Tag Archives: perennials

Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere!!!

  By Rachel | May 13, 2012 - 8:21 pm | Plants
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We had a sale going on at our church on Friday.  Several ladies who are in the local gardening club and go to our church had plants from their gardens.  Here’s what I have so far.

Lady Crinium Lily- this is a bulb, gets up to four feet tall, blooms spring through fall depending on variety.  Won’t tolerate standing water, so needs well-drained soil- flowers best after being in the same location for at least 3 years. Plant in full sun.
white crinium

Penny Mac Hydrangea-make sure to prepare the hole well for this shrub- make sure the hole is much wider than deep.  Only light soakings and occasional fertilization needed later- this shrub seems to do best with morning sun only- esp. in the deeper parts of the south where the sun’s heat is more intense.  Be careful about pruning hydrangeas- they all have unique pruning instructions.

Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) Ser.

Obedient Plant-not obedient at all.  Can be invasive- hummingbirds and butterflies love it- plant in full sun to partial shade- can grow 3 feet tall and will spread and spread, and spread some more. Likes well drained soil, needs very little care after planted.  Good plant for an area where you can let it fill in a large space, easy to divide any time of year.

Obedient Plant

Tartarian Aster- (big green leaves) These Asters bloom in the fall and have football-sized clusters of purple flowers.  Very tough, can plant in clay soil and walk away, requires very little care.  Full sun- even 10 hours of sun and these plants will thrive and spread.

 Aster tataricus

Fall Aster or Aromatic Aster – (not as big more upright habit) Very hardy like the Aster above, a fall bloomer, again, full sun, very little amending of soil necessary- some water and once established will flourish with little or no care.

fall asters

Becky Daisy- (toothed leaves) Spring bloomer with white flowers growing up to 3 feet tall – attract butterflies and are great cut flowers.  Like well-drained soil, a little fertilizing will help their flowering- too much fertilizer can damage plants. Divide plants any time.

Comin' up Daisies

Jasmine- (little leaves- looks more like a shrub- smells good, likes moisture and part. sun) I know very little about Jasmine.  I bought it on the recommendation of one of the ladies from the church who loves gardening.  I will have to post again once I have had this plant for about a year and get a sense of how it does through the seasons.  I don’t know what color the blooms will be.

**Note: The info in parenthesis was helpful for telling the plants apart and some basic info on where to plant them.

Winter jasmine, II

Excited to see how everything does throughout this growing season, will post more pics as my own plants mature.  Happy Gardening!

Coreopsis

  By Rachel | May 11, 2012 - 1:33 am | Plants
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Domino Coreopsis, or Coreopsis Grandiflora Domino (Tickseed) has just started blooming in my yard.  I cut a few of the blooms to bring inside, they make great cut flowers and when you remove the spent blooms they keep on blooming.

Here are some pics I took today.

Note:  I looked at pictures of this particular cultivator and all the pics had a red center.  I think that my variety may be different, possibly Coreopsis lanceolata (Asteraceae). I will post two pics at the bottom of this post to compare the two types of Coreopsis.

As you can see, my plant is still very small.  Coreopsis can get 2 feet high and wide- needs separating every 2-3 years to keep the robust life of plant.  Very drought and heat tolerant once established, will tolerate poor soil as long as there is decent drainage.

Prefers little to no fertilizer, no major pests or diseases.  I have been very pleased with this flower- I have two clumps planted in my perennial bed and both are blooming and looking lovely- excited about dividing these plants next year and having even more yellow blooms to cut and bring inside.

 

Summerflowers Mädchenauge

Coreopsis grandiflora domino

Syrphid Fly on Coreopsis lanceolata

Coreopsis lanceolata

 

And the Garden Grows…

  By Rachel | April 14, 2012 - 12:15 am | Plants
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The latest additions to the garden- bought this morning at my favorite local garden center- I only buy local plants and get fantastic prices!  Check your area to see if you can buy local as well and support nurseries in your area.

Bearded Tongue or Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’ and Salvia greggii ‘Lipstick’ got planted today after a trip with a friend to buy some plants for her yard.

Here are pics of these two perennials and some basic care info.

Bearded Tongue Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’

Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red' - Talus Slope Penstemon

Basic care info:

Deep red foliage with white/bright pink blooms.

Full Sun- at least 5-6 hours of afternoon sun is best

Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies

Blooms May-October- deadhead promptly for continual blooms

Grows to 30 inches tall and 2 feet wide.

Drought tolerant once established- be sure to water plant when top 3 inches of soil is dry during the first growing season.

Likes well-drained soil, mulch plant and water only during drought conditions once established.

Salvia greggii ‘Lipstick’

Picture A Day November 5, 2010 - Pink Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) at Kickapoo Cavern

Fall Garden series

Basic Care Info:

Water occasionally and then only during severe drought once established.

This specific cultivator has red blooms. It has an upright bushy habit and is free-flowering, especially in the heat of summer.

Evergreen in the southern parts of the US.  Very drought tolerant once established.

Soft, green, lightly fragrant leaves cover this plant throughout the season.

Flowering will even continue well into winter where frost is absent.

