White Nights in the Garden of Aaron

Recently, I was taking a stroll around the garden in the early evening and realized that I have a lot of white flowers blooming right now.

White flowers are pretty any time of day, but they really seem to glow and become luminous in the gloaming, that magical time between sunset and night.

And on nights with a full moon, white flowers continue to shine all night...

Rebloom on the 'Natchez' mock orange (Philadelphus x virginalis 'Natchez')

Phlox paniculata 'David'

'Diana' rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), poised to unfurl

Blue moon rising over Tennessee

Floral Fireworks for July 4th!

Happy 4th of July!

In honor of the occasion, I collected some patriotic photos from the garden.

Let's start with the RED...

Monarda didyma "Jacob Cline"

...the WHITE...

Phlox paniculata "David"

Lobularia maritima, Sweet Alyssum

...and BLUE

Borago officinalis, Borage

There's a certain BUZZ of excitement in the air...

Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower and Bumble Bee. (This bee actually slept on the flower overnight, which made it easy to make its photo on a cool and foggy summer morning before the sun had warmed it up enough to start flying around.)

Perovskia atriplicifolia, Russian Sage and Bumble Bee

...as everyone gets ready for some FIREWORKS!

Lonicera sempervirens, Coral Honeysuckle

Hemerocallis, Daylilies, unknown variety (Rosy Returns?)

Phlox paniculata, Garden Phlox, Eva Cullum

Hibiscus moscheutos, Hardy Hibiscus, I believe this is "Lady Baltimore". Purchased via mail order last year, I thought she died in the heat and drought of 2012. She certainly didn't bloom last year. In fact, I contemplating shovel pruning the sad stem in winter. But sometimes procrastination is the best gardening choice. She leaped up cheerfully in springtime and this is already the second bloom of the year with budded promises of more to come. My other hardy hibiscus (Luna Swirl or Disco Belle? I can't remember which), purchased at a local garden center, bloomed last year and is Loaded with buds this year. Eager to see it flower!

Heliopsis helianthoides, Ox-Eye Sunflower, "Summer Sun". Purchased and planted this spring from Perennial Plant Society of Middle TN plant sale.

Helianthus annus, Sunflower. I received a bonus packet of sunflower seeds this spring (can't remember how) and I've been trying to figure out what variety they were. Then I remembered, they were mixed sunflower seeds. Which explains why this sunflower doesn't look anything like this next one...

Nearly six-feet tall and proudly puffy, these bright and beautiful sunflower blooms deliver an explosion of color. What a fireworks display! (And safe for all ages.) ;-)

Have a safe and happy holiday, y'all!

The Blooms Continue - Gaillardia, Sunflower, Liatris spicata, Phlox paniculata, Persian Carpet Zinnias, Hardy Blue Plumbago, Rose of Sharon and more!

As July begins, everything is still coming up Roses (of Sharon) here in the Garden of Aaron!


Here are some highlights:

Hibiscus syriacus, Rose of Sharon, "Blue Bird" from Gardens in the Wood. Many hibiscus are reportedly weedy/invasive, but Blue Bird is supposed to be sterile and therefore not likely to become a problem. CORRECTION - Dottie @ Gardens in the Wood of Grassy Creek correctly points out in the comments section below that Blue Bird is not a sterile Hibiscus syriacus. And in fact she also notes that even the "sterile" Rose of Sharons may reseed a little. Apologies for my mistake.

Despite its tropical appearance, Hibiscus syriacus is actually hardy to zone 5! I like the way that Blue Bird's buds are dark blue, but the flower itself is light blue when it opens. Even though it was 90+ degrees today in Tennessee, Blue Bird still looked cool as a cucumber.

Vitex agnus-castus, Chaste Tree, Monk's Pepper. The bees are enthusiastic about these blue flowers.

Here's a step back to see the big picture with regard to the Vitex. Just planted last autumn, this is the Vitex's first year in the garden. Right now it is a shrub, but supposedly it can grow up to 15-20 feet tall.

