Perennials Part Two

 In addition to perennials given to me are the ones that I have chosen to add to the beds. As I start to think through what inhabits my gardens, I am amazed that the wide variety present.  One wonderful characteristic of perennials is that they spread their roots and fill in the empty spaces providing a cozy neighborhood for new residents.  In the back garden, a profusion of deep orange tiger lilies stand high above the gentle swoops of the garden borders. Diminutive Asiatic lilies in delicate pinks peek between the deep green background of the tiger lilies' foliage.  A dramatic Star Gazer lily demands the viewer's gaze, and a pure white Easter lily demurely nods in recognition. In the front yard, lilies of  deep mauve, peach and light pink sparkle in bright star bursts of color in multiple spots.  Quirky blossoms of deep red bee balm provide exclamation points of color throughout to attract butterflies and bees. Though the name is not attractive, dead nettle's silvery leaves and pink or purple blooms spread throughout filling every empty space and the illusion of light in the shade of the large trees. Another shade lover, lily of the valley, tucks its blossoms shyly amid the emerald green wide-leafed foliage. Bleeding hearts' sweetheart flowers drip from their arching stems.  A small astilbe courageously determines to establish itself among all the other plants in the shady space of the back yard along with several hostas.The showiest blossoms of all belong to the hydrangeas.  Several different years my co-workers have given me a beautiful deep pink hydrangea from the florist for my birthday.  These have grown into sturdy  bushes heavy with large colorful clusters of flowers.  Fascinated with these blooms, I also picked up a slightly sad looking blue hydrangea on sale late in the season last year.  To my delight this spring its striking pale blue flowers add a refreshing touch of cool color.

Years ago to deal with the dry grass bordering our sloping sidewalk-less front lawn, we joined with our neighbors to make berm along the front or our property and theirs.  The berm mounds up between the street and the undulating border of the lawn. We choose to plant all perennials, ranging in varying shades of purple, pink and blue. Pincushion plants' bluish-green feather-like foliage provides a mound to support the delicate blossoms on spindly stems some pink, some purple.  Lavender asters sings the early song in spring while the orchid colored chrysanthemums carry the tune into the fall.  Fuchsia ice plant spreads a radiant carpet of vivid blossoms.  Purple cone flowers boldly claim territory in multiple locations with hardy greenery and long-lasting petals around a prickly rust center.  Soothing lavender plants provide stems of purple blossoms for fragrant potpourri to tuck into drawers later in the fall.  The Jupiter's Beard sends fireworks of red blossoms at the tops of the flowers. Fascinated with Russian Sage, we planted several and quickly realized their aggressive habit which leads to sprouts all over the place.  Russian sage bushes hum with bees happily indulging in a feeding frenzy and waft their  pungent fragrance along the berm. Phlox add their fragrant columns of rich purple blossoms to the mix.   Delicate blue delphiniums add a distinctive color contrast to all of the purple blossoms around.  The succulent sedum's deep burgundy blossoms is the final fall entry.  Two deep green low spreading junipers anchor each side of the berm accented with a dwarf burning bush and a delicate white potentialla bush. 

These hardy perennials keep the garden beautiful with little effort beyond the original planting.  As they spread and fill in the empty spaces, I have the joy of sharing plants with friends and family so they can enjoy the beauty of God's wonderful creations as well.

Garden Adventures: Perennials

Perennials are foundational in my garden, in part because there is not additional cost every year and many of them were given to me as others divided their plants. The first flower bed in the back yard was a result of taking out grass that was dying under the elderly pine tree.  My mother-in-law gave me day lilies and iris.  A sister-in-law shared shasta daisies and columbines.  The columbines bloom  early before other flowers get started.  The columbines come in a variety of colors:  yellow and burgandy, blue and white and straight yellow. The blooms stand up above the scalloped grayish green leaves  brightening the shady area under the tree.  The seed pods dry into twisted spirals that fling the tiny black seeds abroad, so soon there were columbines all throughout the flower beds.  The aspen tree in front is kept company by several large self-seeded columbines that recognize their proper place next to the mountain tree.  One spectacular purple and white columbine caught my attention in a nursery, so I bought it to add to the homegrown varieties.  The stately regal blossoms stand out in the front beds in the early spring.  I have saved the seeds and stragetically scattered them throughout the garden to enjoy their beauty in multiple spots. 