This plant attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

Easy to grow if provided with full sun and well-drained, average soil.

Over time in climates with mild winters- it will grow to the size of a small shrub.

It requires minimal maintenance but looks better if occasionally shaped and cut back. This will encourage heavier blooming too.

In harsh winters plants may freeze to the ground and resprout from the base.

Planning a Bed for your Garden

  By Rachel | April 4, 2012 - 7:15 pm | Plants
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105/365 - Flower Bed Beauties (at Brighthouse Networks)
Are you intimidated by gardening?  Feel like you don’t have the time to be out in your yard all the time taking care of plants but want to enjoy some beautiful low-maintenance flowers?

Here are some easy steps to get started on that new gardening bed this spring.

First step- do some reconnaissance in your yard- how much sun does the area where you want the bed get- five hours, ten hours, two hours??  This is the single most important piece of information that you need to find out.

Second step-What kind of soil do you have?  Clay?  Sand?  A mix?

Third Step-how large do you want the bed to be?  A single line of shrubs or perennials, any trees?  How tall and wide do you want it to be?

Fourth Step- Find plants that fit your needs/desires.  This requires research- or perhaps asking a friend who knows a little bit about plants (hint, hint- I would LOVE to help you plan!!)

If you take the time to do a little bit of planning- you will end up much happier with the result in the end- do not do the “impulse buy thing” with plants- that will almost certainly spell disaster for the amateur gardener and may discourage you from trying to grow anything again (that would be very sad…)

Next, you need help planting the flowers.  You MUST take time to dig holes that are big- esp. for shrubs and trees- they need to be deep and wide- much wider and deeper than the root ball.  Taking the time to dig the right sized hole and amend the soil will make all the difference in the long run- save you lots of time and headaches- and also could help the plant to really thrive.

Ask lots of questions, seek help, and check out a book or two. 

Just my opinion- but a lot of the landscaping people out there don’t really love flowers- they are in it for the money and are looking to get you to buy what they have in stock or what’s easy for them to plant- not what you are really looking for.

Talk to a Master Gardener or someone who is always talking about flowers and planting- most likely they are the people who you want to be asking for advice.

Flower Bed

A Day in the Garden

  By Rachel | March 28, 2012 - 11:33 am | Plants
1 Comment

Yesterday I planted several perennials and annuals in containers on my front and back porch.  Here are pictures and a short description of each plant and care instructions.

Pink Pop Hyssop (Agastache astromontana ‘Pink Pop’):

Flowers from mid-summer through early fall that attract butterflies.  This perennial can grow 2-3 ft tall and wide.  Very drought and heat tolerant once established.  Insect and disease resistant- plant in full sun in well-drained soil.

Agastache foeniculum Honey, hisopo anisado, Blue Giant Hyssop, menta regaliz

 

Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum ‘Metallicum’:

Grows to 12 in. tall and 18-24 inches wide.  Partial sun to shade, great for a shady porch or under trees.  Prefers moist, well drained soil.

Japanese painted fern

 

Dwarf Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria sp ‘Pink or Red’):

Blooms spring to fall, need to remove spent flowers to encourage new growth and more blooms.  Makes great cut flowers.  Full-partial sun in well drained soil-severe heat may slow growth.  Grows 12″ tall and wide.  Twist and pull out spent stems- do not pinch or cut- this encourages the rhizome will be stimulated to produce new shoots.

00085cr7.jpeg

 

Pink Million Bells (Calibrachoa):

They love the heat- be sure to place them in full sun- even 4-5 hours of afternoon sun during the hottest part of summer. Great for containers and hanging baskets since they have a vining habit.  Keep soil moist, watering 2-3 times a week.  Attract hummingbirds. Continual flowering from spring to fall.  When watering, try to keep water off the leaves.

Pink Million Bells

 

Dragon Wing Begonia (Begonia sempervirens):

Full sun to shade- grows 12 to 15 inches tall and 18-24″ wide.  May grow taller in deep shade.  Water regularly keeping water off leaves and flowers.

Ashley and Dragon Wing Begonia

 

Pineapple Lily (Eucomis Comosa ‘Tugela Jade’):

Topped in August with 18″ flower spikes that are chartreuse in bud and open into white flowers.  They will come back year after year and spread if left alone.  They are slow to emerge in spring and usually appear after other flowers are already showing new growth.  This perennial likes full sun with some shade at the hottest part of the day.  The flowers are followed by green berries- grows 18″ tall and 1 1/2 ft wide in clumps.  Needs moist, well drained soil.

Eucomis pole-evansii #2

 

Orange Avens (Geum coccineum ‘Cooky’):

Plant in full- partial sun, attracts butterflies.  Low-maintenance perennial growing 18″ tall and 16″ wide.  Clumps will need to be divided every 3-4 years to keep plants healthy, prune back hard after blooming to encourage health of foliage.  Needs well drained soil.

 

Geum (avens)

 

Frosty Begonia:

This was an impulse buy- at $1.50 I couldn’t resist the lovely leaves.  I am not sure that this plant is a frosty begonia- I am headed back to the plant place again on Friday- so I will ask for more info while I am there.  For now, I have this plant in part. sun on the front porch.