Gaillardia pulchella, Firewheel, Blanket Flower, Indian Blanket, purchased this plant at the Perennial Plant Society of Middle TN plant sale. It is a cultivar called "Arizona Apricot". Plunked it down next in a hot windblown area next to the baking concrete driveway. Hey, I'm trying to make it feel at home like it's in Arizona! ;-)

Liatris spicata, Blazing Star, Gayfeather. This is a native prairie plant that attracts bumble bees. Can you see one on the side of the right flower stalk?

Here's a step back to show what Liatris spicata looks like from a distance. The flowers start opening at the top of the stalk and then work their way down. This is my third year trying to grow Liatris spicata. The first year, it disappeared shortly after I planted it. I assumed it had died! But it popped back above ground last year, only to wither and bake away in the record heat and drought. This year is finally the year it could show its true self and put on a show! Once established, I think Liatris spicata is supposed to be pretty tough, so hopefully it will continue to get bigger and better in future years. 

Phlox paniculata, Garden Phlox, "David". So far it gets bigger and better each year! 

Phlox paniculata is partially self-cleaning. Some of the dead flowers stay on the plant, but others fall off and create this nice shower of white petals on the ground nearby. I find it poetic. It reminds me of the petals that carpet the ground when cherry blossoms fall.

Echinacea purpurea, Eastern Purple Coneflower. Another native to Tennessee. Another plant that buzzes with bees all day long. 

Couldn't resist taking one more shot of another purple coneflower and another busy buzzy bee.

Perovskia atriplicifolia, Russian Sage. All three Russian Sage are looking much better this year compared to last year. There are still a few yellow leaves at the bottom of the plants, but overall they look healthier and stronger. The Russian Sage attracts some bees, but I have not seen nearly as many bees on the plants this year now that they have to compete for attention with the coneflowers, the Vitex and the Liatris.

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Hardy Blue Plumbago has begun to flower! Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post with a detailed look at the pros and cons of this tough groundcover.

Monarda didyma, Scarlet Beebalm, Oswego Tea, "Jacob Cline". Based on the shape and color of the flowers, you would think that Jacob Cline would attract the hummers. I've seen a hummingbird investigate the plant on its way to or from the nearby Coral Honeysuckle, but I have not yet seen the bird take a sip from the Monarda.

Here's a broader look at Jacob Cline monarda. I will say that the flowers - which are listed as edible by various sources - taste better than the leaves, IMHO.

Zinnia haageana "Persian Carpet". This is very different from the more popular Z. elegans that I featured in last week's garden photos. Z. haageana has narrower leaves, smaller flowers and a reputation for being even tougher, more drought-tolerant, more heat-tolerant and more mildew-resistant than its big elegant cousin. I will say that the flowers - and the whole plant so far - are smaller than I had anticipated. But Z. haageana has a reputation for continuing to grow and flower until frost (without any deadheading), so these plants still have plenty of time to make a big impact. In the meantime, I like the cheerful golden colors.

The Z. haageana flowers seem simpler than many of the Z. elegans blooms - it's my understanding that simpler is better from a bee's standpoint since the bee is looking for quick access to pollen and/or nectar without having to dig through a fluffy mass of petals.This bee seemed happy to have found its own personal "Persian Carpet".

Do tomato flowers count? This is Lycopersicon lycopersicum "Blondkopfchen", purchased at a local farmers market. It's supposed to be a heavy producer of golden cherry tomato fruit.

It's hard to tell from this perspective, but this is a 3-foot tall lettuce plant that has gone to seed. Every day there are a few yellow flowers and a few seedheads. I find it interesting that the plant does not flower all at once, but spaces its flowering and seed dispersal over several weeks. The seeds are feathered - like dandelion seeds - to aid in wind dispersal, I presume.

There are plenty of Cosmos bipinnatus in bloom and therefore plenty of happy bees.

