I was all "tough gardener" this morning heading out to my garden to do some weeding and deadheading. I wasn't going to show any mercy as I began to pull out and cut back in Plopper's Field, my slightly overgrown, slightly not tended, perennial border where I plop in plants wherever there is a blank spot. It was easy to yank out the thistle and the beggars tick. No one likes them in the flower garden. I had no problem pulling out the hollow tubes left long after the daylilies last bloomed. … [Read more...] about I was all “tough gardener” until…
perennials
Daylily Basketball Team
If you were going to make a basktball team out of daylilies, 'Notify Ground Crew', with flower stems hovering just over six feet tall, would be a strong contender for the center position. For my non-sporting friends, in basketball the person who plays the center position is usually the tallest person on the team. After picking 'Notify Ground Crew' at the center position, I have no idea which daylilies to choose for the rest of the team. Most other daylilies top out around three to four … [Read more...] about Daylily Basketball Team
The Pea Family Showed Up This Week
I was standing out in the garden and noticed I was surrounded by blooms from the pea family of plants. My initial thought was, "oh good, the Leguminosae family has arrived. Oh wait, not Leguminosae like I learned in college, now it's Fabaceae. Leguminosae, Fabaceae, does it really matter-a? Maybe not. What matters is their blooms have shown up in my garden. The common peas, Pisum sativum, started blooming earlier this week in the Vegetable Garden Cathedral. I'm growing the variety 'Green … [Read more...] about The Pea Family Showed Up This Week
In the right light…
In the right light... I just like how this picture came out. So I'm sharing it... … [Read more...] about In the right light…
Foxglove – A sign of garden fairy activity in the garden
Digitalis grandiflora Dear Hortense, Do you have foxglove growing in your garden? I have large yellow-flowered foxglove, Digitalis grandiflora, growing in my garden. It's right in the middle of Plopper's Field, my perennial border where I carefully plop new plants in any spot that looks open. I do, of course, sometimes, if I think about it, consider what's growing around the bare spot before I plop in a new plant to make sure it won't get lost amongst the other plants. Then its up to … [Read more...] about Foxglove – A sign of garden fairy activity in the garden
Gillyflowers in bloom
Gillyflowers, Dianthus 'Bath's Pink' The gillyflowers are in bloom. Gillyflowers, you ask? Aren't those Dianthus, you ask politely? To you, maybe, but when I read that another common name for Dianthus is gillyflower, I decided that's the name for me. I got my starts of this particular gillyflower, which is Dianthus 'Bath's Pink' from the Hoosier Gardener. I remember she dropped off a paper bag full of these plants with very little roots but a promise to just plant them and they would … [Read more...] about Gillyflowers in bloom