 

Gardening Blitz

  By Rachel | March 2, 2012 - 3:34 pm | Plants
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Yesterday it was 70 degrees.  Oh, glorious, beautiful day!!  I spent just about every moment outside- and it gave me a great excuse to go pick up a few more plants.  ;)

Here are the latest that I have been added to our outside garden.

Salvia nemerosa  ‘Rose Queen’

Perennial that is easy to grow and attracts hummingbirds.  Plant in full sun to part. sun, drought tolerant once established (usually after the first year). Grows 2-3 ft. tall and wide usually in one season. Non-stop blooming from April to October- trim to keep a more compact look throughout the growing season.

DSC_6476

Double Red Knockout Rose- Rosa x ‘Radtko’

Great resistance to black spot disease, no need to deadhead these roses, they keep blooming all spring, summer, and fall.  Grow 3-4 ft. tall and wide.  Plant in full sun- can take part. shade. Very low-maintenance rose.

red double knockout roses at the San Antonio Botanical Garden

Curly Waxleaf Ligustrum

Plant in full sun/partial shade.  Tough shrub, a great screen, hedge or windbreak.  Evergreen with white flowers in the spring. Grows 8-10 feet tall and 4-6 ft. wide.  Can be pruned into several different shapes according to particular needs/desires of gardener.

Waxleaf Privet (Ligustrum japonicum ‘Texanum’)

I will write more info as I watch these plants over the coming season.  Let me know if you have any questions.

 

 

Spring Has Sprung!

  By Rachel | February 22, 2012 - 9:37 pm | Plants
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Here are some pics of some of my flowers and some of the green leaves that are peeking through.  I love spring, I am excited to see all the new growth on flowers I planted last year, and to add new shrubs around the outside of the house.  Here are the late February highlights.

Camellia Japonica ‘Elizabeth Ann’

Autumn Joy Sedum

Camellia Japonica ‘Elizabeth Ann’

Butterfly Whorl (perennial)

 

And finally, a Mum planted out front of the house in the fall, showing some new growth this spring- love their rounded growth habit and beautiful fall color.

Beginning at the Beginning

  By Rachel | February 15, 2012 - 4:15 pm | Random
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Gymnaster savatieri (Scientific name), Place:O...

Image via Wikipedia

Sometimes it is hard to be new to something.  It can feel overwhelming- all the things I don’t know, all the things I need to learn.  All the mistakes that I make.

But this time around, in all the newness- I am trying to enjoy the process.  Learn from my mistakes and enjoy the journey- not anxiously pressing forward toward mastery- but seeing the beauty in the process.

I have made so many mistakes as a gardening novice.  Planting things in full sun that should be in partial shade.  Planting things out in the yard that really should be planted next to the house to protect it from the weather.

So many mistakes, little and big- and there are many more to come.  I have planted bulbs the wrong way- have watered things too much and killed them.  And some things have died and it remains a mystery- those are the most challenging- because sometimes I feel like I haven’t learned anything because I don’t know why the plant died.

Nothing can make me stop gardening though- and I think that’s when you know you really love something- and are committed to it.  You work through the ups and downs and still find joy in the most mundane tasks- pulling weeds, watching the little sprouts appear, mulching, fertilizing, planning where to plant new things, doing research on what plants fit best in what locations.

It all brings joy.  I know there are many mistakes to be made in the years ahead- but I also believe that the joy of all the plants inside and outside my house will far outweigh the trials that I may face.

There is something to be said for hard work- it reaps rewards.  Sometimes we forget that.

Here’s to beginnings- and sticking it out to reap the benefits of faithful work.

 

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Gardening Websites

  By Rachel | February 11, 2012 - 9:04 pm | Random
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English: Amber Flush rose - Bagatelle Rose Gar...

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I am going to use this post to start a list of gardening websites that I like.  I get so frustrated sometimes b/c I am looking for care information about a plant.  Sometimes I don’t even know what the plant is b/c someone gives it to me and they may not know specifically what its name was.

So far, these are some of my favorites for finding info. about a variety of plants- indoor and outdoor.

easytogrowbulbs.com :  Ok, they are trying to get you to buy bulbs from them while you are there, but the pics are gorgeous and they have great information about bulbs- I like the layout too, very easy to search and quickly find what you need.

naturehills.com : Great site with a wide variety of plants- perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, bulbs- they have it all.  They do NOT provide good info. on caring for plants however, and they are trying to get you to buy their product- so I could not go to them for more than just to surf plants- they have great pics and well organized site.

plantcare.com :  Just discovered this site.  I love the menu where you can choose plant encyclopedia- then you select specific things you are looking for in a plant like how much sun, flowering or no flowers, fragrant or no, and then level of expertise.  Then, you hit search and you can hover over plant pictures and it makes it bigger- Ok, I LOVE this- I choose plants often by aesthetics- so I love being able to see a close up of the plant without having to click on each one.

 

I will add more to this list as I discover more sites that I like- please comment and leave some info. if you have a favorite site you like to use to find plants/plant care info.

 

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