More blooms now on the Agastache "Golden Jubilee". Despite a reputation for attracting pollinators, I have not seen many bees or wasps or hoverflies on this plant. Perhaps it attracts really tiny ones that escape my notice? Do you grow Agastache and does it attract any pollinators in your garden?

Platycodon grandiflorus, Balloon Flower "Mariesii". Not *quite* flowering yet, but the balloon-shaped bud is attractive and interesting on its own. This one stalk is at least two-feet tall even though the rest of the plant is much shorter. It's also interesting how different Platycodon flower at different times. The blue Platycodon that I added in the full sun back garden seems nearly finished, but this one is just starting and the white Platycodon nearby ("Astra White") has been blooming for weeks and is not done yet.

Salvia nemorosa "Blue Hill". Whereas many of my other flowering plants seem to draw mostly big bees (bumble bees and perhaps carpenter bees, I presume), the Salvia attracts all sorts of bees, including what I think may be a honey bee in this photo. That said, it's been sort of a frustrating experience growing two types of Salvia nemorosa this year. I planted both Blue Hill and May Night last autumn. They survived the winter with a tattered yet evergreen rosette of leaves and then put on a lot of growth in the spring and quickly sent up flower spikes. But the flower spikes emerged into an unusually cold and rainy spring, thus hardly attracting any bees. By the time the bees did show up, the flower spikes were nearly finished! I've tried deadheading the flower spikes (which I found tedious) which seemed to provoke a sparse rebloom. Maybe it will rebloom more in autumn? And maybe I would have had an easier time if I had used something like a hedge trimmer to trim back the sage? I tried a cheap bypass pruner that tended to bend the tough stems rather than slicing them. Frustrating.

Is Borage (Borago officinalis) the fuzziest plant ever? Adorable (and reportedly edible in small quantities if you can get past all that fuzz). I planted it not primarily for the pretty blue flowers, the fuzzy buds or the calming blue-grey felted leaves, but for its reputed ability to attract bees to the garden. I haven't seen proof of that claim yet, but then this is the first Borage flower to open. Patience, patience... Borage is one of those plants that is supposed to self-sow vigorously. I sowed some of the borage near my tomato plants since borage has a reputation for repelling hornworms and other tomato pests.

Nothing to see here, folks. This would have been a Sunflower (Helianthus annus) bloom someday, were it not for an injurious nighttime encounter with what I suspect was a deer (or a Really Tall Rabbit). Several other sunflower stalks and a bolted lettuce also got the chomp.

But the deer left some sunflowers for us to enjoy! This is the tallest sunflower in my garden - over 5-feet tall., standing straight and proud in the sun. The first flower is just about to unfurl its cheerful petals.

Finally, one more Sunflower (Helianthus annus), this one next to the Gaillardia in that windy, baking spot between a concrete driveway and concrete walkway at the corner of the house. Does the sunflower mind these harsh conditions? Not one whit. The sunflower abides (like The Dude).  

Signs of Life ... and Death?

With the shot of warm air that finally hit Middle Tennessee yesterday (and looks like it will stick around for a while), I had the urge to go out and stroll the garden, taking photos of comeback kid plants and those that have put on a disappearing act.

Here's what I found...

The pink camellia (not sure of the name since it was here when we moved in) is still going strong and covered in blooms. I only fertilize this plant once a year with an acidic natural fertilizer! Yesterday was the first day this year to see a bee working the camellia bush. Definitely a sign of spring!

I wasn't too impressed with Dianthus Firewitch last year. It just kind of sat there, but at least it didn't die in full sun, intense heat and drought. This year, it seems to be expanding. All of a sudden, just in the last couple of days, it is shooting outward in all directions. Love the foliage color. Curious to see whether this will be a long-lived perennial...

One of the two native coral honeysuckles flanking the front steps. LOTS of buds on the plant this year (its second year in the ground). Looks to be establishing nicely. Can't wait to see if a profusion of flowers will attract hummingbirds (as it is supposed to do). Last year, it had a sparse bloom and I didn't see any hummers...

