Yarrow- starting to flop already
Lavender- this needed more water than I thought b/c the foliage dried out and died on my hill
Coneflower - I love these things; and they love my hot dry summers. I planted a orange variety late last fall; i think it was called sundown. I thought for sure it wouldn't do well b/c it's a new variety so I was suspicious. But BOY OH BOY it's just beautiful! especially with my giant mum like daisies. EDIT: they ended up getting what i think is powdery mildew by mid-summer. I also love my merlot variety. They are very tall and have strong black stems. My pink double delight ended up being more hot pink than i expected. I like them, it's just that they're in front of my hot pink knock-out so it doesn't look as pretty. I even started some of the prairie splendor and white swan from seed this year. i've heard that it's hard to get them to start so I crushed the seed hull's as I planted them to mimic going through a bird's digestive tract. LOL
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| Sundown- See how the color changes? |
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| Merlot - I love the black stems |
Guara- of course; this never stops blooming
Angel's Breath - a neater version of baby's breath
Stokes Aster - Color Wheel not a favorite so far. It's kind of weedy looking in the blooms.
Phlox- the bright eyes are just opening up; the pure hot pink version in more sun is full on and doing great considering how dry and hot it's been. I've read somewhere that they don't do well in the south, but mine are loving life
Bee Balm - I adore this variety I have. It's a little over a foot and has perfectly neat foliage that is the deepest green which makes it look very healthy to me. It blooms hot purple (hot pink w/ a purplish shade) I have it on the hill and it does well but doesn't look great with the pale apricot blossoms of the heaven on earth rose.
Agastache- my beloved beloved agastache. I bought blue fortune in my first year in the house and i've been in love ever since. I split it this year and moved it all over my yard. It seems happy wherever. They are really just starting to bud big enough to appreciate the color. I tried pinching the top buds this year so maybe that's the reason for the delay. It kills me to pinch a perfectly good bud, but i wanted to see if I could keep it from flopping since I put it on the hill behind my HOA rose. It's a beautiful combo if it wasn't hidden by my stupid daisies! I planted some new varieties this year too...purple haze; heat wave and pink panther?
This brings me to the bane of my garden this year.....
Daisies- How could this be a bane!? Well...I started a bunch of Alaska daisy's from seed last spring. Because i had them in little seven pots it was easy to scatter them throughout the garden. Well I should have taken into consideration that they get about 4 feet tall!!! holy crap they are giant. They look great along the back of the garden along the fence, but not good for my hill where they wilt in the sun during the day, and perk back up at night. They look messy where I have them planted now. (see bee balm pic above) I plan on moving them as soon as they're done blooming. I just can't bring myself to do it now.
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| Crazy Daisy Madness |
Day Lily- I almost skipped these guys! My barbara mitchell day lilies I bought from costco and raised from little roots are blooming. These have been such a disappointment. THEY ARE ORANGE. All the pics make them look pink, but don't believe it. They look just like the old fashioned ditch lilies. I'll work with the orange. They aren't ugly, but they aren't like any of the pictures either. lying s.o.bs I think they'd look good with my purple homestead. My ice ones have already bloomed.
Verbena- purple homestead....still going strong.
