Scabiosa 'Blue Note'

Photo taken June 28, 2011

I planted four 'Blue Note' Scabiosas in the garden, interspersing them with yellow Marigolds.

Marian Name: Our Lady's Pincushion
Botanical Name: Dwarf Pincushion Flower 'Blue Note'

Description: Large flowering and floriferous bloomer produces clear blue button flowers that are great cut.

Light: Full sun
Soil: Well drained soil.
Height: 8-10"

June Garden Bed

 Our Lady of Lourdes Garden Bed
June 10, 2011



Photo taken by Theresa
June 24, 2011



Dwarf Lupine, Minarette

The children planted these lupines from seed last year. We purchased dwarf lupine seeds; however, the lupines have grown to 4 feet tall.

Religious Name: St. Mark's Plant

Salvia nemorosa 'Marcus'

Salvia nemorosa 'Marcus'

When I saw Salvia nemorosa 'Marcus' (Dwarf Meadow Sage), I thought it might look good in front of my Angel Daisies. Time will tell if I was right.

Angel Daisies and Salvia nemorosa ' Marcus'

Description: This dwarf salvia produces compact spikes of richly colored blooms that are excellent in fresh or died cut arrangements. Great for mass planting the perennial garden. Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and is deer resistant.

Care: Remove spent flowers to encourage additional blooms. Water weekly during dry spells.

Light: Full sun or part shade

Height: Grows to 12" tall
Width: Grows to 12" wide

Hardy Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei'

Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei'

When I saw this Geranium at Fred Meyer, I knew that I wanted to add it to our garden. Brendan and Theresa (my shopping companions) agreed that it would look good and it is now planted in our front garden bed.

Marian Name: Madonna's Pins
Botanical Name: Geranium sanguinem 'Max frei'
Common Name: Cranesbill 'Max frei'

Description: Vibrant magenta flowers on compact mounded form bloom May through September. Lovely in the rock garden or at garden's edge. Attractive leaves have scarlet fall color.

Foliage: Herbaceous
Light: Full sun to partial sun
Height: 4-6"
Width: 24"

Platycodon grandiflora Mini Balloon White (Balloon Flower)

I received three of these healthy looking plants from Bluestone Perennials. I was excited to see them arrive looking very healthy and green.

Height: Short 12-16" / Plant 12" apart
Bloom Time: Early Summer to Late Summer
Sun-Shade: Full Sun to Mostly Sunny
Zones: 3-9 Get Your Zone
Soil Condition: Normal, Acidic
Flower Color / Accent: White / White

Description: Pure white balloon pods pop open to 5-petalled starry blooms. A perfect perennial for the novice garden. Absolutely carefree and easy to grow. Long lived, disease and pest free. Platycodons are slow to emerge in the spring but worth the wait. 

Features to Note: Avoid Wetness, Plants that attract Butterflies, Good for Cut Flowers

General Information: Avoid too moist (wet feet), good cut flower. Late to show in the spring. 

Plant Care: Plants can be cut back by half in late May/Early June to promote bushiness and compact habit.

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/PLBWS.html

Mammoth Mum Bronze Daisy

I wouldn't have dreamed of adding bronze flowers to my garden, but this mammoth mum was included in a grab bag that I received from Spring Hill Nursery. The color should complement fall and so I planted it in a sunny location that the plant seems to like.

Botanical Name: Chrysanthemum morifolium

Height: 36-42"
Space: 5'
Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade

Great Gardening Quote

"The sign of a great gardener isn't a green thumb.

It is brown knees."

I read this somewhere as I was looking for information on a plant and couldn't help but think, "How true." It has stuck in my mind and so I thought I should share.

Viola Etain (Violet, Pansy)

Theresa was happy to plant three of these flowers in her Our Lady of Grace Mary Garden. They arrived from Bluestone Perennials looking a little bedraggled with a lot of brown and yellow leaves around their bases, but they also had a few buds and a couple of spent flowers. They should like their new location and perk up soon.

Photo taken July11, 2011

Religious Name: Trinity Flower

Height: Short 6-8" / Plant 8" apart
Bloom Time: Spring to Summer
Sun-Shade: Mostly Sunny to Full Shade
Zones: 5-8
Soil Condition: Normal, Sandy, Acidic
Flower Color / Accent: Yellow / Lavender

Description: Large pale lemon yellow blossoms with elegant lavender margins. Very floriferous in spring and early summer, it reblooms lightly through the whole season. Lovely fragrance - best in cool, moist setting. Avoid full sun in the south. In spring, purple edges develop as temperatures warm up.

Features to Note: Good for Cut Flowers, Fragrant, Long Blooming 4 weeks or more

General Information: Like miniature Pansies but blooming continuously right through the warmest summer. Perfectly hardy, we have seen them blooming here as the snow melts away. A vibrant splash of color.

