Various Verdure

I'm making progress weeding the rock garden. The most difficult (steepest) part is done, but I'm not ready to do an entire report yet. Here are some miscellaneous plants to show.

I'll start with a Sedum that is making me pretty happy. This is the 'Cherry Tart,' one of the Sunsparklers. I got one little stalk for $7 plus shipping two years ago. Here's how it looks this week. The color stays consistent all season- this red-purple. It grows slowly, but I'm pretty happy with it.

This is how it looked last year, after one year of growth, so you can see it IS getting bigger.



Now for a big mistake. I've been allowing the weed Silver Cinquefoil, Potentilla argentea, to fill in areas because it has a nice texture and small yellow flowers.

The backs of the leaves are white, thus the "silver" name. This gives it some interest in a breeze.

Turns out it's a perennial with deep tap roots. Once a plant is two years old, it's very difficult to pull it out. It sprawls and fills a much bigger space than expected. If I'm going to let small plants grow in the spring, I need to root them up before July. I'll have to work on eradicating these.

Now for happier topics. The Icelandic Poppy is giving yet another round of flowers, although these are much smaller. It's very interesting that the one is yellow with orange edges.

The donkey tail Euphorbia continues to add interest even after three months. Actually, the seed pods were interesting too. Not sure I showed you those. However, the previously flowering stalks have turned bright pink and almost look like a different kind of flower.

And the new growth in the middle looks compact and healthy. I hope this has babies. Here's how it looked in April, and it's still giving joy in July.



When the gardens don't lend themselves to colorful long views, it's good to focus on small puddles of interest.

The weather was decent (cooler) today. I had an extra dose of editing to do, but spent a decent amount of time working outside. Can't complain about the editing- it's paying my bills!

See Purple Parade

Those Sedums I Ordered by Mail

I'm always on a quest to find hardy, colorful sedums I like that I don't yet own. I'm most impressed with the 'Sunsparkler' varieties, and there are still a few of those I'd like, but those will also probably need to be ordered. I've seen a couple of the choices at Garden Solutions.

Meanwhile, I found two varieties that I didn't have, both from the same seller on eBay so that saved postage. Even so, there are no bargain plants when you order them this way. However, the plants came through exceptionally well packaged and larger than is usually the case, so I was fairly pleased.

I got these in May. They are growing slowly but nicely, and both look healthy. The first one will get medium tall and has bright pink-purple flowers. New growth isn't as purple, but as they mature the stems and leaves get dark. The rock garden can take a few taller plants, particularly by the retaining wall. Things by the wall also have to be able to stand some serious heat. The afternoon sun bounces off the wall and will fry anything delicate beside it. (Shasta daisies were a no-go there.) So this is Sedum 'Oriental Dancer.'

The other new one isn't quite what I expected. It's larger and coarser than I envisioned, but I'm certain I can find a place I like it. Maybe not where it is now, but that's fine. This is apparently a 'Sunsparkler' cultivar, but I'm not sure it's one they support any more. They seem to have dropped some of the ones that aren't the fastest growing. I think this will also get taller than I thought. It's called 'Blue Pearl.' It's also less blue than the pictures right now. In fact, it doesn't look much like the pictures. That doesn't mean it's the wrong thing. Sometimes it takes a while for plants to reach a growth stage that is the one promoted. Anyway, it's happy, and it's something different.

BONUS SECTION: piles of infamy

This is just 15 minutes worth of trimming autumn olive. I'm sure I got the flat tire trying to get too close to these bushes yesterday. I'm determined to make a dent in beating back the autumn olive this year. Tomorrow I'll drag the piles out of the yard.

In other news: I mowed more- everything near the house is done. That is not to say the edges are trimmed. I weeded in the rock garden- it's going very slowly. I should have tried to do it once before I went to NY, and now it's out of control. I edited and did computer stuff.

See Sedum Odds and Ends

A-grrrr-essive Plants

I finally got the pieces together (and the weather contributed its piece by not being too hot) to start mowing. Discovered that in just the time I've been gone that a grapevine decided it should own the lawnmower.

Don't think it was content with that one little tendril. Oh, no! It was already getting serious about tying down the entire engine.

Here's one of the reasons I need to get cracking on the mowing. I like the big bluestem grass in the back field, but if it gets a foothold in the lawn that will be a problem because it grows in big coarse clumps.

The grapevine is funny. The autumn olive is not. I managed to mow five swaths and realized that a front tire on the mower was completely flat and trying to come off the wheel. At least it turned out to be fairly easy to remove the wheel. That little aggressive plant cost me $45.00. One of the thorns had punctured the tire.

Also, it took time to get it fixed. So I managed to mow two lawn sections after it was repaired. Other than that, I edited and did errands and a bit of computer stuff.

Hopefullly, more mowing tomorrow.

See Also Known as Turkeyfoot

The Unplanned Sixth

Does this sound like the name of some musical piece? I just like the sound of it.

