In mid-summer the Monardas take center stage in the Sidewalk Border. The blue and purple salvias retain a bit of color, but are mostly done. The ‘Husker Red’ Penstemon (Penstemon digitalis) and golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) have been cut back. Now come the Monardas in red, lavender, and purple (yes, purple). The Monarda that demands …
If orange is the new black, then at this moment my front garden is very fashionable. For now the blues of early June have given way to an orange July. Orange is supposed to be a difficult color – too bright, too strong, so you’re not supposed to have too much of it. But I …
This has been a good year for Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohioensis) in my garden. I can’t remember it blooming so profusely before. Ohio spiderwort is not nearly as common in gardens as Virginia spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana). There are lots of cultivars of Virginia spiderwort, but none that I know of for Ohio spiderwort. I’m guessing …
It’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day again, so let’s see which flowers are strutting their stuff at the Garden in a City. This is a great year for Salvia in our garden. Salvia nemerosa ‘May Night’ and ‘East Friesland’, along with S. x sylvestris ‘Blue Hill’ are making a long patch of mixed deep and light …
We are now in that transitional stage between the spring and summer flowers. Lots and lots of foliage and buds, and lots of green. Beyond green, it seems that the dominant color right now is blue. This is not due to any planning on my part, it just worked out that way. The King of …
This is the fourth spring since I planted peonies in our garden. I didn’t really want to plant peonies, they didn’t fit in with my native/wildlife-friendly gardening ethos. Plus, let’s face it, they are the ultimate horticultural flash in the pan: blooming one day, gone the next. But Judy yearned for peonies, and I gave …
Time to Dig the Alliums In the back garden there is a patch of Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ (Allium aflatunense) that has expanded substantially over time but that is also getting rather too congested. A sign of this is the thick growth of Allium foliage but fewer actual flowers than we saw last year. When they …
Does a late spring mean shorter plants? For example, consider my golden Alexander (Zizia aurea). Normally I have to cut this perennial back in mid-May and even then it requires some staking. Supposedly it grows to only 3′ but in my garden borders it easily surpasses 4′. This year, however, Alex seems to be topping …
Earlier this week Judy was walking to the Millenium Park garage in downtown Chicago but, prompted by the mild weather and clear light, took a detour into the Lurie Garden. The views were sublime – full of blues, purples, and whites – and Judy took some photos with her cell phone. They came out pretty …
On the 15th of every month, Carol at May Dreams Gardens hosts Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, which allows garden bloggers around the world to compare what is blooming in their gardens. These pictures were taken on Saturday and Sunday, but they do show that many plants seem to be racing to make up for lost …
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