More Showers = More Flowers

One upside of the cool and rainy summer we've been having is the reappearance in my garden of a planting combo that I haven't seen blooming together for many years; 'Milk Chocolate' Daylily and 'Firecracker' loosestrife.

Lysimachia ciliata 'Firecracker'

The loostrife needs regular watering and daylilies are not as drought tolerant as you might think. Most years the loofstrife makes a short, feeble appearance in early spring, and then goes dormant as summer heats up and I go to my once a month watering regime. The daylily is typically stunted in size and blooms very little, if at all.

Hemerocallis 'Milk Chocolate'

This plant selection was inspired as I read Color Echos by Pamela Harper. Denver was going through an era of above average moisture at that time too (the mid-1990's), and I planted — and lost — many things. It was a time of expansive development and experimentation for my own home garden, and I learned so much. Gardening is a game of experimentation and determination, so don't give up!

the buff colored seed heads of blue oat grass, left, and the tawny brown seed capsules of beauty bush, right back, add more  echoes to the various brown hues

Wordless Wednesday 6.03.2015

Peony Time

Peonies are one of those trigger plants that evoke memories of times, places, and people gone by. They are one of only a handful of plants that many of my clients actually know (and often request for their gardens). Peonies are valued by both Western and Eastern cultures — being native to China — and have been cultivated in gardens and featured in many art forms for centuries.

Most folks are familiar with herbaceous peonies that die back to the ground every winter. Today's photos feature a tree peony that I photographed recently at Denver Botanic Gardens.

white tree peony frames a moon gate at DBG

There are peonies suitable for almost any Front Range garden; they're quite durable, once established. For more information on peonies and how to grow them, visit Peony's Envy; they offer a wealth of information and lots of luscious photos. Note: this is not a sponsored link, I just like to share the good stuff when I find it.

Wordless Wednesday 4.08.2015

Wordless Wednesday 3.18.2015

Viola!  Aren't those scalloped leaf margins sweet?

Wordless Wednesday 2.25.2011

Geranium sanguineum

Wordless Wednesday 5.29.2014

Iris germanica

This is Normal

Plumbago, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, is painfully slow to emerge in the spring.

mid-May appearance of plumbago, also known as leadwort

But never fear, once it gets growing it takes off quickly to form a dense mass of foliage about 8" tall. By mid-summer the lovely blue flowers will begin to emerge,

and this lush groundcover will keep flowering through fall.

mid-September and full of flowers

As autumn progresses, plumbago's leaves shift color from rich green to oranges and reds.

Plumbago is a true ground cover and creeps via its root system. Plant in full sun or part/filtered shade. Moderately drought tolerant, once established.

Wordless Wednesday 4.23.2014

Iberis sempervirens (candytuft) and friend

Meet . . . Sedum middendorffianum!

That's a darn big name for a sweet little sedum!  The common name, Chinese mountain stonecrop, is just as long, but not quite such a mouth full.  This low growing evergreen is fairly new to my garden; I planted it in a tough spot between the street and driveway just a few years ago.  It's flourished on neglect, crummy lean soil, and little water.

The color show is spectacular in late spring when red stems emerge from the rich green foliage and explode with bright, yellow flowers and red bracts.  The overall effect is a multi-colored WOW!

The succulent foliage hangs tough during the summer, looking fresh and green.  Don't you love those cute serrated edges?

And if you leave the flowers / bracts to ripen, you'll be rewarded in the fall with this beautiful star-like texture.

Sedum middendorffianum is hardy in USDA zones 4-8 and needs full sun to thrive.  Plant it in a well draining, infertile soil.  Mature size is 4" tall by 12-18" wide.  The plants I've chosen to partner with this sedum include Penstemon pinifolius 'Mersea Yellow', Helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass), and 'Hidcote' English lavender (not shown).

Yucca, Hesperaloe, Russian sage, and blue mist spirea would also work well with this sedum.  I hope you'll give it a try!

Tough Guys — my top 5

yellow flowering pine-leaf penstemon, Penstemon pinifolius 'Mersea Yellow'

The Denver area has been in a Stage 1 Drought  this summer due to a low winter snow pack, low spring and summer precipitation, and higher than average temperatures.  I decided it would be a good year to test the durability of my garden plantings — I wasn't interested in knocking myself out (or using potable water) to provide supplemental water to my ornamental gardens on a regular basis.  My gardens are not on an automatic irrigation system so I either use a hose-end sprinkler attachment or  hand-water with a "wand."  I usually wait until my plants are in a prolonged wilt (no nighttime recovery) for 4-10 days before I give things a good soak.  This year I've watered the gardens about 6 times, total.  They look pretty sad, and we may finally lose a beauty bush (Kolkwitsia amabilis) that has never thrived.

The good news is that many of my plants have come through quite well, flowering profusely for long periods of time.  It may be no surprise to you that they're the same plants that I always brag on - the tough guys that put on a spectacular show during the "good" rain years, and keep on truckin' during the drought years, too.

The penstemon above, and its red flowering "parent" looked terrific mid-summer for weeks on end .  These next three — the horned poppy, Russian sage, and hummingbird trumpet — are planted in a side garden that got NO supplemental water this summer. They're going like gangbusters.

horned poppy, Glaucium flavum

Zauschneria arizonica with Perovskia artiplicifolia in the background

lower growing, groundcover form:  Zauschneria garrettii

the colorful, fuzzy bracts of Russian sage

This coneflower, too, has bloomed endlessly!

prairie coneflower, Ratibida columnifera

We're coming in to prime planting season now, so if you're looking to supplement your gardens with some xeric perennials, I hope you'll consider trying one of these.