Tag: Joe Pye Weed
May Foliage
Let’s face it, flowers are superior to foliage. This is especially true in May, when some gardeners (I’m not naming names) can be driven into ecstasies by masses of colorful tulips and other spring flowers. However, this does not mean that foliage should be ignored at this or any time of year.
A Wildlife-Friendly Garden in Toronto
So here’s another garden we got to see during the Garden Bloggers Fling in Toronto. This was a small private garden in the Don Mills area. The owner had removed all the lawn in front and replaced it with a mix of small trees, shrubs, and perennials.
Last Flowers Standing
It’s the middle of October and the garden is getting drowsy, sliding into its annual decline. In fact I was thinking of calling this post Decline and Fall (get it – fall?), but Judy says I use too many puns. Although, some of the roses are having a late season spurt of energy, particularly our …
The Garden in Mid-September
Happy Bloom Day! On the 15th of every month Carol from May Dreams Gardens hosts Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, enabling gardeners to share and compare what’s in flower in their little patch of earth. In our garden the most bountiful blooms at the moment are provided by Brown-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba). This Rudbeckia makes me …
More Fall Color in the Garden
As we near the end of October, fall seems to be ambling rather than marching on. We have yet to see a frost, and the warm weather means colors have shifted only slowly. Seedheads of Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) are no longer green, but seem to shimmer like hundreds of tiny goldfish. They look …
Companion Plant for Yellow Coneflower?
Along with perusing garden catalogs, now is the time for obsessing over where to move old plants or add new plants for spring. For example, I love my Yellow Coneflowers (Ratibida pinnata), so in the last couple of years I’ve planted a bunch of them. Next year the younger ones should really come into their …
Front Garden, January 2, 2014
Here’s a bit of winter interest for you. This picture I think is a good argument for not cutting everything down in the fall. A featureless garden covered with a blanket of snow would be so dull by comparison. The Joe Pye Weed ‘Gateway’ (Eutrochium purpureum subsp. maculatum) does an especially good job of standing …
Last Plant Standing: Fall vs. Spring Garden Clean Up
One way to classify gardeners is based on whether they remove dead plant material in fall or spring. Mostly I’m a spring cleaner. Birds and bugs are my primary reason. The other day I watched goldfinches feeding on the seed heads of yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), one of the late season sights I love. These …
A Visit To The Garden Of Pat Hill
Recently I got acquainted online with Pat Hill, author of Design Your Natural Midwest Garden. Pat’s book had a big influence on me, and I think it is an important book for any gardener interested in designing with native plants. Pat is a garden writer and designer, and is active in promoting natural landscapes. She …
Summer Finale: August 2013 GBBD
We are at the mid-point of August. Mid-summer flowers are fading, late summer bloomers are peaking, and the very first flowers of autumn begin to open, like scouts checking out a new territory. I am very impressed with Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata). The flowers are very long-lasting, and the bright clear yellow wears well through …
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