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| Blue Star Creeper (Laurentia fluviatilis), groundcover |
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| Garden Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), also known as Mexican Aster, self-sowing and self-cleaning annual, thrives in heat and full sun |
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| Cosmos again, looking down at a 3-foot tall plant that self-sowed into raised garden bed. Cosmos attracts bees and butterflies for its pollen, as well as gold finches for its seed. |
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| Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink', see May 7th video for more information |
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| Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima), grown from seed, the flowers look more lavender in real life, should bloom spring until frost (with a mid-summer shearing) and attracts butterflies and many small beneficial insects |
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| Rozanne Perennial Geranium, 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year, easy care, forms a spreading mat of attractive foliage topped with stunning purple-blue flowers. Each flower is short-lived, but the plant is self-cleaning and new flowers bloom continuously over a long season. |
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| Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'FireWitch', just planted a couple of weeks ago, has flourished so far in windy and warm conditions that wreaked havoc on other plants. Self-cleaning flowers are supposed to be fragrant on hot, sunny days, but I confess I have not yet gotten down on my hands and knees to sniff and find out! |
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| Viola tricolor, Johnny Jump-Up, also known as Wild Pansy and Heartsease. I have read that the flowers and leaves are edible (which is why I sprinkled the seeds in the vegetable garden among the lettuce), but I'm not sure how to prepare it so I haven't tried any yet. Still, it is a very cheerful little flower that brightens up the veggie garden. |
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| Lonicera sempervivens 'Blanche Sandman'. Also known as Trumpet Honeysuckle, this native vine is supposed to attract hummingbirds. As the flowers unfurl, they remind me of a Dr. Seuss drawing! |