Here's what happened. "Attached" to the driveway flower bed (that seems to have all blue things blooming) are a series of small rectangles that march down along the driveway, each with a central daylily. There have been five of these spaces for a lot of years.

But yesterday at Meijer they had a daylily in my lily color scheme that was marked down from $9 to $3. I couldn't resist. But it meant I had to dig another square for it. The name of this one is 'Monterey Jack.' The color scheme is maroon and yellow. It's blooming, and has several buds. I think it was marked down because some of the leaves are unhappy, and I think that is a result of being horribly rootbound. Now the roots will have plenty of room to spread.

None of the others are blooming yet, although I'm very encouraged at the potential. These beds had not been weeded in several years until last summer. I'm posting them all here so I can track what their status is on a given date. You'll probably see them all as they bloom. I'll just tease you with the names today.

The first square has one called 'Young Love.' It currently is small but has two budding stalks which is great because it hasn't bloomed in years.

The next square is the huge success because these lilies are unstoppable. They are also my favorite. It's commonly called 'Lemon Lily' for the clear bright yellow color. The buds should start to open in just a few days. It's a very old variety. Serious tinkering with daylilies began in the 1930's, but this one and the next are both old.

Here's the other heritage variety. It was created in 1941 and has the name 'Black Flacon.' Darker varieties have now been developed, but I've always loved these. They also have not bloomed in years, in fact I didn't even see leaves for a few years, and I thought maybe I'd lost them. They don't spread nearly as fast as most of the other varieties, but it has three stalks with buds, so if the deer don't decimate all the lilies, there is good hope to see some of these this year.

Just for the record, the next square is another patch of lemon lily, but it is much smaller. Any years when I managed to weed some of these spaces, it was usually only the first two. Last summer, I recovered the rest from being overgrown and choked with grass.

The formerly last square has a tiny plant of 'Revolution.' It has no buds right now, and my other patch of it is already starting to bloom. I think it's just panting with relief that it's finally not being choked.

Now, let's talk about daylilies. Technically, they aren't lilies, and taxonomists have now moved them to their own family, Asphodelaceae. The genus is Hemerocallis.

You probably think most of them have six petals. Actually, they have three petals and three colored sepals. Plant tinkerers have gotten some of them, like the one I just bought, to focus on the three petals so they look triangular. I actually prefer the ones that look like six, but I couldn't resist the correct colors at the low price. Here's a closer view of the 'Monterey Jack' flower.

These squares have had various plans over the years. This post has gotten long enough, so I'll save that for another day. You can probably tell that most of them are not weeded perfectly, but at least they aren't being choked by grass.

I was hoping to mow today, but we had a good rain last night, and it has continued to be wet and misty all day. Maybe tomorrow. I didn't sleep much last night, so I got up late. Spent extra time editing and cleared this new space and dug out the grass around 'Revolution.' Enjoyed the cooler temps! Right now it sure looks like more rain, but there's nothing on the radar.

See Yellow and Maroon

Front Garden Report 2025- #2

None of the gardens is completely cleaned up since I got back from NY, but the front bed is close, and it looks pretty good.

I know I show you this view over and over, but this space genuinely makes me happy. And it proves that it stays colorful all season. The light is dappled. Sorry about that, but it does give you one more "look" of that space. I'm particularly happy with the purple Heuchera near the right edge just above the middle. It's called 'Electric Plum.' Interestingly enough, the other red-to-purple Heuchera were more colorful earlier in the season, but this one seems to glow even brighter as we get into high summer.

And just above center is the white hosta with green edges, 'Loyalist.' It was damaged earlier, but it's doing well now. On the other side of the walkway is one of the large 'Krossa' Hosta. Both of those are doing great.

The white Globe Bellflowers have been blooming for well over a week. They seem to be a little later than the blue ones which are now all done. They are also a little shorter. I'm not sure I'm in love with these, but they come up and bloom, so, hey...

This is the one week a year that I don't detest the Seven Sisters Rose. Enjoy it quick.

Moving to the east end of that bed, the poor Vulcan Hosta is really struggling. I think it will survive. I'm still not sure what made it so sad.

Here's another space that is making me increasingly happy. If you want to compare, it's the first picture in the east report below. The Astilbe is blooming, although not prolifically. The Japanese Fern bit that I moved there (just left of center) is very happy. It's gained several fronds already. The 'Wiggles and Squiggles' Hosta is wonderful, and the dark purple 'Season's King' Heuchera is great. Way in the back, a 'Francee' Hosta is in bud.

Today was unbearably hot. But I got myself moving while it was still in the 70s, and got some outside stuff done. Edited before it got too hot in the house, and then went to the air-conditioned store for groceries. After that, I lolled in my chair with a book and iced tea.

Tonight it's supposed to rain, and be much cooler tomorrow. I'm hoping to get a good amount of outside work done. My energy level is good when it's in the 70s. Not so much above that. After 90, forget it!

See Front Garden West See Front Garden East