Speedie, I just love that purple. It looks so different from other verbenas I've seen on the market. I read somewhere that it can crowd out other plants and kill them. Do you find this plant to be that aggressive?
And I would love to try a Homestead Purple, if you have any you can spare. I think it'll look great in front of the yellow and purple daylilies. Those daylily leaves can look pretty raggedy.
Long-lived perennials
Ruby---
Love the tipped over pot idea--with flowers spilling out...Just beautiful!
I too love the purple Verbena. I assume it is perennial? May I have a couple--please....and Thank you.
It looks tall--is it? In that case--it would be a nice backgrounf plant--not an edging plant.
I may plant them in front of my Stellas--or in front of my small bed by my front door. Or---depending....
The color would set off the other perennials in this bed....
Gita
You all are the best. I am madly working on some big work deadlines, and then will be off the radar for a bit. But yes I'm planning to be at Sally's swap -- can't wait -- and hopefully I'll be able to catch up on things before then. Ruby, you continue to be the sweetest person!
YAY
YAY me too!!!
Yes Ma'am, Ssgardener, it... well, it's not aggressive to the point of killing what it's surrounding, but it is... well, very exuberant. I put those in at the end of August last year, and thus far they've spread about 3-4' across; they are all through the Million Bells that I've got in there, and one of them has covered the little Steppable I've got in there (I think it's a Sedum requieni Miniature Stonecrop, but I don't remember for sure), and they really have spread all around the feet of the Agastache I've got in the front of the bed, and yet none of those other plants are suffering from the spread, they are all just happily living together, and the Agastache are THRIVING, even with all the Verbena at their feet, and the Verbena hasn't stopped them from self-seeding either.
True, when it comes to gardening design, I'm at the lowest rung of the "I know what I'm doing" ladder, so while the placement of stuff might look totally wrong, they all behave well together... so far. Oh, and yes they are perennial, but they're really not all that tall, only about 8-10 inches or so. I wanted something not-too-tall that would show up at the front of that bed above the little white fencing I put in there.
I will set some more aside; Ss, Gita, and Happy, 1 for you, 2 for you, and as many more as I can for you. =)
Gita, thank you, I am rather having fun with that tipped over pot, though I must (sheepishly) admit that I borrowed the idea from another whose home I drove past one day. ;) Last year it was quite boring, with just a small 'spill' of tightly-planted red and purple Petunias, but this year I spread it out bigger, and changed up the colours, and added some other annuals to the mix. They're not there in this pic (above), but later I added some lavender annual phlox, and now the Alyssum have filled out too.
Oooops, got a little too wordy here, sorry about that! < =/
Speedie, please don't feel you need to apologize for the length of a post. My gosh, I would have been kicked out long ago if that was the case. I tend to have to say the same thing, three different ways. My family often tells me I repeat myself. I am talking to all males in the family, so my answer to that is that nine out of ten times, they didn't listen the first couple of times I made a comment, thus the repeating it.
Anyway.......with all the great ideas that have been thrown out on this thread, "Happy's Hill" ought to turn out looking quite lovely. Speedie, you commented on lacking in garden planning skills.....join the club. The way we garden here is to find an empty spot and stick in whatever new plant we have acquired. I have been amazed over the years that even without proper planning, during the warm months we usually have something putting on a beautiful show....as one thing blooms and fades, another thing begins to bloom, and so forth.
The plant we have the most of are Day Lilies and for the most part they are done with blooming for the year. Looks kind of blah after all the color just being here not too long ago. I recall early spring and how excited I was about gardening this year. Seemed like I was a new gardener hankering to get started. For some reason the first few blooms or new foliage I began seeing on plants thrilled me to the core. I am still excited about things that are now coming along......but just want to say that for some reason it has been, despite horridly hot weather, gardening has been lots of pleasure for me this year.
Hope that everyone has a great Monday and the rest of the week will serve to be the same.
Ruby
Speedie (and all) -- I've been away, and only just today starting to catch up. I'd love some of the Homestead Purple if you have some extra -- I hadn't thought of that, but I have seen it in gardens and it is beautiful. I wonder if it would do ok in my really poor soil?
Go for it, Happy... that Verbena is a really scrappy / tough plant!
Happy, you are on my list for Verbena! =) I am really loving this plant, and just yesterday I discovered a humming bird loving it (along with the Agastache) as well. =) Oh what a little cutie it was, wish I'd had my camera with me!
We put up a hummingbird feeder by a kitchen window just a few months ago, and it has been really fun to watch them. I didn't think they'd come so close to the house, but it hasn't been a problem at all.
Hmmmm, now I'm thinking I need to add your name to my "Agastache" list as well, and you can grow them around your hummingbird feeder! Want some potentially 7' tall-when-they-grow-up Agastache Tutti Frutti? < =D
Speedie -- you are wonderful -- but we have no full sun spots. The only sunny spot I have is on my front hill (far from what we actually look at), and that is VERY dry and has VERY clay-ey and rocky soil. I think I bought one Agastache as an experiment to put there (we are planting it this fall), but I don't know if it will take to those conditions. We are not planning reliable supplemental watering there (we may water if we think of it, but won't necessarily get it watered in long drought stretches, especially if we are out of town).
Aaah phoooey!! Well, okey dokey, it was worth a try. < =P Where mine grow (rampant), they do get what is considered 'full' sun (Spring time, from about 11:30AM to sunset, Summer, from about 10:00AM or so 'til sunset), but also there are in SERIOUSLY amended soil; Tons of mulch that has broken down over the years, and tons of compost mixed in with the clay. I'm sure that's gotta help with the fact that I can be ever so lazy about watering sometimes. < =/ I also have experimented with one in my driveway-side bed, which is mostly sandy/rocky crud (where the Alaska Shastas thrive), but alas! Aggie didn't like it there. =( Live and learn, eh?
Anyway, okey dokey, Verbena for Happy it is! =)
I thought Agastache was supposed to be fairly drought-resistant, once established (like most, it'll probably need extra water during its first year)... it's got that "look," small leaves, wiry branches, etc. I bought 3 each of 7 kinds this spring -- little plants, potted them up, only lost one so far which is really good (for me LOL). I planted out the most vigorous set in mid-summer, down the center of the daylilies in the "island" bed. So far, they're doing well... soil is moderately amended there, but they also went in with their gallon of potting mix plus some extra moisture crystals, and I planted on small "mounds" for additional drainage. I think drainage may be more crucial for them than water, although we did get fairly regular rainfall in July & August.