Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Choosing Perennials - Late.

I'm late for important dates with my garden.  After losing most of the month of May to health issues that limited physical activity and several missed opportunities to guide my yard maintenance fellows, my handyman and I finally spent a day working on my beds.  Plants were dead from the late cold spell and others had overgrown their spaces.  We denuded over half of two beds.  He worked some peat moss into the dirt and left it for me to plant what I find.

Having missed the the cooler days of Spring, those handsome spaces of black dirt haunt me some but for the most part I'm able to position my Kindle so they aren't in my view. The real problem is I want to be careful what I choose.  Having once seen a lovely garden wall topped by a prolific border of Nasturtiums, I always want them.  Unfortunately, by the time of I think of them, it's too late to plant.   They seem to come only in packages with mixed colors.  I would like the white, yellow and is that a pink one in the upper right corner?

Nasturtiums.
While we were at the beach this year we had salad with Nasturtium flowers. 


 Daisies.
I love 'em.  There is a tiny bed near the steps on one end of Pontifical's porch that might be just right for the little fortune tellers.


Coreopsis.
Another favorite that I have not introduced to this property.  It is time.  I've only ever seen yellow ones like the photo but now I know there are varieties.  Mercury Rising is a gorgeous deep red.  There is a pale yellow called Creme Brulee.  That is a must have to tease my daughter whose favorite dessert is the same.  Early Sunrise and Grandiflora are two other possibilities.  If you Google Coreopsis all the colors show up on the page.

White Coneflower.
I have the standard yellow ones and plan to add white but have just now discovered they come in red.  Whoopee!!

Red Coneflower.


There is one more plant I want to share.  

 European Ginger
It reminds me of Galax which grows here in the mountain forests but cannot be domesticated.  At least my best efforts have failed.
I hope my best grower friend will know this one.

For now, I still have a few planters to finish on the porches and a book to read while languishing in the comfortable wicker chair on Ponty's Porch.

I hope your plantings are rewarding - the mental, the physical and the aesthetic.   

~Digger






6 comments:

  1. I can relate. I'm also late with planting my pots because of health problems. One of the nurseries in this area is having a 40% off sale, so I'm going shopping. And about the nasturtiums....same problem. I planted some a couple weeks ago, but they're not coming up.
    I found you on the etsy blog team. Enjoyed your blog.
    Laura

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    1. Laura, thank you for stopping by. I visited your blog also. I had to wait until today to go shopping but I'm off with list in hand. I hope you find some great stuff.
      Sami

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  2. So happy to hear you are feeling better and the Kindle is not completely blocking your view of the garden. Go for ALL of it! Those nasty-urshims will naturalize and change all kinds of colors. (and appear where you least expect them)

    Cheers!

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  3. Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a lovely comment.
    Your flowers are beautiful and doing very well ! Lots of different varieties and colors.
    ~Jo

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  4. july 24, 2014

    i came upon dewena's window, and was mesmerized. but realized, i could not leave a comment there. so i poked around and found her old blog, where one _can_ leave a comment.

    while there, i noticed your comment, just above mine. in which you said; " I have been struggling with decisions about my involvement on the web, too." oh my! a kindred spirit! me tooooo! i love, love, love dewena's decision strength, for doing what she did!!!!!

    and as i said, you sounded like someone else, who is thinking about the same thing. so i came and left this comment. wishing you well, with whatever you decide to do, about comments and commenting, and etc.

    and i'm so sorry that you were ill earlier on, in the spring..... hope by now, you are feeling nice and perky again!

    gentle hugs,
    tessa~
    (an "olden" blogger in the upper north east)

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  5. Yes, Tessa. And no way to follow. I know Dewena is doing it her way but I miss being able to communicate with her.

    Thank you so much for the caring comments. I feel guilty when I don't post here but then I think I don't seem to have much to say that brings attention. There's that and the convoluted way I have to go about it. Blogger has not accepted photos from me in almost a year. I appreciate your comments and will visit your page.

    ~Sami

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