Plant Care: Remove seed heads to prevent prolific seeding.

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/VIETS.html

Phlox paniculata Red Riding Hood (Garden Phlox)

I ordered Red Riding Hood Phlox from Bluestone Perennials because of its color and fragrance. I was disappointed to find that one of the plants was broken and many of the leaves were yellowed and/or spotted. Hopefully, they survive.

Height: Medium 20" / Plant 18" apart
Bloom Time: Summer to Early Fall
Sun-Shade: Full Sun
Zones: 4-8 Get Your Zone
Soil Condition: Normal, Clay, Acidic, Sandy
Flower Color / Accent: Red / Red

Description: Strong grower with huge fragrant flower heads on more compact bushier plants. Cherry red. One of the best reds. 

Plant Care: Deadheading can prolong bloom time. Heavy feeder. To force side shoots and secondary blooms, pinch out main flower head when it starts to decline.

General Information:  Prefers a moist soil, good cut flower, fragrant, best selection for the coldest areas (zone 3 & 4), Not for the Gulf states. 

Features to Note: Wet Tolerant, Good for Cut Flowers, Fragrant , OK in containers - see FAQ for overwintering, Not tolerant of Humidity, Plants that attract Butterflies, Plants that attract Hummingbirds, Long Blooming 4 weeks or more

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/PHRRS.html

Photo will be added when they bloom.

Campanula cochlearifolia Bavarian Blue (Harebell, Canterbury Bells)

We purchased these pretty flowers to spill over the edge of some rocks that surround our evergreen azalea. Each year, I plant white alyssum and blue lobelia around the base of this area. It is my hope that the Bavarian blue campanulas will look pretty spilling over the rocks above and will complement the red, white, and blue below.

The three Bavarian Blue Campanulas came from Bluestone Perennials and look very healthy.

Height: Short 6" / Plant 10-12" apart
Bloom Time: Late Spring to Summer
Sun-Shade: Full Sun to Half Sun/ Half Shade
Zones: 5-8 Get Your Zone
Soil Condition: Normal, Clay
Flower Color / Accent: Blue / Blue

Description: Sky blue miniature trumpets cascade down the waxy low growing foliage in a living carpet of color. Neat and colorful all summer. Trouble free. 

General Information: Vigorous sprawling star covered beauty. Perfect spilling over edges. 

Plant Care: Remove about a third of the plant after blooming to freshen the foliage.

Features to Note: OK in containers - see FAQ for overwintering

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/CABBS.html

As always, I will try to add a photo when they bloom.

Geranium 'Rozanne' (Cranesbill)

Photo taken July 18, 2011

Geranium 'Rozanne' arrived from Bluestone Perennials looking somewhat sparse with a lot of yellow leaves and a very dry pot. I don't think that it benefited from spending the weekend at the UPS facility. However, I do think that this geranium likes its new location in our garden. In just a few days, it has started getting some new leaves. Hopefully, it will continue to get more leaves and the plant will start to look more like the photos that I have seen.

Height: Medium 20" / Plant 24" apart
Bloom Time: Early Summer to Fall
Sun-Shade: Full Sun to Half Sun/ Half Shade
Zones: 5-8
Soil Condition: Normal, Sandy, Acidic
Flower Color / Accent: Blue / Blue

Description: Extremely long blooming - even through the heat of August. Mounded, slightly marbled foliage turns attractively red in fall. Very heat tolerant. Has received top ratings in trials everywhere! Flowers are deeper blue (see note in General Info). Rozanne will spread to fill in with moist organic soil, otherwise not aggressive. A Blooms of Bressingham selection. Patented. Large pots.

Features to Note: Deer Resistant, Blooms of Bressingham Selections, OK in containers - see FAQ for overwintering, Long Blooming 4 weeks or more, Edgers

 

General Information: Mounded in form. Cranesbill is a favorite for its excellent habit, and late spring to summer blooming period. Flowers remain nestled among the leaves. Note* Several people have reported that flower color can be "off" as the plant re-acclimates to a new setting. The blue color should reliably appear on new growth.

Plant Care: Can be cut back hard after the first main bloom, or at any time, and will soon releaf and even bloom again.

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/GEROP.html

Grass Festuca Select Blue

I received this as part of the grab bag that I ordered from Spring Hill Nursery. I never would have ordered ornamental grass, but it should look interesting in the garden come winter. I have planted it in front of our 'Sarah Bernhardt' Peony.

Botanical Name: Festuca glauca 'Select'

Height: 8-10"
Space: 10-12"
Sun Exposure: Full Sun

http://springhillnursery.com/select-blue-festuca-/p/68580/