The iris come in a variety of colors as well standing high above their flat pointed foliage.  Bi-colored lavender and deep purple, yellow with white, burgandy and russet and solid lavender provide variety throughout the garden.  The spicy fragrance and showy blossoms make these a favorite to bring in to place in a vase on the counter.  Enticed by the seed catalog claims, I ordered re-blooming iris in a variety of colors, looking forward to adding a blue, a pink and a peach iris to my collection.  The blue and the pink iris did not survive, so I am left with a white, a yellow and white and a peach.  These are each very large and spectacular blossoms, but  I have had the plants over five years and have never had them re-bloom, much to my dissapointment. Several years ago at the farmer's market I bought a pink rhizome and was delighted this year to see the clear pink blooms lighting up the deep green background of the virginia creeper.

Shasta daisies follow the early bird columbines and iris.  They crowd together in joyful celebration waving their white-fringed faces with bright yellow centers. They multiply as well, asking their friends to join them in a happy group hug.  One of my favorite photos is of my two-year-old grandson grasping the stem of a daisy in the flower bed, gently touching the center in wonder.  The daylilies also like to congretate together with arching graceful slender leaves  that repeat the curving lines in the orange blossoms dancing high above the light green foliage. Their here-today-and-gone-tomorrow fragile beauty is followed one blossom after another making them seem long-lasting.

These perennials spark rememberance of the people who have shared them with me. The plants fill large areas of the flower gardens providing the spring's first and most welcome blooms after the drab colorless winter.  They are the hearlds of a new season of hope and excitement, growth and renewal.

The Gardening Adventure :  Roses

When we moved into our present home 19 years ago, the only landscaping consisted of lawn in the front with overgrown cedar bushes crowding the front windows and in back, a towering old pine tree in the far corner, an elderly hackberry at the south fence line, and a non-descript scraggly bush.  Window awnings from the forties made the house seem heavy lidded and sleepy. So they were one of the first things to go, which opened the house to light and energy.  Out came the ugly cedars and we had a clean slate to start making the yard one that we would enjoy.  We did not have a master plan; things evolved as we took out bushes, dealt with dead grass and poorly watered areas. 

The first flower beds filled the void left by the cedar bushes.  I planted roses:  a pretty pink Queen Elizabeth, Sir Lagerfeld, a lavender rose with a deep rich fragrance reminiscent of roses in my wedding bouquet . I added the yellow Oregold, deep orange Miranda, petite pink Heidi, and a pristine white Pascal, a mother's Day gift from my son and daughter-in-law.  They also gave me a beautiful red climbing rose by the front step that has  a profusion of elegant flowers.  Later came one of my favorites, a floribunda named Brass Band, a creamy pale yellow with peach ruffled edges that lasts forever. A beautiful mauve Magnificent, and the white with pink stripe Cabaret have completed the rose bed for now.  So the rose bed is multicolored.  As time as progressed, we have determined to have cool colors for our flowerbeds.  But, the roses were put in before that decision and I have no desire to take the warm colored roses out of the mix, so they stay oblivious to the fact that they do not fit the planned color scheme.

Roses in pots are another addition to the garden.  I was given a miniature rose, which I planted in with the hybrid teas and floribunda roses.  I was delighted to see this spirited little plant bloom with abandon, but it was over-powered by its big siblings, so I planted it in a pot.  Now I have multiple miniature roses in pots that I move wherever I need color and where they thrive. The minis include a coral, lavender, red, pink, and white.  My pride and joy is a David Austin rose.  My daughter-in-law first introduced me to this multi-petaled fragrant shrub rose variety.  Though the bud of the hybrid tea rose is spectacular, the David Austin has a profusions of loosely gathered petals that keeps blooming all summer and wafts its perfume throughout the garden--no need to stick your nose in this flower to realize its scent.  I found this rose by looking it up on the internet; it was only sold at one nursery in Colorado and that was in Longmont next to one of our favorite antique stores!  We decided to plant it in a pot so that when we relocate, we can easily take it with us.

The roses are the royalty of the flower garden; they have staying power and do not change with each new season.    All the other flowers gather round in adoration and add their color to the to the courtly entourage.  They certainly have my admiration and give me great pleasure.