial wisdom

I don't want to disrespect the perennials - they are the staples to every garden and I do love them. I have two favorites so far in this growing season.

My May Night Salvia has never looked better. In fact, I have people that stop in the middle of the street and stare at it. One lady knocked on my door and asked me for a leaf to bring in to a nursery to find out what it was. That's never happened before to ME. I'm usually the one knocking on someone's door!

This lady's mantle has been a pleasant surprise. I bought this late in the season last year when it only had about two leaves and it was on its last leg. I have it in mostly shade and it's about ready to show its chartreuse blooms. I liked it so much that I bought one for a small area in the backyard that I recently dug up and am making a small "shade sanctuary". Photos of that to come ...

My canna experiment is working!