13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
...over here, - long way from you I expect, I find they need lifting and dividing quite often, almost every year and they like moisture during the summer... lots of it.... I have the variety 'Blazing Sunset' which is very similar and clumps dotted around all over the place, but those on drier ground don't repeat without moisture....
...these are still blooming but need deadheading...
Same here, I have it on a 'wild-ish' hill behind my house and the deer haven't bothered it at all, and I don't spray it. I should have sprayed the Annabelle hydrangea near it, but didn't until after the fact) High deer pressure here too.
I actually think most of the plants still look good now, except for the germanders but only because there are so many of them. The rest of the plants, though full, don't look overgrown to me but I like things spilling or bursting out a bit in a less formal look. Even the one germander on the right in your first "now" picture looks like it could stay as is, but it's just combined with the others that they look too dominant. I'd leave that one, take out the others, and fill in the holes with plants of your choice. Catmint is another choice for the color schemes you say you like (pick a smaller cultivar).
There are actually only 3 germanders total - one on the left when facing our front door and 2 on the right, they have just sprawled so enormously! I have hacked them back from the path but they spread about 6-7' wide along the length of the path the the 2 on the right have blended into a single hedge more or less. I am not even sure if I can physically hack them back to 6", I will have to buy an electric hedge cutter or something, I think. I use hand shears to keep things under some degree of control now and that means weekly hedging. But it's even difficult to walk up the path with groceries or items because it's pretty narrow.
Unfortunately, I think I will have to dig them up. I think I will list them free on craigslist for someone with a larger space to enjoy, because I hate to kill perfectly good, vigorous plants. Anyone on this list in the SF bar area who would like them? I dread digging them up I bet the roots are tree-like!
Thanks for the artemisia suggestion, it looks like a plant I would enjoy. I'm also considering trying again with russian sage, but using "little spire" the shorter kind, i absolutely love the color. Maybe paired with something yellow, like I had in my original garden but all those smaller plants got crowded out.
All three being the same height (except different plants) doesn't work visually, the middle odd duck guy seems like he's between twin brothers with a strap across his middle.
I agree completely tr2. Thanks for the confirmation.
If I keep all three in the same location then next season I will make a much more conscious effort to cut back each of the sunflowers with more gusto earlier in the season to keep their final heights much closer to say...3 foot.
Kez, the coneflowers are 'PowWow Wild Berry' that I had grown from seed, this one with a neat pinwheel effect.
GardenHo. very nice photo, I really like the compact nature of 'Buzz Midnight' and how floriferous even very young plants are.
Debbie, in order to ensure survival though my cold winters, I set plants quite close to the foundation and with about 4 inches of the stem below ground, the heat that radiates into the soil from the cement foundation is sufficient to ensure their survival ... but, again, you must plant them deeply, though I otherwise provide them with no winter protection. On the other hand, I now intent to attempt buddleia in the open garden, I'll just protect them heavily for winter. What I like about these plants is that despite their rather late spring emergence, they grow quickly and flower when most other things are at their peak in my garden. Oh, and yes, this is my first year with the 'Buzz'.
'Pink Delight', the largest truss is 18 inches long! .... mmm, I guess, too long to fit in properly below, lol.
'Crown Jewels', the foliage shines on this one!
You need to remove the entire plant. If you don't, the leaf hoppers will spread the disease to your other plants and you'll have to pull them out, as well. This is a nasty plant disease with no treatment, except to remove infected plants as quickly as possible. Other plants to watch are Marigolds, Asters, carrots,Coreopsis, Black-Eyed Susans....I can't remember any more from the list. You can Google Asters Yellow and get lots of info. Sorry this has dampened your garden enjoyment.
Martha
It is such a delight to see the butterflies out there! They're on my butterfly bush, too, and they also seem to like the zinnias. I only see one at a time, though. Like Arlene, I've seen the monarchs and swallowtails, and also those painted ladies and frittalaries (? sp), and the hummer moth like GardenHo.
Buddleia has been a butterfly magnet in my garden for years. I like to watch them flittering around each other.
As I take frequent short walks around my house and gaze out the windows I have seen lots of butterflies that I might have missed while working in a different part of the garden and focusing on the work. Many varieties including the ones mentioned above. More swallowtails, both yellow ones and black, large and small, than monarchs which are still scarce here.
Mine are definitely "Virgin". I have two larger ones I bought in bloom that were labelled as such, and then I mail-ordered one last fall, which is still quite small and not in the pic, and the blooms all look the same. What does yours look like, GardenHo?
Mine did that this year. This one actually had purple on the flower babies. Two others stayed green. I have grown echinacea for years and never have seen this.
Aster yellows. There is no cure. Best to remove the infected plants. This virus, transmitted by leafhoppers and mites, can spread to many of your plants, including some vegetables. Excellent, very thorough, piece by Missouri Botanical Garden at:
That's encouraging! I find myself spending at least a few minutes every day trying to educate folks about Asclepias plants. "These aphids are ruining my butterfly garden." Then every package of stuff and home remedy for killing aphids gets listed, without stopping to realize that almost all of those things would harm the very butterfly (caterpillars) they're supposedly trying to attract. I haven't seen a monarch since I moved to AL in '07.
Very exciting, and I am jealous. I've only seen a couple of Monarchs in a nearby field where there is a lot of Asclepias syriaca growing, they were both males however. I have been meaning to get back and see if any females have arrived and started laying eggs.
I ran across this the other night. Its a good one for comparing color and size. I think its a gorgeous mass planting of various grasses.
To complicate matters in your decision making process, there is a variegated Moor Grass (Molina) that is quite small, has a white stripe on the leaves and very cold hardy. Has fantastic seed heads that would add interest.
I'm in love with Sesleria autumnalis. Its small, yellow green, tough and really brightens up a spot. The seed heads are downright cute. I'm ordering several more if SRG puts them on sale in late fall & I'm saving seed from the plants I have to sow. They have done beautifully and are 0 maintenance with no extra watering, sun or shade. There is a smaller one that is blue, its used in this planting below. Very well behaved with good color and habit.
Yep, it's fine. I'd like to leave them for the birds, but man do they look ugly! Somebody posted a photo of a bundling of cut coneflower heads a couple years ago (was it Echinaceamaniac?), s/he tied up the heads in a bundle and either hung them or propped them standing (can't remember which) for the birds. That is a good idea!
To prevent lots of volunteers in the spring I cut some blooms off and leave one or two on each plant for the birds. One year I cut them all off all the plants and stuck some in a large pot filled with dirt and put it in the garden for the birds which lasted through the winter resulting in only a few self sown plants in the spring.
My sedum was a beautiful crimson color when I bought it last fall and planted it. Now it's grown into a healthy mound with many blooms, but unfortunately they're pink. Any ideas. I'd love that reddish color again
Nearly all tall stonecrops - Hylotelephium species and hybrids - go through a series of color changes as they bloom. The pink color yours is now should intensify to a darker brick or rust color as the flowers mature. As these plants are just now coming into bloom, it's still a bit early to see them having developed their best color.