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.
A gardener and a poet!
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