13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

I put in Blue Fortune for a client some 5 or so years ago, and it has thrived here in NW suburbs of Chicago. We dug out about half of it last year, as it was taking over it's corner of the garden.

Thanks to all for you input. I'll give it a try and periodically make cuttings to keep it going.

I fell in love with Achilleas this year. I had never grown them, but had a hot, dry, difficult area that needed something, so when I came across some 'Summer Pastels' cheap, I thought I would give them a try. Boy am I happy I bought them.

I don't remember the exact order of the change in color succession, but I think the flowers changed from dark red to gold to paler yellow and finally peach. With new blooms developing constantly, all these colors appeared at the same time on all the plants. The plants were in flower from late June until about a week ago when I finally chopped off the last of the flowers.

I don't know how well behaved these are going to be because they really didn't expand outward much this first year. Quite frankly, I hope they take over the bed they're planted in. Otherwise I'm going to need to buy more of them next year.

Kevin

Thank you both. I'm loving the pinky, yellowy, goldy, terracotta colors!

kevin, I bumped a thread of yours a while back but can't remember which one now...pretty sure I was asking how a certain plant of yours was doing..maybe LOL

Great photo and caption!

Lots of smiles from everyone's stories. Thankfully, I have never seen a groundhog/woodchuck in any of my various yards.

I have âÂÂtastefulâ admirers too - plenty of them, especially near my vegetable garden.
This one found my peppers patch very âÂÂtastefulâÂÂ:

And those ones just wrapped up a Tomato-tasting tour in my vegetable garden:

Hello All --
I stumbled upon some amazing photos of a 50s bathroom redo with MY tile -- grey and burgundy, and now i can't find it. If anyone knows or can direct me, i'm new here.
i loved that makeover, the cabinet was an espresso color wood and the countertop was granite. looking for a beautiful needle in a haystack! thanks for your help. Nalyn - aka Ben's mom

If anybody would need help with a bathroom re-model that would be done extremely quickly, many times in just a weekend please contact us at Rebath of Austin.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rebath of Austin

Soil type is a consideration. The soil here is pretty loose so a fork works great. Gooey clay might call for a different tool.

hoovb, You are absolutely right. I have gooey clay, enough to set up a pottery. The tool above is the most handy for me.

aHa! compost! i have compost. must go feed my babies this weekend.... =)

Rouge, I collected seeds from my son's T.delavayii album....would you like some?

Yes, I have a mate who gardens on Salt Spring Island who has been at pains to convince me that Canada is, in fact, quite temperate and English-like.....not that I believe this for one nano-second. When snow-mobiles are common transport modes in the fens, I may take her assertions a bit more seriously.
Lin, I love hanging out with other planty types. As a shy and curmudgeonly type, I generally avoid my fellow humans....unless they are gardeners in which case I can find something to say instead of incoherent mumbling, hiding, or rushing off at the first sound of visitors (although I am pretty certain these planty convos are not exactly scintillating). I came within a whisker of going to the Heritage Rose conference at Mottisfont this year....but the horsebox was burgled a couple of weeks before the booking deadlines and I just could not justify the ticket and travel costs, knowing all our garden tools (and our woodburning stove ffs) had been robbed....so I missed out to my utmost chagrin (shoulda just gone).
I went through a phase of knowing nothing, then knowing lots and finally, knowing enough to know that I really did know nothing....and yep, I am greedy and avid for more knowledge, ideas, information, suggestions and best of all, furious contentious debate......
Tex, I can especially recommend any of C.Lloyds books - he writes in a particularly dry, even faintly arch, but distinctively english manner (of a certain age and class) which I suspect will amuse you no end.
There is an unfortunate backlash regarding famous gardeners and especially famous gardens which I despair about - the tendency to remain stuck in a time-warp where a certain style evolves and is then preserved in aspic....forever. True, there is always a temptation to remain within your comfort zone and the public are often voraciously against any sort of change. If you have made a name for yourself as this or that (New Perennials are still riding high in garden trends), it can be really difficult to throw it in and try something different for a while....which is why us poor and undistinguished types have much more fun....but then again, being a dilettante rather than becoming truly expert has its limitations as well.
Forum mates, where do you place yourself in this scheme - are you trying to explore everything about a particular style....or are you too much of a flipperty-gibbet to do much more than dabble? Do you have a 'speciality'....or a style you are maintaining. Are you a purist or all over the place. At bottom, do you have a garden philosophy which informs your art or do you change with every passing craze? (it must be fairly obvious which camp I fall into).
And, do you have garden gurus or educators who's advice and theories you adhere to?
Speaking personally, I have not yet come across the garden writer or thinker who I can follow on my woodland adventure...and feel I am ploughing a lonely meandering furrow with minimal guidance....(no money, no staff, no time, no water and no idea).