Phlox paniculata 'David' - tall garden phlox. I planted three small plants back in 2011 (so two years ago). All three have come back and multiplied. From one initial stalk on this particular one, it looks like I have about a dozen stalks this year. Exciting!

I was worried that I had killed my Rozanne Geraniums by transplanting them twice last year - first from the full sun back of the house to the afternoon shade in the front. Then transplanted them again to bring these low plants closer to the front of the border where they would be more visible -- and also because I needed the space to put in an oakleaf hydrangea (see below). Anyway, I'm pretty sure these small leaves are the reemergence of one of the Rozanne Geraniums. I see another plant emerging nearby. So that's 2 out of 3 (at least). Not bad for plants that were manhandled roughly last year.

I forgot about this lily altogether until I saw it pushing up boldly in the front of the house! We put in three Stargazer Lilies when we moved in back in 2011. I remember the two in the back of the house in full sun, but the one in the front in afternoon shade has never done much. It looks really strong this year though so I have high hopes!

This is the oakleaf hydrangea I mentioned above. The new leaves are unfurling at the tips of the branches even as the old leaves still hang on. I'd say that our oakleaf hydrangea was semi-evergreen in its first winter, but the old leaves are still beautiful - colorful and almost like they are etched with frost. I think it's exciting to see the new and the old side-by-side, each beautiful in its own way. Look forward to watching this plant undergo its metamorphoses throughout the year.

And now for some not-so-great news. As you can see, the buffalo grass patch is still looking pitiful. Not a single sign of green on any of the tufts. They might be dead for all I know, or maybe just still dormant. Either way, I can't imagine planting a larger patch of buffalo grass here in Middle Tennessee. Even if it is low-growing and green in the summer, I can't imagine having the lawn look like this (or a version of this with the dormant grass more filled in) during 5-6 months from November to April.

Trying to find the bright side of the ridiculously awful buffalo grass, I will say that all the spaces between the dormant tufts provide room for self-sown annuals like this volunteer lettuce to pop up. I plan to eat this soon. It looks better in real life than in this top-down photo.

And alongside the lettuce amid the dormant buffalo grass, I also like to see these adorable violets. They popped up early despite the cold spring and have added a touch of color and movement at a time when almost everything else was dead, dormant, brown or grey. I know some people think of violets as weeds, but I like them in my garden :)

Here's a close-up on a dormant tuft of buffalo grass so you can see just how pitiful and scrawny it looks. Not surprisingly, I had to weed this patch heavily earlier in the winter...

Moving to the front of the house, there are no signs of life on this Clematis integrifolia. I did not really like the plant last year - the flowers were pretty but down-turned on a low plant so that I would have had to lie on the ground to really see them. That's my own aesthetic sensibility - just not much of a fan of down-turned flowers. I don't mind them on Aquilegia (Columbine) but I'm not particularly longing for a Hellebore either for the same reason. Anyway, I figure I'll give this Clematis another week or two to make an appearance or show some signs of life before shovel-pruning it. Or perhaps I'll just cut it way back and see if it ever makes a reappearance...

This is actually one of my biggest disappointments of the spring! You're probably thinking, "That doesn't look like much." You're right - that's the problem! This is one of the three Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Hardy Blue Plumbago) in my garden. All three of them are just bare little sticks right now. I loved these tough plants last year - they were pretty slow-growing, but they slowly did expand over the course of the growing season and they had the prettiest blue flowers plus lovely red foliage in the autumn. But I have heard these are very late to leaf out in the spring and they seem to be sticking true to that description. It's a pity, because I was thinking to try to propagate these and divide them and buy more to get a large scale Hardy Blue Plumbago groundcover, but I'm not sure I want to do that if they're going to stay dormant this far into the spring. (And that's presuming they do make an appearance and didn't bite the bullet for some reason over the winter...)

This is Geranium maculatum, just purchased via mail order. I don't have a good feeling about this plant to be honest (or most of the other plants that arrived in the same order).  The plant is quite small and some of the leaves have died since I planted it. But Geraniums are kind of tough plants (see the Rozanne above that I transplanted twice last year and still survived) so I'm hoping this one will pull through. I put it near the Rozanne to have a nice mixed Geranium area. That's the idea anyway.

