Serenity in the Garden

courtesy of  Proven Winners When the American Horticultural Society decided to create a large meadow at their headquarters, River Farm, in Virginia the first plant they seeded was  Little Bluestem.   ( I wrote about this earlier but have added to it. ) Photo Courtesy of Lazy S'S Farm  They applied 100 pounds of Bluestem seed. The Latin name is  Schizachyrium scoparium or  skiz-ah-KEER-ee-um sko-PAR-ee-um. Why was this the first plant they seeded? Because Little Bluestem is a NATIVE, wonderful, durable, upright,   clump forming grass that is eminently suitable for 'meadow making'. 'The Blues' courtesy of the  Battery Database Little Bluestem is native to almost all of the United States and parts of Canada. It is found in  45 of the 50 states, making it the most abundant of all native grasses. It is drought and flood-tolerant, can grow in light shade and thrives in relatively poor, sharply dra...

Try  planting  Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'.  And pair it with Baptisia Cherries Jubilee. A deer resistant, native, drought tolerant, purple, long lived perennial! Wow! Photo - Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden - Puple Smoke Baptisia and Carolina Moonlight Baptisia It is a hybrid of  B. australis  and  B. alba and is a vigorous grower.   Discovered by Rob Gardener of the North Carolina Botanical Gardens, it has charcoal-gray stems and is purple.   Baptisia is a native perennial that has a long taproot, loves sunny sites with lean or poor soil. Average to dry soil is best.  Its deep tap root allows it to survive long dry periods, making it a challenge to move once it is established.  Purple Smoke from Bluestone Perennials The flowers resemble lupines and are smoky violet. Numerous flowers open first at the base of the flower stalk in May and ascend upwards, topping out at 4.5' tall. It has fine te...

'Blue Paradise' Little Bluestem courtesy of Proven Winners   Deep wine purple fall color. When the American Horticultural Society decided to create a large meadow at their headquarters, River Farm, in Virginia the first plant they seeded was  Little Bluestem.   ( I wrote about this earlier but have added to it. ) Photo Courtesy of Lazy S'S Farm  They applied 100 pounds of Bluestem seed. The Latin name is  Schizachyrium scoparium or  skiz-ah-KEER-ee-um sko-PAR-ee-um. Why was this the first plant they seeded? Because Little Bluestem is a NATIVE, wonderful, durable, upright,   clump forming grass that is eminently suitable for 'meadow making'. 'The Blues' courtesy of the  Battery Database Little Bluestem is native to almost all of the United States and parts of Canada. It is found in  45 of the 50 states, making it the most abundant of all native grasses. It is drought and flood-tolerant, can gro...

For hummingbirds plant something RED.  'Major Wheeler' honeysuckle is a selection of a native honeysuckle ( Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler')  that produces a blanket of tubular, reddish orange flowers from late spring through summer.   Hummingbirds like tubular flowers so this profusely red blooming, vining plant is a hummingbird magnet! This photo is from a great website Stately Kitsch Grows in Zones 4 -8. They bloom on the previous year's growth as well as new growth so pruning is easy and regular pruning is not required. They grow from 6 ft to 10 ft. long.  You must provide a trellis, fence, or post with wire grid for support for this marvelous vine. It is noninvasive, unlike some other honeysuckle vines. And it is DEER RESISTANT.  Later, the red berries attract goldfinches and robins. How great! It is rarely troubled by insects, diseases, or deer. Bingo. this is from Burpee who calls it a customer favorite ...

I   adore Fothergilla gardenii Mt Airy.  (wonderful photo of fothergilla leaf from Quercus Design blog) Fothergilla is native to the Appalachians, is  deer resistant   and sports fragrant, early spring flowers before the leaves come out. The flowers are white, bottlebrush spikes that light up a sunny to partial sun woodland corner. The flowers are followed by blue green, heavily textured foliage. Photo from Robs Plants Website -  http://www.robsplants.com/plants/FotheGarde photo by Laura McKillop 'Mt Airy' is a dwarf form and got its name from the Mt. Airy Arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio. When compared to the native species, Mt. Airy Fothergilla has more vibrant multicolored foliage in shades of yellow, orange and red in October through mid-November. This fall color is the best! It is spell binding in the garden....  Photo for Monrovia by Doris Wyjna Photo by Plant Introductions, Inc  I like to u...

Amsonia Blue Ice  by Monrovia Nurseries The Blue Star perennial family -   Amsonia tabernaemontana - has a hybrid cousin,  Amsonia 'Blue Ice'  that is an amazingly vigorous, low growing plant with deep blue flowers.    photo by Jan Johnsen Amsonia 'Blue Ice'  has a white, milky sap that is toxic to deer and more. Yay!  Amsonia 'Blue Ice' is easy to grow and drought tolerant.  12-16" tall, 18-24" wide. Needs full sun. It blooms from late spring to early summer.  amsonia Blue Ice fall foliage is stunning - photo by Jan Johnsen It grows in a 15" tall by 2' wide mound of narrow, dark green, deer-resistant foliage. And in spring it is topped with large clusters of lavender-blue flowers which are more vivid than other blue stars.  It  blooms prolifically and turns a fabulous golden yellow in the fall.  Zones 4-9   Amsonia blue ice , Miscanthus 'Morning light' ,  Nepeta 'Dropmore Hy...

Heartleaved Skullcap - photo by Hippie mama Got Dry Shade?   Heart-leaved Skullcap ( Scutellaria ovata) is a native, deer-resistant plant for a  dry semi-shade to open shady site . It grows  14-20” tall and is hardy in Zones 4-9.  It also has blue flowers.  Wow! During the summer the blue-purple, snapdragon-like, tubular flowers bloom and last until early fall.  Afterward, the flowers are replaced by small dark nutlets (skullcaps). This plant likes alkaline soil with pH of 7 to 8. (Add lime).  T he root system is fibrous and s preads by rhizomes.   It can be a little aggressive so take care.  Its leaves are ovate and have a purple metallic patina to them at flowering. Quite lovely.  photo source click here  Heart-leaved Skullcap is easily grown from seed and will self-seed in the garden. Plants may go dormant after bloom in hot dry summer weather so plant summer salvia or other plants nea...

Courtesy Bluestone Perennials Want to make your flower border come alive in the fall? Plant something with dark green to purple stems and foliage for drama. Add flowers in the fall and you have a winner! The horizontal growing, native  to northeastern North America,    aster lateriflorus ‘Lady in Black’ creates a stir as its dusky purple leaves appear in spring (a similar cultivar is 'Prince' which grows in clumps). By the end of summer, thousands of small dark buds dot the 2-3-foot-tall plant, promising an explosion of  tiny white flowers with raspberry-colored centers.The  flowers appear laterally along one side of the stems, hence, the species name .   photo by   Jerry Pavia This short perennial is hardy, has no serious problems, is deer and rabbit resistant, and its many small flowers are a late-season treat for butterflies. 'Lady in Black'  looks good in containers and is great for cut flowers!  ...