13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Sunrise & Harvest Moon have done well for me here, I've had them both 4 or 5 years. In fact, Sunrise has reseeded quite a bit & over 90% have been like their parent. I've not been impressed with Pink Double Delight. Nice the first couple of years, but the flowers are not impressive the last couple of years & I may pull it out. I bought Hot Papaya on clearance 2 years ago, it almost didn't make it the first year, didn't bloom last year, but this year it is WOW. Hope it keeps it up. I bought Hot Papaya recently & it promptly died. If they have more, I'm going to try it again, it looked so amazing.
Looks similar to 'Axminster Streaked.'
Here is a link that might be useful: Axminster Streaked
I have some similar that came up from my tall balloon flowers, but I also have Axminster Streaked. The nice thing about Axminster is it is shorter, only gets about 15" tall. The bad part is I have a harder time getting the seeds to grow to maturity than regular balloon flowers.
Like most other perennials, the bloom period is seasonal, not all summer long. Deadhead, keep well watered and fertilize in late winter or early spring. Contrary to what you may have read, fertilizing IS recommended but avoid any high phosphorus blends (middle number). A well-draining, quite organic soil in full sun is ideal.
I don't have an Acanthus, though I have been wanting one since I saw it planted in a bed at the Science Center in Seattle a few years ago, lol. Fantastic looking plant.
If it were me, I would probably pay most attention to the foliage of the companion plants. Personally, I would pair the Acanthus with a plant that has strappy/grassy foliage as an opposite texture and/or a plant that has delicate or ferny foliage to act as a softening contrast to the bold, jagged foliage of the Acanthus.
A small Miscanthus ('Little Zebra' would add some nice looking gold variegation too!) for beside it and then perhaps a perennial geranium (like G. sanguineum 'Vision Violet', which has nice looking delicate foliage) in front.
But that is just what I might do ;-)
CMK
I say to each his own, we put up a 6' wooden fence and bought a Doberman after surprising an intruder at 3 a.m. one summer morning. The fence was for the Dobie but I must say I really liked the enclosed feeling almost like a walled garden if you let your imagination wander.
I also like the backdrop it gives for vines and such and, I can still talk to the neighbors over the fence after finding something to stand on :)
Our neighbors also use our fence for a backdrop for their plants as well. On one side I have the benefit of one of our neighbor's beautifully scented Honeysuckle cascading over on to our side of the fence, on the other side our other neighbor has the benefit of several clematis and other vines spilling over to her side. So it's a win, win, for the three of us.
Annette
Well the fence saga continues. I was up early on Saturday morning and decided to get a head start on watering the plants. This way I don't get their way and I avoid the hot sun. As I hooked up my soaker hoses I noticed several rocks from my neighbor's yard in my yard. I kindly put them back(no I did not throw them. As fate would have it, they were gone for the weekend. Monday evening, I had to do some handwatering. As I'm start to water, I noticed several glad bulbs in the middle of the yard. The wife was outside so I made sure she saw me go back up to the fence line and place the bulbs in the dirt. I'm sure there will be more over the next few days and I'll bury them then.
Later on when I was taking to my other neighbor I thought I saw something thrown in the yard. She had thrown over a small clump of dry dirt with a weed attached. Then I found purple clover that had been dug up and left in my garden. No I don't have any purple clover in my yard. I usually have white but none since the drought. I put them in the lawn bags and I start to get angry. I decided to stay outside since it was cool (90 degrees) and work off my anger What I heard next made me smile.
This whole time I thought the husband was building the fence with the help of a friend. As it turned out, they hired some guy who is charging them by the hour and taking his sweet time in getting work done. The wife was frustrated that not much had been done. So now she's trying to find someone else. I know I shouldn't take any pleasure in this knowledge but it did dissipate my anger.