I have just got back from a weekend of leaf-raking and bulb-planting. I used to save my leaves for making leaf-mould....and I can't quite bring myself to let this booty go unused....but a forest worth of poplar leaves is a crazy big mountain (grandaughter did a lot of diving and romping).....

Oooooh Camp! Take those last questions and start a new thread, please!

Yes, you are right, Rouge - winter aconites can be really tricky to establish in autumn, especially if you have heavy soil or the corms have dried out (same with erythroniums and galanthus too). If you manage to get freshly dug corms (tubers?) and have free draining soil, they will establish....but often, a better bet is to lift them while they are in growth ('in the green') and plant in spring. This is a common method in england and many nurseries will send out trays of plants 'in the green'

They are easy in my chalky (alkaline) sandy woods, especially if they get a bit of easterly morning sun...although they will grow in the most inimical conditions amongst tree roots, they hate compacted soil. You could throw a handful of grit in the planting holes......

I did way more than meet my goals. My only goal for this year was to buy a nice new rose and some honeysuckle, remove the scraggly thorn bush, and then put the new rose where the bush used to be.

I did that (which was much much harder than I expected!), but I also put down all new landscaping timbers around my existing beds, extended the living room window bed about 4' into the yard (new timbers there too), and bought a bunch of different plants (some perennials). I also moved the decorative grass to behind the fence (so now it's not hanging over the sidewalk so we have to walk through it), and moved a very sickly knockout rose from under the living room window to where the grass used to be, which is a much sunnier spot for it. That rose is now looking fantastic! I don't know why the previous tenant decided to put it in its previous shady spot, but oh well, because it's much happier now.

I've also finally won the war against the mint and wild violets.

I'd have better luck finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow that finding stauntonia on this continent. LOL

Arbo -- the seven years almost turned me off, but...looking at the photos, if/when it does bloom, it's stunning. I want that!

Of course in that many years, I very well could've moved to Hawaii...but I'll be happy knowing it's blooming for the next folks.

And who knows? Maybe the plants I got are six year olds in tiny little pots, haha.

Grace

Ah, that is unfortunate. I did look for stauntonia hexaphylla and saw that ForestFarms.com did carry it (currently out of stock) but you might try it's near relative akebia quinata...but try to find the lovely pale flowered one. It should remain evergreen for you and may even fruit (edible).
Or seeds are more easily available (Chilterns amongst others will ship to the US) and I think Plantworld also carries it.

Nope - it isn't a perennial here. I sometimes manage to overwinter a plant but even in my greenhouse, they are iffy. On the other hand, one tiny plant, bought in spring, would provide cuttings for a dozen people to share...and have sizeable plants by late summer when they finally show some flowers (mine are just emerging).

Wish it was perennial here. I had a plant that someone from down south sent me and I really enjoyed it that year. I'd love to try it again but I forget to try to find some in the spring.

Linda

I only have the large Joe Pye, but control it by clipping it in half each year. Perhaps some trimming would help control the height in Little Joe also?

This is my third year with 'Baby Joe' and it has never failed to impress. The young new growth has such nice color and texture that everyone remarks of its beauty and the plant just continues on looking great all season. Oh, and yes, its height is about 3 ft in my deeply dug and amended garden soil. Next spring, 'Baby Joe' will be divided and spread around to numerous locations throughout my yard, did I mention that I LOVE this plant! Seeing aachenelf's beautiful photo of 'Little Joe' makes me realize I must also get this one!

'Baby Joe' autumn foliage shot

Great. I think this may be its sister flower, Bidens aristosa. The leaves have less tooth. I can't tell the difference of the flowerheads....

Yep, I would agree with one of the bidens (not the rampageous heterophylla though, thankfully)