Well, maybe that is not totally true since there are not a lot of new flowers to be seen. All of that rain has had its impact, at least in keeping the grass green and growing much later than usual. In this early morning shot, the tops of the 'Karl Forester' grass glows in the nearly horizontal sunshine, a very nice complement to the over 7' tall Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' visible at the background.
To the left of the photo above, and to the left of the photo on the left, (I guess this proves I am really very leftist!) you can see the early fall color of the Parrotia persica. This Persian Ironwood has been slowly and steadily putting up more vertical branches and has endured drought without problems. It doesn't change color all at once, so it provides a wide palate over several weeks. Behind it, and to the right, is a Lespedezea Liukiuensis, or Bush clover. The variety is "Little Volcano" and originally was bought at the National Arboretum sale 4 years ago. The second year in this location, it has grown to 8 feet tall within the year. We cut out the short, weak stems in March, and left in the tall ones. Most of what you see is new sucker growth. It would keep spreading out wider and wider without our digging out chunks in the spring and giving them away to neighbors. The flowers are good for 3-4 weeks in the fall when little else is blooming, and leave a purple haze in the grass when they fall off. Here is a close-up of the flowers.
Staying in a very similar color range is the Echinacea, Katie Saul, a new addition from
Plant Delights Nursery. This was just added this summer, and has already done much better than other Echinacea that we have had for years - I think it is time to give up on those that have continued to be disappointing with short blooming times and flowers that quickly became ratty looking. I had read that breeders were pushing out Echinacea before thoroughly testing them, and from now on will only purchase them from nurseries like Plant Delights that test them before selling them to the public. The local garden center has failed me a number of times in providing plants that are appropriate for our climate. So, I am much more cautious about spending money there.
I am still undecided about this next plant, a lime green leaved version of Pheasant Berry, Leycesteria formosa - the label listed the formal variety as "Notbruce" while in large letters calling it Golden Lanterns. Why not Bruce? I have a personal interest in that!
It dies back to the ground in the fall, and only this year has it gotten quite sizable for its third year in the labyrinth. It does create a spot of bright yellow-green, and the very top of the growth is stained with red. The flowers do not start appearing until about the middle of the summer, and continue emerging at the plant grows larger. The bracts are a purplish red and not particularly attractive close-up. The seeds are supposed to attract birds, but I have not seen any birds eating them so far. Some places warn that the seeds can get spread around and become invasive, which I have not seen yet, and if it begins, I will grub this out to avoid that happening. Probably being on the edge of its hardiness zone will avoid that problem. However, I am curious that if it really has the danger of becoming invasive, why was I able to buy it at the National Arboretum sale? The deer have left it alone, which gives it an advantage since the deer regularly wander through for a snack. It is pleasant enough, and probably will be fine where it is growing - for now at least.
So, since I have not been keeping up with the blog as much as my readers have expected, I will throw in one last picture. An arty shot of the sunrise sen through the flowering grasses. This is one of the great pleasures of growing these tall grasses, along with seeing them sway in the wind, like the waves on the Chesapeake Bay.
No comments:
Post a Comment