If you buy a plant this time of year, don’t be surprised if it is rootbound. Okay, never be surprised if a plant is rootbound. Now, in an ideal world, you shouldn’t buy a rootbound plant, or let them sit around your yard so long that they become rootbound, but both things happen. Before buying a plant, slide it out of the pot at the nursery to check just how rootbound it is. At least that way you know you’re getting. Read more »
A. sphaerocephalon with Sedum (pale green) and a penstemon (possibly ‘Blackbird’) with matching blooms
Maroon balls on sticks definitely liven up the garden. Often mixed plantings meld into one big mish-mash so you need plants that will stop the eye. The balls of Allium sphaerocephalon, the drumstick allium, dancing among other plants definitely get your attention – adding interest, even whimsy to the garden. Read more »
Come July the hummingbirds in my yard add regular visits to the brick red flowers of Lobelia tupa. Perhaps they, like the Andean natives who smoked it, derive some narcotic or analgesic benefits*, or perhaps it just has tasty nectar. Whatever the reason, the hummers seem particularly fond of L. tupa. Read more »
Sempervivums, with a few sedums
I love hens and chicks. Although the plant certainly bears no resemblance to a fowl of any sort, it does tell you about the way the plant grows. A central hen lays a small chick beside it. Read more »
Here’s Sisyrinchium striatum, still blooming a month after my last post (at which time it had been blooming for at least several weeks). Alas, a bad case of the flops has attacked it. It could have been the surprisingly strong rainstorm we had that morning or perhaps S. striatum just tends to the flopsy. If you have a perennial that flops, or splays open and it hasn’t been divided in a few years, try dividing it. That may help it maintain good posture for a year or two.
Kinnikinnick aka Arctostaphylos uva-ursi aka bearberry is an evergreen, drought tolerant northwest native groundcover for sun. A good plant if a bit difficult to get going. In addition to that slow takeoff, kinnikinnik has one other flaw – galls. Read more »
Some people are happy to sit in their front yard, chatting with the world as it walk by. I wish I was that kind of person but I’m not. If I’m going to sit out front I need to at least have the illusion of privacy. This can be done with plants of course, but in small urban yards where every square foot matters, a fence may be a better choice. Read more »
New growth of red twig dogwoods (green clumps foreground) in early July after cut back in spring
In April, I posted about a plant combo for sun – red twig dogwood (Cornus sp.), foreground and Ceanothus, far right (also some Nandina). Well, not too long after the photo from April, they cut the dogwoods back to a few inches. Check out the two different looks. Read more »
