Plants

I hope you have plant swaps near near you because they’re such a cool way to get free plants, especially ones that are new to you.  Also, you can talk to the plant’s donor about it, and it’s honesty just fun to talk plants with other enthusiasts.  This swap was organized by Kathy Jentz on behalf of Washington Gardener Magazine and it’s undisputed that she’s terrific at organizing this type of gardening event or really, any type – photo contests, speaker series – you name it.  We probably don’t thank her enough.

Now about the plants I brought home.  One is a pink crape myrtle about 2 feet tall and the other is totally new to me – labeled “Cassia Marylandica Senna”.   I think this mean it’s a Maryland Wild Senna, which is native to most of the Eastern and Midwestern U.S.

Senna’s in the pea family and looks  a lot like Baptisia, another native, but the donor explained that Senna forms a nice mass of roots, so doesn’t hate being moved like the taprooted Baptisia.  She also told us it becomes HUGE over the season, then it dies back to the ground over winter like the big perennial it is – not an actual woody shrub – and starts again the next year.  Sounds great!

Via Google I found this website, which says that it indeed grows to an impressive 6 feet tall, likes full sun, and likes soil that’s “moist to mesic”  – which manages to inform almost no one and certainly not me about what this plant actually needs.   You can take that as a mini-rant.

Top photo by Kathy Jentz.  I’m on the far left contemplating the asphalt.  Lower photo by Jerry Old Nettel.

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Gardenbloggers are recording what’s blooming this month but it’s June, so what’s NOT blooming? (I exaggerate, but you know what I mean.) A quick walk through my garden reveals blooms on:oakleaf and lacecap hydrangeas, daylilies, hardy geraniums, coreopsis, evening primrose, roses, astilbe, rose campion, coneflowers, and others I’ve probably missed. All lovely, but what I’m admiring most are the blooms that are new to me.

Above left is something I rarely see on variegated hydrangeas – blooms.  Guess I finally gave it the right spot.  On the right is a brand-new acquisition, a Gaura with the unceremonial name of Dark Pink (as far as I can tell).  I bought three and want at least six more.  I’ll soon be visiting its grower, though, and who knows but  Sandy’s Plants may have some extras to get off their hands.   I also bought some Agastache ‘Tutti Fruitti, but I’ll link to that coz mine aren’t photographing well yet.

Help Needed with ID of Creeping Sedum

Above left is new favorite of the groundcovers that replaced my front lawn (mostly thymes, creeping Jenny and Potentilla).  It’s ‘Dragon’s Blood’ sedum and in its second year it’s filling out nicely and blooming like crazy.   On the right is what I thought was S. ternatum but now that I’ve seen other plants labeled as that, I’m doubting that that’s what this is.  (Anybody know?)  Its flower – a gold puffball on a pike – was a total surprise.  I want more of both of these sedums, so some of the thymes will have to go.  Sorry, but compared to these guys, most of my thymes are pretty boring.

Still Fabulous

Now for old time’s sake, here’s my best border in June.   Starting at the top you see hardy kiwi vine, cherry laurel hedge, two lacecap hydrangeas, an ‘Anthony Waterer spirea’, and then a skirt of astilbes and a creeping sedum, which I now believe is S. linare “Golden Teardrop.”

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Happy Gardenblogger Bloom Day, and this time I’m going to play by the rules by showing you what’s actually blooming today in my actual garden.  Here we go.

Salvia ‘May Night’ (above left)  is super-common – because it does so well here.  On the right, the spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) may be considered an obnoxious weed by some, but with the right care it’s a winner.  The key to making this native plant garden-worthy is to whack back its foliage after the first bloom, when the foliage looks like crap.  Then new leaves appears and the gardener is happy once again.

Speaking of weeds, here are two more of my favorite garden plants that some consider a weed.  First, creeping Sedum acre is at its bright-yellow best.  It arrived here as a weed and does so well, I chose it as one of my top two lawn-replacement plants.  The Evening primrose blooming in pink is another volunteer.  It does seed freely and because I wanted it, that’s a good thing.  Free plants and plenty of ‘em!  Also shown here in the photo above are some lambs’ ears and the lovely ‘Ogon’ spirea in chartreuse.

Above in my adopted garden (next door) is a short-lived but stunning pairing of Siberian iris with peonies.

Above are two of the lawn-substitute groundcovers in my front yard at their bloomingest.  On the left is creeping cinquefoil and on the right, a Thyme – not sure which.  (Sorry – I moved them too many times to keep track.)

Also in the front yard, anchoring a corner quite nicely, is the Spirea nipponica ‘Snowmound’.  It blooms after the more common bridal wreath-type spirea and in a more angular, less fountainesque shape.  Both are do-ers and as close to no-maintenance as plants can be.

My Floral Carpet and Knockout roses are all blooming and they’ll keep it up til Thanksgiving or so.

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