My beds are 100% perennial, while my containers are a combination of annuals/perennials/tropicals. I love moving around my containers & re-doing them just about every spring, but love that my beds, I can move/add if I want to, but if I don't, they'll look better and better every year on their own.
"Does he know how pretty Heuchera, Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford, and so many other beautiful color foliage perennials can look so pretty for such a long time in the garden?"
If you're talking about Fred McGourty, then I suspect the answer is yes, as his primary interest has been perennial gardening (and he's written books on the subject).
You might try the Seed Exchange Forum.
Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Exchange
I love Cardoons. On the link is a pic of some I cooked and a recipe.
Remy
Here is a link that might be useful: Remy's Recipes
They are migrating north and east from TX. They are all over TN now except the Smokies. All they really need is a water source and January temps that average above 28 degrees. They are originally from South America, much like the oppossum. Nothing really stopped them so I doubt the 'dillos will be stopped either.
If you can, put up a net fence perimeter somewhere around the beds.
'Dillo range is expanding rapidly into the mid west and mid Atlantic states....even into coastal northern states. So y'all better look out!
April, these animals are considered insectivores but also feed on many other arthropods. Earthworms are a favorite. The 9-banded armadillo, the only species you'll ever see, are famous for digging deep, following a whiff of grub aroma. They also burrow for their nesting and sleeping chambers.
We know that they are notoriously difficult to trap, though I did find some plans for traps on line when doing research for an article a few years back. They are very close to being sightless and sort of need to be guided into a trap. But, then what?
Fences won't work with armadillos. They are powerful diggers and their front claws can quickly destroy the typical trap, let alone fence.
I'm all for trying to repel these animals with one of the predator urine products often used for rodents. Even though these are not rodents, they have a strong sense of smell and a prey driven sense of self preservation. A collegue of mine says that blood meal might work on 'yankee ' armadillos! Seriously, it would be worth a try.
One thing for certain is that you shouldn't be tempted to pour poisons, gasoline, moth balls or other toxic substances into the burrows. Don't do things that could have a lasting effect on your soil.
Let us know what you decide to do. Oh, and look for these critters in the early evening or just before dawn. That's when they'd be spotted by workers on the golf courses.
I posted a wanted on CL for some pots, and also scrounged a bunch in the planting season when people were throwing them out.
For the plants I sold, which were mainly divisions of things that were taking over the place (like lily of the valley) I just potted them and put them in a wheelbarrow at the street with a pay on your honor can and a sign. Since these weren't super exciting high interest plants, I just charged $2 for bigger divisions and $1 for smaller ones. Mainly I found I'm too far into the country for "free" listings on freecycle (people replying wanted me to work around their schedule because I'm "so far"-uh, no, I'm GIVING you plants, you work around me) and I didn't want to just toss them, so it worked pretty well. I reinvested everything I made into more plants (over $100). I have maybe 20 or so left that I'm going to clear out at .50 a pot.
Eventually I'll probably build a little stand from reclaimed wood (to save $$ and not eat into my profit margins) and sell the lesser plants on your honor. Then have a plant sale a few times a year for "higher end" stuff.
I got a bunch of things from a neighbor who put out a huge trailer of plants. From the looks of the tags, they had them at a sale and these were the left overs. $1 each or 8 for $5. I got more echinachea, a wild clematis, sedum, sea holly...I love inexpensive roadside plant sales! I don't bother with ones that get close to what I'd pay at a garden center. I have two that sell quarts for $3 a piece and include things like the newer rudbeckia near by.
Ah, marcincon, that makes a *tad* more sense, though still, IMO, stretching it a bit. I guess your problem was you said WHY you wanted the pots and what you were going to do with them, lol.
But still, it's not like you are turning around and selling the empty pots for huge profits. And I still would bet that most people would prefer to give you the pots, knowing full well what you would be doing with them, rather than throw them away. After all, most people who participate in freecycle just want things to be put to use, not thrown away.
Oh well, there's always craigslist, lol! Good luck!
Dee