Clematis: Clematis chat for 2012 - Happy New Year!, 1 by warriorswisdomkathy

warriorswisdomkathy wrote:
Robin...Yes just love the veronicas, they are probably one of my most favorite plants. The bloom time is the whole season for me (have to deadhead but worth it). Another veronica look-a-like is Veronicastrum virginicum is from48-60", comes in white, pink and blue (same as veronicas). Yup, love those tall flowers, great for making country cottage bouquets.

Cem.... Got all sorts of goodies that I love growing, just check how well they might grow for you low-landers, (lol). Some of my favs.: the veronica family; salvia nemerosa, blue white or pink at 28"; Just saw one not often mentioned Erumerus (foxtail lily), wished they bloomed longer but still shows for about 4 weeksish, a new fav is Scabiosa ocular, yellow 24-30" and blooms all season, Centaureas...gosh so many...montana, phyggria, dealbata, imperials, macrocephalla, got a new montana last fall ( a dark blue, so now I have white, 2 shades of blue and still wanting the pink form; Daisies are the best for all season bloom; coreopsis, such bright little blooms again all season with light reseeding, I have 2 )one at 12-16 and the other at 18-24"; Delphnium the butterfly series, pink white or blue all season at 12-18" and lightly reseeds; Geranium either Johnson blue or Rozanne ( both bloom all season but Roz. more prolithic); Dianthus (just any and all of the carnation family and its many relative, my fav tho is D. X Loveliness (all season bloom and fragrance); gosh and snapdragons (tall rockets) again all season; Campanulas (all season glom rata and persicifolia; catanche carulea blue or white all season, 18"; gypsophila paniculata, or repens (all season for me); yarrow especially The Pearl, white 12-18 all season; and of course lavendula. Those are a few that give such great long season blooms with deadheading. For those unfamiliar with that practice it cutting for bouquets or fading blooms, and the trick is cut close to the ground (1-2"), this also allows for further branching making the plant appear fuller. Remember every cut produces 2 new blooming branches add that up over a summer and you get tons of blooms, so one branch cut back over the summer gets 2 new, those cut back get 2 more new and those get two more, sooo the original stem might give upwards of 8-10 blooms (example daisies) and all the time the mother plant is putting up new stems thru the season. Very few plants do I ever give a buzz cut to, usually a few stems here and a few days later a few more. It just helps to hide that deadheading is being done and the plant still has color. Sorry if you knew that, might be a bit of help for those that don't tho, we were ll beginners at one time , lol. Kathy