A Plant Binge

How many times have you entered a nursery center with looking as your only goal, but leaving with handfuls of plants?  The worst case is at the end of the planting season when everything is marked down to pennies.  How could you not purchase a few more goodies for the garden?  I fall into this category often, but I do follow a few personal rules.

1. Try to buy at least three (or more) of one plant.  Though you may not have a destination in mind yet, at least there will be a nice grouping for the final design (and it will look like you planned it).

2. Try something new.  If you're only paying 99 cents, why not try a new plant?  If it doesn't do well, no biggie.  My garden is filled with sale (and even free) plants that no one else wanted or recognized.  I now have some amazing plants that I would have never dreamed up on my own.

3. Is there a season you're lacking great color?  Late summer or fall perhaps?  Try to find plants that fill those gaps.  Don't let the lack of bloom in the nursery distract you - just because it's not blooming at that moment, doesn't mean it's not fabulous.  Read the tags and grab the beauties others missed.

4. Pick up those small, special plants (less than 12" tall).  These itty bitty plants are perfect for the front of your border or tucked in small spaces.  Buy as many as you can.  It's so much fun spreading these out along the front of a planting bed to pull it all together (what? a sale item creating a a cohesive design?).

What other hints do you have?

A Summer Beauty

I discovered Allium 'summer beauty' a few years ago and fell in love.  Strangely, it was the foliage that first struck me...long, narrow slightly twisted leaves (similar to daffodil foliage) compact and beautiful spring through fall.  The very light pink, almost white round flower clusters pop up in late July/early August.

It's not only beautiful but also drought tolerant (one of the few plants in my garden this year that still looks amazing...it's been hot and dry in Iowa), plus can be divided.  These were pretty rare a few years ago, so I had to buy one at an auction.  Every couple of years I gently divide it in hopes of having more beauty all summer.

Oh, and to top it off, I just found out that Midwest Groundcovers now has a smaller cultivar available called Allium summer peek-a-boo™. It only get's better!

Ferns

Recently, someone mentioned to me how they detested ferns and wanted them all pulled from their yard.  I shrieked inside knowing how much I love them.  Ah, the sweet little fern...they are either loved or ridiculed.

I've attempted to trace my fern adoration to the idea of magical woodlands and grandmotherly gardens (though I haven't experienced either).  Strange how I have no special memories of this plant, but have somehow grown attached to it.  Could it be it's strength and dependability as a shade plant, while still having a meek and delicate disposition?

Image on left source unknown and image on right courtesy of Letterology

Image courtesy of Robert Hasty Photography

Don't Forget the Trim

An essential part of the perennial border often not given the deserved attention is the front...the extreme front.  Often we jump into plants that are 18" to 24" tall in this location, but what makes this part of the border special is the beautiful trim of really short plants...those 12" or less.  I've been experimenting with this living trim for a few years and have discovered a few beauties.  One of them is Veronica x 'Waterperry Blue'. This plant only grows 4-6" tall and has an amazing blue flower in the spring.  The foliage also has a slight burgundy tinge making it extra nice throughout the growing season.

Geums are Jems

I discovered this flower only a couple of years ago and now cannot imagine living without it.  In early spring it pops out like orange polka-dots all over my zone 5 sunny perennial border.  The foliage is wide and round giving much needed coarse texture to the garden.  The flowers balance above about 12-18". There are many different cultivars, so I may be creating my own sweet little geum collection soon.

A Sweet Little Allium

Sometimes it's a struggle finding a plant that always looks good, plus has the bonus of blooming at an odd time...like fall.  Allium senescens ssp. glaucum falls into that special category.

I found this plant while looking for another allium and it's been such a fabulous addition. I've been quite happy with its beautiful blue-gray twisted foliage, plus its sweet little purplish-pink flower.

I have it right in the front of my border, because the foliage stays small and tight (only about 6" tall).  The flowers start to pop out in August and stay as tight buds until September when they finally burst open.  It's now the start of October and they are still blooming (we've even had a couple of frosts already).  The flower heads are only about 1.5" wide and about 12" tall. Oh, and I live in central Iowa (zone 5a/4b) so you can compare to your own area.

The added bonus...they are easy to divide.  Eventually they can be spread along the front of a border to give a polka-dot like feel in the fall.

To find out more about this cute little plant visit Missouri Botanical Garden's Kemper Center For Home Gardening plant database.