This is Hexastylis arifolia, an ornamental ginger native to the Southeast. It arrived in the same mail order package as the Geranium maculatum above. Again, I think it's looking really pitiful. Only one of the leaves is hanging strong and the rest of the stems have pretty much keeled over. I'll give it time to recover, but I don't think it's looking good. 

OK, let's finish on a high note with some upbeat images. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm loving the Veronica Georgia Blue so far. I added two to the garden last autumn and both stayed evergreen through the winter and are now blooming their pretty little heads off in March and April. They are most floriferous on sunny days. Just beautiful!! Love that shade of blue :)  (This one is in afternoon shade and seems to be spreading a bit wider than the one in full sun, but the one in full sun looks good too, just growing a little tighter.)

I don't have the tag for this anymore, but I believe this is a variegated variety of Agastache foeniculum, a.k.a. Anise Hyssop. I bought this plant late last autumn and it did not have much time to settle in before it went dormant for the winter, so I was a little worried about it, but it seems to be coming back nicely this spring. It is actually supposed to prefer full sun (I have it in an afternoon shade setting) but it's related to mint and mints like moist soil and the full sun areas on my property tend to bake and dry out in mid-summer. So even though it is supposedly drought tolerant, I placed it in afternoon shade. So I may not get as many flowers as I would if it were in full sun, but hopefully the plant will survive and thrive. If I ever get another one, I'll probably try it in full sun just to see what happens, but I'm trying to minimize supplemental irrigation in my garden and find plants that can survive just on rain water (with an occasional  assist in extreme droughts), and I'm not sure that Anise Hyssop would fit that bill in a full sun setting.

Here's another plant that I added late last year. It's hard to tell what's going on from this photo, but trust me when I say this is a top-down view of a dogwood that was sort mistreated by being partially buried alongside a brush pile last winter. Some branches were broken and/or perhaps nibbled by the mice who made their home in said brush pile. Nonetheless, the dogwood seems to have pulled through and is starting to leaf out! Exciting stuff!!

Here's another perennial with a reputation for breaking dormancy late in the year. But it's still up and growing before the Hardy Blue Plumbago. You're looking at the emerging stems of the balloon flower - Platycodon grandiflorus, Mariesii variety. Again, I added this late last year and it still flowered prettily in the autumn, but I was not sure if it had time to settle in before winter. Looks like it did just fine. I love the fleshy purple stems. I believe Platycodon is supposed to be long-lived and able to thrive with little human care. My kind of perennia! Plus the flowers are amazing.

Again, it's a little hard to tell from this photo (given the difficulty my camera has with focusing sometimes), but this is Aronia arbutifolia Brilliantissima variety. All three of my aronias struggled with the heat and drought last year, but they all pulled through and are leafing out nicely. The two A. melanocarpas on the other side of the front steps are a bit smaller, but this A. arbutifolia has lots of leaves and seems to be covered with buds. I'll be amazed if it blooms when it is this small (only about 12-18 inches tall) but it looks like it might just do that! Wow.

Finally, to finish with a favorite, this is the impossibly fresh and clean green foliage of Sweet Woodruff. One of three patches that I have in the garden (another one smaller than this and one that's much bigger). This came from Gardens in the Wood of Grassy Creek (GITWOGC) last autumn and it looks just beautiful. Based on my experiences so far, I can say that GITWOGC is the only mail order nursery that impressed me with the size and health of its plants and their vigor. I placed another order from Dottie at GITWOGC this spring and am looking forward to receiving my plants next week. (Normally, I think she would ship earlier, but North Carolina's spring has been as cold as ours here in Tennessee.) Some folks say that Sweet Woodruff is invasive. I'm sure I'll regret saying this later, but right now I'm hoping it will invade a lot of the bare ground in my landscape beds! ;)