…. I’ll be back next week

This weekend I’m flying into Portland, Oregon for a week touring nurseries in the northwest. Hot, humid weather is expected in Virginia for the week, and I’ve little doubt that Oregon will be delightful by comparison. I hope to return with photos of spruces and firs, rhododendrons, Japanese maples, and stories of unique treasures found. Prior to departing, here are the latest goings-on in the garden.

Finally, another coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’, above) has recovered from damage done by deer earlier in May when perennials were growing so quickly that much of the plant were left unprotected by the deer repellent. The echinaceas will be shorter and fuller than is usual with this pruning, but more floriferous. Some of the other varieties are still a few weeks short of a full recovery and will bloom later in the season.

Tickseed (Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’, above) has been shy about flowering until this week, and though this is a sturdy, easy-to-grow perennial in most gardens, blooming and reblooming through the summer, I have not had good success with it over the years. More than once it has faded and disappeared in my garden, I suspect that it prefers a bit more elbow room.

Asiatic lilies need little space, shooting straight through the gaps between neighboring plants. Plant a bulb, and watch it grow. Next year there could be a second, and then a third the following. That’s it. There’s little foliage to bother with, and no pruning other than to cut the stem back when the flower and foliage have faded.

The winter past was the first for Angels’ Earrings fuchsia (below), and though the nursery catalog assured that it was more cold hardy than the zone 8 or 9 that was indicated, I was skeptical, of course. I have another fuchsia that has proven quite winter hardy, but this one appeared more similar to the colorful annuals I see in the garden centers. However, no problem, it popped out of the ground on schedule, is blooming, and is quite beautiful upon close examination, for fuchsias are close up plants, not ones to make a splash from the highway.

Shasta daisies make a show from a distance, and ‘Becky’ (below) is a workhorse, tough and dependable. If the faded flowers are deadheaded its bloom will extend through September, though I often fail to follow through on this seemingly simple task.

And finally, there’s Lysimachia ‘Firecracker'(below), with small yellow blooms and contrasting  red tipped foliage. This loosestrife selection spreads at a modest pace planted on a dry slope in poor soil.

I expect that when I return later in the week there will be many more blooms to visit.